Brave base pilots fight for their lives against a fearsome alien intruder in a striking new Ground Kontrol T-shirt design illustrated by Sam Ford and colored / printed by Lee Zeman of Mad Pakyderms. We’ve also re-stocked our original “rebel ships” design on a rich chocolate-colored tee.

Shirts are printed on stylish and comfy American Apparel stock and are available in all men’s and women’s sizes. Visit our Store page to see them in full detail and order online, or stop into the arcade and pick one up today!

- Posted by El Ramos

Four rootin’, tootin’ cowboys mosey into Ground Kontrol, warily eyeing the bar…it can only mean one thing: Konami’s 1991 classic Sunset Riders has arrived! You and three friends play as Steve, Billy, Bob and Cormano, shooting your way through eight stages chuck full of bandits and bosses. Duck into saloon doors for power-ups like a bottle of hooch or a kiss from a lovely lady. Pony up a quarter and have a blast!

Photobooth Fans: Making room for these awesome new games required letting our beloved photobooth go. It didn’t go far, though, just around the corner to Backspace. Hop over there for a photo op after gaming at your favorite arcade!

- Posted by Art

SMASH TV has just arrived at Ground Kontrol, and we’re stoked!  Another classic from Robotron designer Eugene Jarvis, Smash is like a 1990 update of that game.  In it, two contestants fight side by side against wave after wave of club-wielding mutants in a depraved game show where bloodshed equals piles of cash and fabulous prizes!  Known for its humor, style, and difficulty, this is the Robotron variant for a generaton of early 90’s arcade denizens.  So come make a name for yourself on Smash TV.  “Total Carnage!  I love it!”

- Posted by dan

Halloween may be our favorite holiday at Ground Kontrol, so we’ve got lots going on to celebrate the season! On Wednesday, October 29, we have a very special edition of our monthly free-play party. Hallowbleep will feature scary electronic music and movie themes mixed by DJs Cache, Megaphysics, and CEV, scary movies projected on our 10′ screen, and of course, all the games you can play for only $5!

On Halloween night, we’ll again have scary movies, with scary music by DJ Travis Wiggins and DJ Fish In The Sea, and as usual on Friday nights, no cover charge (no free games, though - that’s a once-a-month deal).

Speaking of games, we have a very special Halloween treat in our Neo Geo cabinet. Captain Tomaday is a bizarre vertical shooter featuring a bloody tomato fighting his way through piles of skulls and other scary stuff. Play it now, because it’ll be gone after Halloween!

Another Halloween-themed video game we have is Capcom’s classic Ghosts & Goblins. What could be scarier than battling wraiths while naked?  Play it during Hallowbleep, and you might actually make it to the end!

We have scary pinball machines, too!  Our old friend Haunted House is back on the floor, just in time for Halloween! There aren’t many pinball machines with three different playfields, and you won’t find this classic at any other pinball parlor in Portland.

We have another scary favorite, Elvira’s Scared Stiff.  How high can you get on the Stiff-O-Meter?  Drop a few quarters in and find out! Finally, every night for the rest of the month, at the bar we have the classic Castlevania on our NES and Zombies Ate My Neighbors on our SNES.  These games are free for our drinking patrons.

We hope to see you haunting the arcade soon!  If not, boo!

- Posted by The CEO

The Pinball Lounge at Ground Kontrol just keeps improving!  The newest addition to our lineup of 26 pinball tables is the latest from legendary designer Steve Ritchie- Spider<dash>Man!  Released in response to the recent trilogy of Spidey’s movies, this table pits the webslinger against his four most gruesome foes: The Green Goblin, Sandman, Dr. Octopus and Venom!  Spider<dash>Man is the pinnacle of modern, high-tech pinball.  Both old schoolers and newcomers dig it for its deep gameplay with lots of modes and shots galore.  And of course there’s no denying its colorful art and layout; it really does look like a comic book.  To paraphrase Spider<dash>Man’s oft-repeated motto, “With great pinball comes great replayability.”  Or something like that.

- Posted by dan

Good news, ghouls!  We just brought in Elvira’s second pinball table, the Bally classic Scared Stiff.  This machine got the treatment, too.  We took it all the way down to the playfield and fixed it up with new ramps, custom lighting and the cleanest guts you’ll see on a table.  That’s right, Ground Kontrol now proudly boasts the best Scared Stiff in town!  If you’ve never played this old bat from designer Dennis Nordman, you’re missing out on one of the most stylish and humerous pinball experiences of all time.  It’s just loaded with cheeky innuendo and geeky in-jokes about horror movies and pinball tables.  Leave it to Elvira to take something as wholesome as pinball and make it entirely PG-13.  Cleavage.

- Posted by dan

Poster by Isaac Sonnenburg

Put on your gloves, step in the ring and practice your quarter-circle-forward technique: Ground Kontrol is hosting the second installment of Slugfest, our fighting game tournament!

What: Slugfest 2 Fighting Game Tournament! Compete head-to-head against other players in your choice of 5 games: Soul Calibur 4 (PS3), Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (PS2), Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Arcade), and Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo (Arcade), and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (Dreamcast.) Register for as many or as few games as you’d like! Each game will be a separate tournament.

When: Saturday, September 20th, 2008 - registration starts at 11AM, competition starts at 12 Noon and ends by 5PM.

Where: Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade, 511 NW Couch St., Portland, OR 97209.

Cost: $5 entry fee, $3 registration fee per game entered. All tournament matches on arcade games will be free-play. Pizza and soft drinks (first come, first serve) provided to registered participants!

Prizes: Win cash prizes and GK Gift Certificates!

All ages are welcome!

- Posted by Art

If you’re a regular pinball player, chances are Bally’s Attack From Mars is already one of your favorites.  Since its release in 1995, AFM has been in many a pinhead’s list of best tables.  Thematically, it is pinball’s answer to those campy, broccoli-headed Martians that started invading Earth in pulp comics and toys of the 1950’s.  The player contends with vicious aliens in battles across the world, simulating a global call-to-arms with deadpan humor.  Attack From Mars has all the variety, artwork and design that make a pinball table unique and fun to play.  Ours is sitting right next to its high-tech 1999 sequel, Revenge From Mars. So come save the Earth from invasion using only your wits, a pair of flippers, and mankind’s greatest weapon - the Silver Sphere.

- Posted by dan