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Categories: Arcade News

Categories: Arcade News

New in the Arcade: APB – Pull Over and Play Today!

APBNew in the arcade: APB, Atari’s 1987 classic game of cops and robbers!

Step behind the wheel as Officer Bob, a rookie officer sworn to protect, serve and stop for donuts. Round up small-time crooks until you’re ready to chase down felons like Freddy Freak and Cool Hand Duke, or the dynamite-tossing psycho Philip Fuse.

Officer Bob is fresh out of training and ready to uphold the law. Things start off easy enough, with minor miscreants like litterbugs and hitchhikers to ticket to meet your daily quota. Step on the gas and steer through winding streets, targeting bad guys with your car’s siren cursor to pull them over. Each stage takes place over the course of a day. As the days go by, the streets get tougher, and you’ll come across whacked-out drivers in vans and on motorcycles that take more than a flashing siren to subdue. Drive through the garage to beef up your cruiser with guns, armor and radar, which you’ll need to take down tougher thugs. Roll over donuts to add time to your day, and bring each Most Wanted suspect back to the station to make ‘em talk with the Confess-O-Meter before the Chief shows up! Don’t forget to drive carefully – each accident, collision or pedestrian hit will award you a Demerit. Earn too many demerits, and you’re canned!

APB was regarded as a unique, fun, and funny game upon its release in 1987. Top-down driving gameplay had been popularized by previous games, as had vehicular combat (most notably Atari’s Spy Hunter.) APB expanded on the idea of running & gunning with livelier characters, power-ups, the “Confess-O-Meter” minigame, and a twisted sense of humor geared toward older players. It can be seen as a precursor to the Grand Theft Auto series, which would begin a few years later as a simple top-down PC action game before exploding into one of the most successful franchises of all time.

APB’s cabinet features police cruiser stylings, with a flashing siren marquee that lights up whenever you hit the “siren” button! We’ve restored it to awesome condition, so pull over and play it today!

Star Trek Night – Win Trek Stuff! Monday May 13

Star Trek Night

 

Celebrate nearly 50 years of Star Trek with us at Ground Kontrol!

You can win awesome Star Trek prizes and passes to an early screening of the new film Star Trek Into Darkness!

Featuring…

  • Star Trek Trivia hosted by Atomic Arts (Trek In The Park)
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation high score challenge
  • A Trek DJ set by DJ Switch of Dangerous Kids
  • and perhaps more surprises!

Enjoy food & drink specials in our lounge, and wear your Trek gear for extra drink discounts!

21+, no cover. Starts at 7pm and runs late!

RSVP on Facebook and invite your friends!

Categories: Behind the Barrels

Behind the Barrels: Hacking Donkey Kong – Part 2

In Part 1 of “Behind the Barrels”, Clay began disassembling Donkey Kong’s original arcade version to apply Mike Mika’s “Pauline Edition” hack. Clay began with the graphics, ensuring the characters of Mario and Pauline looked like, well, themselves! 

With a basically working arcade version of Donkey Kong: Pauline Edition, Clay now saw fit to make the game a complete package! 

In Mike’s original version of Donkey Kong: Pauline Edition, the ‘gifts’ that Pauline collected (parasol, purse, hat) remained the same … But if those are now to be gifts for Mario, shouldn’t they be something a plumber could use? The ‘gift’ graphics were easily changed to new shapes: a pipe wrench, crescent wrench, and toilet plunger.

READ MORE  >

Behind the Barrels: Hacking Donkey Kong – Part 1

Gamer, writer and super-dad Mike Mika recently hacked the NES version of Donkey Kong so his three-year-old daughter could play as Pauline, instead of the original Mario/Jumpman protagonist. Now, Mario was the one that needed rescue, and Pauline smashed barrels and scaled ladders to save the day!

Ground Kontrol co-owner Clay Cowgill loved Donkey Kong: Pauline Edition so much, he had to bring it to the original arcade version! This was no simple task – but sometimes having fun is the best reason to take on a new challenge. In “Behind the Barrels”, Clay will explain how he hacked Donkey Kong’s arcade board to seamlessly update it to Pauline Edition!

The first problem to overcome: an arcade Donkey Kong machine is virtually nothing like an NES! They use entirely different processors and have different methods of implementing graphics, so the task would not be as simple as replacing some graphics and calling it good.

READ MORE  >

Super Hero Free Play Party! Thursday May 9, 5pm-close

Super Hero Party!Come down to Ground Kontrol on Thursday, May 9th and relive your Saturday morning adventures, all night long! It’s the Super Hero Party – a celebration of classic cartoon heroes, villains and Saturday morning cartoons!

Ground Kontrol is teaming up with Portland’s pop-culture subculture convention, Wonder Northwest, for a night of 80s super hero fun! Pull on your neon tights, straighten your cape and strike a heroic pose to vanquish boredom with a night of classic cartoons, a costume contest and free play on all of Ground Kontrol’s arcade games and pinball tables!

Dress up as your favorite super hero or super villain and enjoy a discount at the door on one of Ground Kontrol’s most popular nights, Free Play! Join your friends and dominate Magneto’s forces on the six-player X-Men game, or flip your way to a high score on Spider-Man pinball, all while enjoying food and drink specials from our bar. And who can pass up a chance for a hero-villain showdown on the field of Pac-Man Battle Royale?

At 9pm, we’ll host a costume contest judged by Wonder Northwest’s own Manny “Spork” McIvor. We’ll bestow upon the winners the great power (and great responsibility) of Ground Kontrol gift certificates, free admission to Wonder Northwest, and other mysterious prizes! NOTE: So we can properly ID you and serve you, we have to ask that you don’t wear a full face mask or completely obscure your face. You can put your mask on for the costume contest judging! Your secret identity will be safe with us.

Fly, swing or warp your way down to Ground Kontrol the evening of Thursday May 9th – the fate of your weekend rests on your dedication to fun!

More on Wonder Northwest:

Wonder Northwest is an amalgamation of pop-culture subcultures. There you will find regular folks co-mingling with super heroes, pirates, geeks, nerds, cosplayers, film enthusiasts, gamers and other nice people! The vendor room will feature comic books, toys, video games and more from some of the best dealers from across the country. Contests, panels and other special events will be open for all attendees to enjoy. Conveniently located in the heart of Portland with easy access to PDX (Portland International Airport), public transportation, nearby restaurants and other attractions. To get more info on attending Wonder Northwest including schedule, ticket and location information, visit them online at: http://wondernorthwest.com

WHAT: Super Hero Free Play Party with Wonder Northwest!

WHEN: Thursday, May 9th from 5pm-close. Costume contest judging at 9pm!

COVER: Come in an awesome superhero costume and pay just $3 at the door for free games all night! Non-costumed civilians pay the standard $5 – still a great deal. 21+ only, please bring valid ID!

RSVP on Facebook and invite your friends!

Categories: Arcade News, Events

Dj CUTMAN Live at Ground Kontrol – Sunday May 12

DJ Cutman

Ground Kontrol is excited to welcome world-class chiptune and video-game music performer Dj CUTMAN for a special set!

On Sunday May 12, starting at 8pm, Dj CUTMAN will perform an epic dance set featuring the best in chiptune infused with dubstep, electro, hip-hop and soul for a sound that’s turned conventions like Penny Arcade Expo, Otakon and MAGFest into all-out raves.

Come down and have a blast with us as CUTMAN takes you from the old-school to the distant future. Enjoy bonus round happy hour pricing on draft beer and well cocktails until midnight, too!

Visit DjCUTMAN.com for streaming mixes or visit his blog, VideoGameDJ.com!

WHAT: Dj CUTMAN Live DJ Set

WHEN: Sunday May 12, 8pm-late

COVER: Free! 21+ w/ I.D.

Categories: Arcade News, Bar News

Open Regular Hours Easter Sunday – March 31

Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade will be open regular hours on Sunday, March 31 during the Easter holiday.

We open at Noon, and all ages are welcome until 5pm. At 5pm, we begin serving beer, wine & spirits and are 21+ only (with valid I.D.) Our full food menu is available all day!

Bonus: We serve draft beer, draft cider and well cocktails at happy hour prices from 5pm-midnight, every Sunday!

We hope you can visit us with your family and friends this weekend!

Ground Kontrol: Ten Years After

In “Ten Years After”, co-owner and former manager Anthony Dandrea revisits key moments in Ground Kontrol’s 10-year history under its current ownership. The series starts with a trip back to its beginnings as “Ground Kontrol Retrocade…”

Ground Kontrol may have opened its doors in 1999, but it took a change in ownership– and direction– to transform what was once a “retrocade” into the classic arcade & bar we know now. That change happened ten years ago today, on March 22nd, 2003, when the current owners of Ground Kontrol got the keys and first opened the doors to their own arcade….

In 2003, Ground Kontrol “Retrocade” was a very different place. Located at 610 SW 12th Avenue, it was more store than arcade. A long counter, tall display racks, and one wall were devoted to selling vintage home computers and video game systems, “import” CDs (actually CD-R bootlegs of live performances) and used VHS copies of cheesy ’80s movies. The previous owners envisioned it as a shrine to a very specific era– the early ’80s, when Reagan was president, the cold war raged, and the Atari 2600 was king– and its displays and signage announced this loud and clear.

It was clear early on that the GK 1.0 business model left a lot of room for improvement. A second location on Hawthorne Avenue had come and gone, a victim of high rents and low income. Processing the used movies, music and home videogames consumed a lot of time and energy, while people wanted “newer” systems like the NES and Super Nintendo. And, there were far too few people in the arcade most of the time, especially at night. We began to tinker with the formula.

Next Up: Electrocade – Ground Kontrol’s First Free-Play Party

Categories: Arcade News, Food

Now Serving Our Full Food Menu Weekend Afternoons!

Bringing the family down for some classic arcade gaming? No need to stop for lunch beforehand or leave the arcade with grumbling stomachs – Ground Kontrol now serves delicious snacks and tasty treats from our full food menu every Saturday and Sunday from Noon-5pm!

Get a classic Rudy Dog topped any way you like it or try something totally different with our sweet-and-savory Gunsmoke Nachos, topped with pepperjack cheese, bacon, barbecue sauce and pepperoncinis! We’ve got dessert covered, too – how about a classic sundae topped with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, cherries and nuts?

Don’t forget to try our newest menu item: pizza! GK Pizza is a personal-sized pie topped with pepperjack, pepperoni, onions & black olives. If you grew up playing arcade games at your local pizza parlor, this will take you back.

Most of our items can be made vegan or vegetarian-friendly, and many items can be made gluten-free, too!

Remember, Ground Kontrol welcomes all ages from Noon-5pm every day, so bring your family down this weekend! We’re also a great place for birthday parties – check out our Rentals page for info on VIP rentals!

To check out our menu, visit our Food page – or just stop by!

Categories: Arcade News

“Pinball, Full-Color, Now!” Star Trek: TNG Gets an Upgrade

One of the galaxy’s deepest and most exciting pinball games just got an upgrade: A brand-new, full-color display by ColorDMD!

Star Trek: The Next Generation pinball was originally released during the sci-fi classic’s final season in late 1993 and proved itself a favorite among both hardcore pinball players and hardcore Trekkies. Its well-crafted gameplay is complimented by plenty of sights and sounds from the iconic TV series, including dozens of lines recorded by everyone from Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard to John de Lancie as Q!

This widebody “SuperPin” is one of the most complex pinball machines ever designed, with multiple ramps,  two cannons (similar to Terminator 2′s cannon – both were designed by Steve Ritchie) and a 6-ball multiball!  And if you know the secret codes, you can play poker with Riker or play a game of Breakout on the DMD!

Now, you can boldly go where no player has gone before with a full-color display bringing the game’s missions to life. Destroy asteroids, enter a time rift, face off with Q, and rescue your crew!

Like Attack From Mars and The Addams Family, you won’t find Star Trek: The Next Generation in better condition anywhere in Portland. Or one autographed by Wil Wheaton.  Want classic pinball with a bold new look? Come down to Ground Kontrol and “make it so!”