How often do you use your gun? Is it worth buying one?

[emb]

I am considering on adding a light gun to my existing MAME cabinet. From your experiences, how often do you use it? Do you think it was worth buying one? Which one did you buy and how much did it cost?

[Ginsu Victim]

I never do. I even bought another shell so I could have two guns, and I never bothered installing the sensor.

[Paul Olson]

I never do. I even bought another shell so I could have two guns, and I never bothered installing the sensor.

Same for me unfortunately. I would like to use them, but I haven't even installed the sensor since I switched to an LCD TV. I really should do that one of these days. I enjoyed it the 2 or 3 times I used the gun, so I have no idea why I haven't bothered with it since.

[RyoriNoTetsujin]

I bought 2 Aimtrak complete guns a few weeks back and I've had a great time with them so far.  Light gun games seem to be exponentially more fun with 2 players... but I think the first question is: do you LOVE light gun games?

If you can list off, let's say ... at least 8 to 10 light gun games (off the top of your head) that you really love to play, or wish you could play "properly" ... then yeah, you're probably going to enjoy having one around, even if you don't use it every time you  have a gaming session. 

I will say this: if you're using a CRT monitor, try not to get an Aimtrak or any other such "sensor-bar" based gun. Stick to the old school light guns (Act-Labs, etc.)  The required distance from the screen with sensor-bar guns is my biggest complaint.  It's not a deal-breaker (especially since I only have access to LCD screens nowadays) but deep down, I miss being able to "cheat" by getting right up to the screen!

[Tony555]

It looks like the Act-Labs guns are no longer for sale (they have discontinued the VGA box that the gun requires)

I have seen a few other light guns for CRT screens. Which ones are the best for CRT??

[ark_ader]

I have the Topgun but rarely play with it.  Actually I'm staring at the two sensors strapped to my TV/Monitor and thinking it would be a good time to pack them in storage. 

I do enjoy the odd game with the projector, it is just nice to have them around, but it is definitely not an everyday device.

Worth buying one?  Sure.

[bkenobi]

If you spent $200 to build the cab...probably not.

If you spent $2000 to build the cab...probably.

Depends on how much money and time you are willing to put in to get them working.  They aren't really that hard to setup, but you will probably have to tweak them every time you want to use them (from my experience).  If you spent enough effort to get your cab "perfect", then you are probably a good candidate for keeping them working!  If you picked up a shell off craigslist and threw a PC in it with a couple extra buttons, then you probably would be better served getting the main cabinet working.

[Afterburner]

I've got the first model EMS TopGun.....the device itself is pretty slick.  Love the buttons, the slide recoil....pretty much everything about it *except* how far back from the screen you have to stand.

I used it for roughly two or three weeks after I got it, then went back to using my trackballs for everything.

I was considering an AimTrak, but may opt for an EMS TopGun III.  I love lightgun games, but because I have dual trackballs I can play two-player with those and I've been happy with that.

In fact, other than Marble Madness, gun games are about the only things I use both trackballs for.

[BobA]

Have an older Act Labs gun and controller for Computer Monitors and an Ultimarc top gun that I have not completed assembly of yet.   I guess it depends on how much you like your gun shooters.  They do not have priority in my builds but I have them because they add to an arcade cab.

[ABACABB]

For me, it was an ease of use thing.  What I mean is when I first got my guns I kepth them inside a coin door with the cord all wrapped around them so they didn't get tangled inside my cabinet.  It was kind of a pain to get them out, unwrap the cord and then wrap it all back up to put them away.  I made a holster for my guns and now have them mounted to each side of my cabinet which makes them easy to grab and play.  I have the ArcadeGuns and was a moderate fan of gun games.  They were expensive and I still don't use them much but they are great to have on occasion.

On a side note, I found a new gun game that I had never played before (I guess this came along after my arcade time) it is The Lost World, Sega Model 3.  It runs great on Supermodel3.

[Dawgz Rule]

It comes and goes in waves.   Definitely agree that they get more use when two people are playing.

[drventure]

Grab one of the Wii guns and get it out of your system.  After a couple of days I promise you'll never want to play a gun game again.
http://www.buy.com/prod/wii-crossfire-remote-integrated-pistol-by-penguin-united/211957372.html
There isn't a single PC product that comes close to the performance of that thing.

I saw those a while back and wondered how well they'd work. Any chance you've tried pairing one with a PC and using it for gun games?