Links to pretty cool software to play on cabinet

[str1der]

These games work pretty good on a cabinet. check out the demos.

http://www.smallrockets.com/pc/starmonkey/

http://www.pompom.org.uk

[radiator]

nice find!

i think someone needs to start a list here of all freeware, cab worthy games (i can think of 2, but don't know the name of the second one - first is that 3D lightcycles game, and the second is a 3d version of the classic snake game (you know the one, you eat a pill, you grow slightly longer))

 

EDIT:
pretty certain i downloaded both of them from http://www.megagames.com/ - tons of freeware games there!

[Frostillicus]

I also say: "Good find!" I don't think I've played a better top-down shooter than starmonkey - talk about amazing glow effects -  I fired this bad boy up on the cab and the d9200 and it's just awesome - the sound effects really grabbed me, too.  I definitely have found a new obsession with these newer 3d space shooters   i'll have to check out their other games, too...

I posted this in a different post, but could be worth it to include in this thread:
http://gamesroyale.libero.it/arcade_spaceshooters_default.html

 

[str1der]

Thanks for the link Frostillicus(ahh moonpies). I found a pretty cool one on there for people who like asteroids. It controls the same but you duel against a second player. Try it out. It's called Final Duel Deathmatch Arena. Here's the link.
http://www.fractilegames.com/products.html

[BillyJack]

One of my personal favorites has always been Maelstrom (an asteroids ripoff).  In my opinion it was the only reason that the Macintosh should have been left alive...  but now that it's open source and ported to Windows...  go ahead and burn the macs!  BURN THEM ALL!!!

Anyway, it's very fun with lots of weapons upgrades etc... cool graphics and sounds... and it's old too!

Unfortunately I don't think it'll run full screen, but at 640x480 it's pretty good.

http://www.devolution.com/~slouken/Maelstrom/binary.html

[str1der]

FDDA is like that but it give you the option to have up to 4 players at once (great for those with 4P cabinets) and you can destroy both the asteroids and the other ships. Try it out if you get a chance.

[BillyJack]

Linkie!  Linkie!  Linkie to this FDDA you speak of!

[str1der]

It's on my previous post. FDDA (Final Duel Deathmatch Arena)

[)p(]

if you like it psychodelic try spheres of chaos a rather funky asteroid clone and ideal on a cab played in the dark with monitor brightness turned way up!  

http://www.chaotica.u-net.com/home.htm

[Carsten Carlos]

Whee, that's a cool one! I'm feeling total crazy now!

Just tested it on my desktop, we really must suggest the author to make it cab-friendly -he needs to add credits and start-button support, and something to type in the name without a keyboard

[)p(]

Whee, that's a cool one! I'm feeling total crazy now!

Just tested it on my desktop, we really must suggest the author to make it cab-friendly -he needs to add credits and start-button support, and something to type in the name without a keyboard

yeah good idea...

I got yesterday a new monitor with a high brightness screen that can go very bright indeed...i could not sleep got up and played a few rounds of soc..then did go to bed again..when i closed my eyes...i did see colored partciles for the rest of the night...

peter

[Carsten Carlos]

when i closed my eyes...i did see colored partciles for the rest of the night...

Peter, I just mailed him of all our needs (well, mostly all) - I'll post when I know yet more...

[)p(]

when i closed my eyes...i did see colored partciles for the rest of the night...

Peter, I just mailed him of all our needs (well, mostly all) - I'll post when I know yet more...

hehe I allready did the same  

I was just now playing mutant storm from pompom...link see first post in this thread...they have updated the game a month ago or so...it has become even more balanced..and it might just have the most gorgeous graphics of any game...GET IT!  

peter

[Carsten Carlos]

hehe I allready did the same  

This way he'll see the public demand!

[OSCAR]

Armagetron is an oldie, but still a lot of fun.  It's a 3D Tron lightcycle game.  It supposedly supports network play, but I've never tried out that feature.

http://armagetron.sourceforge.net/tron.html

new link
http://armagetronad.net/index.php

[Dave Dribin]

I was just now playing mutant storm from pompom...link see first post in this thread...they have updated the game a month ago or so...it has become even more balanced..and it might just have the most gorgeous graphics of any game...GET IT!  

Wow, it *is* gorgeous.  Take a look at the scripts directory.  All the levels are completely written in the Lua scripting language.  Very interesting.

-Dave

[str1der]

Yeah I think mutant storm puts Robotron to shame. No one flame me for saying that.  

[Frostillicus]

Armagetron is an oldie, but still a lot of fun.  It's a 3D Tron lightcycle game.  It supposedly supports network play, but I've never tried out that feature.

http://armagetron.sourceforge.net/tron.html

All those lightcycle games have one or two unique features that are cool...if only they could combine them all into one really great game.  

I'm just praying the lightcycle racing game in TRON 2.0 doesn't suck....I have high hopes for it  

[Magnet_Eye]

Star Monkey is cool! I "stumbled" upon a patch to unlock the demo...just so i can test it out further before purchase.

Cool game. I wish they make these kind of games for arcades!

 

[SirPoonga]

Armagetron is an oldie, but still a lot of fun.  It's a 3D Tron lightcycle game.  It supposedly supports network play, but I've never tried out that feature.

http://armagetron.sourceforge.net/tron.html

network play is great.  If oyu get the cvs version they updated the crappy AI to slightly crappy AI.

[BobA]

Just thought I would add one.  Stepmania looks like DDR and has skins.  Add a PS to PC USB converter to your PS dance pad and you have a mini DDR setup.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/stepmania/

BobA

[str1der]

Has anyone been able to get the other small rocket games to run in XP?

[Frostillicus]

Has anyone been able to get the other small rocket games to run in XP?

I got MAD Thermonuclear War to work fine, but it's not much fun.  But I couldn't get the kayaking game to start.  I have XP. At least star monkey works  

[str1der]

Yeah, I'd really like to try out Ultimate Asault and the Jetboat games. I tried running them in compatablity mode but they still didn't work.

[Magnet_Eye]

Has anyone been able to get the other small rocket games to run in XP?

I have no problem running Ultra Assualt and Star Monkey in XP.

 

[str1der]

My bad. I did get Ultra assault and Star Monkey but not the others.

[MrBond]

nice find!

i think someone needs to start a list here of all freeware, cab worthy games

I agree, could we get a link on like the "Downloads" section of this site for links to great arcade software titles to download/buy?

[NIVO]

ok fellas since we are adding links here is one:  http://www.emudek.org/shootemup/  I have played stuff from here for over 2 years, completely forgot about the site until reading this thread. Enjoy!!! Some of the best shooters and side-scrollers around.      

and another link for you folks:
http://www.moonpod.com/English/thumbs_ss.php  

[Generic Eric]

ok fellas since we are adding links here is one:  http://www.emudek.org/shootemup/  I have played stuff from here for over 2 years, completely forgot about the site until reading this thread. Enjoy!!! Some of the best shooters and side-scrollers around.      

T-Zwei Demo looks cool.
<modification>
looks cool, but instead of collecting money, you collect charm bracelet and jewelry icons.  Thats kinda wierd.  Otherwise its a good looking game.
</modification>

[jakejake28]

i've actually been using my trackball w/ joystick and buttons to play counterstrike online. it is free (if you have half-life ), y'know.

[Generic Eric]

here is a list

[Richy]

One game i was looking forward to playing was a fun dos game called Liero. It's like worms except in real time.

The only problem is, that to dig, you need to press right and left at the same time, which of course is not possible with a joystick.

[slug54]

I've been playing the Think Tanks Demo on my cab
The online play is pretty fun. It's a 3D combat style game.

It's not real cab friendly because I see no way to re-map the keys, but it uses arrows for moving and mouse for aiming and shooting so it works well on my cab with the trackball.

The demo version does require you to enter a player name each time you fire it up so you will need a keyboard accessible.

you can download the demo here

www.garagegames.com

They have other games that may be fun on a cab also.
Most of their games have mac & Linux versions also.

                              Slug54
 

[shmokes]

Wow...Mutant Storm is great.

Does it work with a spinner or does it require a trackball?

If it does work with a spinner can you get two-player going with two spinners on one control panel?

(I can't test this myself....yet)

[str1der]

You know I was just thinking of another game I used to play years agao that might be pretty good. It was called Descent. I don't have a copy of it anymore though.

[radiator]

ah, Decent, another classic (i used to love Decent 3!)

 

[str1der]

I run Mutant Storm using my player 1 and 2 joysticks. 1 for movement the other for firing. Works real well. Only problem is the game is so damn hard.

Anyone out there still have a copy of Decent I II or III to try?

[KevSteele]

Wow...Mutant Storm is great.

Does it work with a spinner or does it require a trackball?

It's a dual-joystick game like Robotron -- 1 joystick to move, 1 to fire.

As a Robotron junkie, I love this game. My Robotron blisters are back...  

Kevin

[str1der]

Hey Kevin while you're here. Do you know any way I can get a pair of those cupholders you have on your cabinet. I've been unable to find anything local or online?

[KevSteele]

Sure, Str1der --

The cup holders are from Ahlstrand Marine:

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/ahlstrand-marine/noname2.html

$5 bucks each.

Kevin

[str1der]

Thanks Kevin.

I tried out another one that wasn't to bad on a control panel. The new PC version of Spyhunter.

[JODY]

I visit www.retrogames.com regularly.  They have been in the habit for awhile of posting links on a daily basis to sites with free games as updates to the games come out.  Got a cool tron cycle game when they posted info. about it.

[spectre]

www.the-underdogs.org

[CGRemakes]

Might as well put in a little plug for my site while we're on the topic.  I have tried to compile a list of some of the best classic remakes on the net (all completely freeware, no shareware), and many play perfectly in cabs.

http://www.classic-game-remakes.com/

(There are pics of my cab online as well)

I'd like to get all of your opinions on something.  There are several very good Tron/Lightcycles remakes available, but I haven't added any of them to my list because to be honest I don't see much difference between them all.  Some have "network support", but overall they are very similar.  Which remake would probably be considered the best one availabe right now?

Also, I'm always looking for good quality freeware remakes to add to my list (I try to only add the best to maintain the highest quality list possible), so submissions are always welcome.  

[MrBond]

One game i was looking forward to playing was a fun dos game called Liero. It's like worms except in real time.

The only problem is, that to dig, you need to press right and left at the same time, which of course is not possible with a joystick.

LIERO!  I loved that game....it died in my long ago computer crash...I'll have to find it again.  I liked editing my own maps and setting the blood level on max  

Decent...I have a copy laying around...probably on the web somewhere though

Oh, try DX-BALL 2 if you haven't.  Great Arkanoid remake.  Runs on the mouse, so spinner works great!  Good sound/music/graphics/FUN

Oh, I always liked Scorched Earth...it was a really fun tank game, you set the angle and power of your shot, trying to arc your shot to hit the other poor guy.  Funny one liners when they died.  Oh, and the upgrades are great...napalm, nuke, "baby" nuke, homing missles, shields, parachutes, diggers, rollers, and the ultiamate "death head"!  Would need a keyboard for name and numbers entry.


edit:  Links for
Scorched Earth: http://www.classicgaming.com/scorch/
Liero: http://www.dosgamesarchive.com/download/game/63

[MrBond]

LaserAge:http://www.megagames.com/news/html/freegames/laseragegold.shtml
free, shooting space game

DX-Ball 2: http://www.longbowdigitalarts.com/dxball2.html
demo, arkanoid game

Microsoft Pinball Arcade: http://www.microsoft.com/games/pinball/
demo has haunted house pinball machine

Bejeweled: http://www.popcap.com/bejeweled.php
demo, very addictive puzzle game

Tetris 4000: http://www.alawar.com/games/tetris4000/
demo, very nice tetris remake

<edit: fixed laserage gold link>

[CthulhuLuke]

Here's one my friend turned me onto, GridRunner ++, there's a demo on their website, but I think its like 10 bucks to buy it.  The demo is good enough, and you can use a trackball for the movement, because basically you're always firing, and its REALLY trippy.
  http://www.llamasoft.co.uk/

     -Enjoy, btw, Mutant Storm gave my computer a seizure and I had to restart it. -__-

[AlanS17]

I've got one to throw in. Haven't tried it out yet, but looks like fun. It's called ParaShooter. I think it got released as free ware recently because the makers felt guilty for making a war game.

http://deluxesolutions.com/products/ps/index.html

[Generic Eric]

Xenon 2000is a fun game.  I saw it mentioned in A.G.M.

[Pyronious]

If you like Breakout/Arkanoid style games, "Ricochet" is by far the best one I've found.  Great graphics and gameplay.

http://www.reflexive.net/

[Chris]

My local auto parts store has similar fold-down cupholders; they're in the "S-Type" line of sporty accessories.  I was thinking of using them as lightgun holsters, but they're too shallow...

--Chris

[tmasman]

For all the Tron junkies around here I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Armagetron!!! http://armagetron.sourceforge.net

It's a 3D Tron Ripoff...
Kinda cool (I don't know how cab-worthy it is... it's been a while since I've played with it).
But it's full screen & you can remap most of the controls...

[slug54]

For all the Tron junkies around here I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Armagetron!!! http://armagetron.sourceforge.net

Quote from Oscar from first page of this thread.

Armagetron is an oldie, but still a lot of fun.  It's a 3D Tron lightcycle game.  It supposedly supports network play, but I've never tried out that feature.

http://armagetron.sourceforge.net/tron.html  
 
 

Cool game  I had a lot of fun playing this.

                           Slug

[AlanS17]

Got several newer PC games working on my PC that I'm gonna throw in my machine. House of the Dead and House of the Dead 2 are both gun games but can still be playd with a trackball.

Tiger Woods 2002 is a great golf game and the swing with the mouse is very similar to Golden Tee (and I haven't had to use a keyboard for it).

Tomb Raider Chronicles plays with joys and buttons, but I haven't decided if I'm gonna keep it or not just cuz it's not my type of game.

The same goes for NHL 2002, but I haven't gotten into it yet. I have lots of friends that may want this one, though.

[Sprucemoose]

Alans17,
Thanks for the update.  I picked up the 2002 EA sports pack for $20 a couple months back and it has TigerWoods 02, Madden 02, NHL 02 and Fifa 02.  They all play very well on a cab, but I haven't been able to get 2 players working without a joystick.

[AlanS17]

Where di you get the Sports Pack? I just downloaded off of Kazaa.  

I'd rather have the original, though, if it's only $20.

[Sprucemoose]

I have seen the 4 pack of EA 2002 sports games at Best Buy, Circuit City, most gaming stores.  All for $19.99

[Frostillicus]

For all the Tron junkies around here I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Armagetron!!! http://armagetron.sourceforge.net

It's a 3D Tron Ripoff...
Kinda cool (I don't know how cab-worthy it is... it's been a while since I've played with it).
But it's full screen & you can remap most of the controls...

Try looking at the first page of the thread...

[slug54]

I've been playing The Hulk on my cab.
The controls are re-mapable but I think you still need enter which most people have and a trackball helps with the menus.
This is really not my type of game but I'm having a lot of fun picking up cars and smashing people with them and tossing people off of buildings.

Here is the link to the demo. Warning 166MB

 http://www.3dgamers.com/games/hulk/#filelist

The full version is $29 at best buy.

                           Slug

[MrBond]

Just a quicky I picked off of Mameworld:
Marble Insanity.  It isn't complete yet, but it looks like an awesome marble madness remake.
http://xiaou2.homestead.com/mscreens.html

By the way, they are looking for help if anyone is inclined.


Oh, in case anyone hasn't tried visual pinball/pinmame, I highly recommend it:
http://www.randydavis.com/vp/
http://www.pinmame.com/

Some visual pinball tables can run without vpinmame.  However, if you want to run actual historic pinball games, you need the vpinmame roms to project the scoreboard, sounds, missions...etc
I wasn't thinking of pinball emulation when I first read this thread, but it is software!

[armad1ll0]

Dude, it's all about The Typing of the Dead on your ArcadePC keyboard.... I just tried it and it's awesome!

[IIOIOOIOO]

Also, I've seen two GameStops with Typing of the Dead PC for $3.99. It's like a typing dream come... true?

[SirPoonga]

armagetron.  You can get a movie pack to make it look like the movie.

Tron 2.0, anyone try the demo yet?  how's the lightcycles?

[Isometric Bacon]

Found an awesome little fighting game for 1 to 4 players, fully mappable.

Check it out, it's called "Little Fighters 2"

http://www.littlefighter.com/



You can have about a bagillion fighters on screen at once, but it's just as fun (if not more) with one or two other fighters.

The game itself is pretty FE Friendly, as you can simply push ESC to quit at anytime... however it runs windowed, and I haven't been able to get it maximized. If your desktop is at 640 by 480 though, (which my cab is) it'd be fine.

The only one annoying major niggle, is that you HAVE to use the mouse for the intro screen.... but no where else in the game. So essentially it requires you to use the mouse for only one click... and the rest is FE friendly...

[WonderMellon]

I am not positive how cab friendly this is as I haven't built mine yet.  But one of the games I enjoy is an old Apogee game called Bio Menace.  Its an old side scroller.  I will see if I can find a screenshot.  I believe the keys are mappable or the game can be configured to use a joystick.  I only have the shareware version, which is the first mission, but that is a huge amount of levels.  Not sure if you can get the whole game anymore or not.  

This is an old Dos game though.  It will play on windows, but it won't recognize the soundcard in windows.

[Grasshopper]

I am not positive how cab friendly this is as I haven't built mine yet.  But one of the games I enjoy is an old Apogee game called Bio Menace.  Its an old side scroller.  I will see if I can find a screenshot.  I believe the keys are mappable or the game can be configured to use a joystick.  I only have the shareware version, which is the first mission, but that is a huge amount of levels.  Not sure if you can get the whole game anymore or not.  

This is an old Dos game though.  It will play on windows, but it won't recognize the soundcard in windows.

Yes I remember that game - very cool. I also liked the 2D Duke Nuken games and the Commander Keen series.

[Magnet_Eye]

FOR PAC-MAN FANS!!!

PacManWorld is kinda interesting game. New take on a classic!

check it out: http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=4487

 

[MrSaLTy]

Yes I remember that game - very cool. I also liked the 2D Duke Nuken games and the Commander Keen series.

Duke nukem was super fun... i think i still have that on floppy somewhere, I gotta see if i can find it. Don't know if it will run under xp but I think ill try.

[SirPoonga]

should try adn find commander keen software

[Justin]

The Mutant Storm game is awesome.  I had played this before, and it is in my cab.

The only game I like better than MS, is BattleGirl.  But this is only available for Mac, and I am not sure how this would work out on a cab  (controls are awkward)

I am telling you guys... I have played a ton of games, this one is in my top 5 list.  If you have access to a mac, you owe it to yourself to try this one out.
http://www.ultra-united.com/

[Odonadon]

Yes I remember that game - very cool. I also liked the 2D Duke Nuken games and the Commander Keen series.

Duke nukem was super fun... i think i still have that on floppy somewhere, I gotta see if i can find it. Don't know if it will run under xp but I think ill try.

Duke Nukem 2 was the sweet shizzle shiznit!

Odonadon

[Odonadon]

Well, after some digging around I managed to find myself a copy of Tyrian 2000.  Man that game rocks.  Anyone else remember that from 10 years or so ago?

It runs excellent on my cab (Win98SE, SB16 ISA) but very poorly in WinXP.  Seems to be some sort of timing issues, plus the sound fx don't work properly if you're using a PCI sound card.  Otherwise, go nuts!  

Odonadon

[EndTwist]

Anyone ever play "Skyroads"? I loved that game. It's now freeware from the company "bluemoon".

Try it, and try the X-mas special.

http://www.bluemoon.ee/history/skyroads/

[AUX]

There was a Windows port of Battle Girl too (not just Mac)

http://feral.co.uk/?game=bg&section=profile&language=english

Check out the demo. Its a really cool Robotron clone.

[Justin]

There was a Windows port of Battle Girl too (not just Mac)

http://feral.co.uk/?game=bg&section=profile&language=english

Check out the demo. Its a really cool Robotron clone.

OMG! I was not aware of this.   Download this NOW.  You will not be sorry.  

[SirPoonga]

Just found this, looks promising, haven;t tried it yet.
http://aoeu.snth.net/neverball/

[grafixmonkey]

Look up Beatmania.  It's a really fun pc game if you like Japanese & Korean music.  DDR-like, but you hit 5 piano keys and have a "record scratch" button, instead of stepping on squares.  You can download your own songs to play to, or find an editor and make your own beat sequence to a song you have.

I'd post a link if I had it, but I haven't looked it up for quite a while.

[SirPoonga]

If you have been reading mame.net beatmania is making its way into mame.

[grafixmonkey]

Really?  cool!  

I guess Beatmania is the original game, what I was thinking of is a prog called BM98, which I guess is a one-game-only emulator for beatmania.  It runs well on win95 and win98, but dunno about xp.

By the way, my friend who got me into beatmania showed me a newer version of BM98 called Mixwaver.   (there's a Mixwaver II out now too)  It plays all the same files, but runs better in winXP and has nicer features, like two turntable keys for lefties/righties, and is able to sort its song list by many different criteria.  The new one runs great on a cab, if you have buttons for the space bar and enter keys.

[BlackThorne]

Tyrian ! It has everything a shooter-fan wants and you can download it at www.the-underdogs.org . I only someone could tell me how to get sound working in windows and with a pci or onboard soundcard....

[str1der]

Haven't seen anything posted here in awhile. Anybody have anything new to add? I really wish Small Rocket would update some of their older stuff to run on XP.

[allroy1975]

I've got a friend here at work who swears this Rocket Jockey game is great and he plays it all the time on his Cab...

http://www.gamingbliss.com/games.php?gameid=rocketjockey

http://www.mobygames.com/game/trivia/gameId,1859/

Allroy

[SirPoonga]

I picked up the Combat remake.  Pretty good.  I still prefer Frogger, Frogger2, and Centipede remakes.

[SpamMe]

 Havn't gotten a chance to try it myself, but Dragon's Lair 3d apparently plays well with arcade controls. (info from GWPGearWorx).
Game Trailer: http://files.ausgamers.com:81/misc/trailers/dragonslair3d/dl3d2minutetrailer.zip
And it's like $8 or $9 from gamestop.com.

[Mr. Dude]

Alans17,
Thanks for the update.  I picked up the 2002 EA sports pack for $20 a couple months back and it has TigerWoods 02, Madden 02, NHL 02 and Fifa 02.  They all play very well on a cab, but I haven't been able to get 2 players working without a joystick.

Hi, I'm having the same problem with getting the two players to work.... but also I can't even get the first player to work correctly!  When ever I try and reconfig the controls most of them work but all the buttons that are mapped to a number, for instance 7 or 9, say that this key is reserved for another function?  How did you get past this problem?

[Isometric Bacon]

One game i've found that works surprisingly well is Duke Nukem - Manhattan Project.

For those of you who don't know, it's a modern return to the sidescroller roots of Duke Nukem, but it's 3D. (basically, 2.5D)

despite its 'decent' reviews, the main problem with it was that it wasn't suitable for modern gaming audiences who aren't interested in side scrollers, more 3D shooters. For us nostalgic folks who live the sidescrollers though, it's perfect. It also puts alot new cool situations into the genre, e.g. fighting a helicopter as it flies around the stage randomly attacking you.

This game just screams arcade cabinet, it's fast, it's addictive, there's lots of explosions and all bad one liners and destruction you'd expect from a Duke Nukem game. (Definately not one for the young kids...)

Might need a reasonable PC to run it though, as it isn't that old a game.



You can find a demo of it online if your interested,
http://www.dukenukemmp.com/

[Odonadon]

G-Type

http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=3841

Gradius/R-Type.  Ready for the  cab out of the box.

OD

[Minwah]

Don't think this has been mentioned: http://www.remakes.org

Awesome site

[chrisindfw]

http://dogfighter.uds.se/index2.html

Airfix Dogfighter. You are a model plane and you fly around the house shooting model tanks and such!

Pretty fun game. Short, sweet and to the point.

[reel]

ABA Games has made some good windows games.
I rate Noiz2sa, PARSEC47 and A7Xpg the highest.
The first two are shoot em ups and the third one is a game where you race around in a little square picking up objects and avoiding enemies.
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/

[Xiaou2]

http://blitz.idigicon.com/project_detailb.asp?ProjectName=Platypus

 An awesome 2d (but many many layers of parrallax scrolling)  side scrolling shooter.   The game is Ultra Hard... but really addictive.  (I recomend an autofire button setup!)

  The graphics are all done in claymation!  Its jawdroppingly beautiful.  (the snaps dont do it justice.. you have to see it in motion!)



 Great retro synth remade music from c64audio.com as well : )


 ... and another shooter called Demonstar2.  (like raiden)  

 www.mking.com



 They also have a tempest clone thats pretty awesome called juno nemesis.

[HaRuMaN]

I'm suprised nobody mentioned Scorched Earth...  I used to play that tank game all hours of the night.

http://www.classicgaming.com/scorch/

Anybody here ever played the banana-throwing gorilla game on qbasic back in the day?  That was a cool one too.

[Spaced Invader]

Don't think this has been mentioned: http://www.remakes.org

Awesome site

OH MY GOD!!!

...That site rules!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!  

[str1der]

Don't think this has been mentioned: http://www.remakes.org

Awesome site

OH MY GOD!!!

...That site rules!

Not that sites fault but one thing I found disturbing there was I clicked on the link to the AfterBurner game and that company also had a game called Taleban Attack that appeared to be a game where you try to fly a 747 into the WTC. I didn't want to download anything from there but the screen shots sure looked like it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!  

[SpamMe]

One game i've found that works surprisingly well is Duke Nukem - Manhattan Project.

Wow, thanks a lot for that one, good call. I just downloaded the demo, and I think it'll be great for my cab (demo was a lot of fun too). Reminds me a lot of Abuse. Looks like it's available for all of about $6-8 too

[Dariusz]

Hi,

Found this link that some people may like when building a cab. Hopfly decreasing the sise of windos (98/XP...) will decrease load time of the FE from boot.

http://www.litepc.com/

Dariusz

[Howard_Casto]

The light programs interfere with directx, usb support and directx in general.  They are a super bad idea.  

[papaschtroumpf]

The light programs interfere with directx, usb support and directx in general.  They are a super bad idea.  

I agree! I tried PC-Lite and another one (don't remember the name) and they either didn't do anything for load time/speed or they broke half the stuff on the PC.
Gave up, upgraded PC, now running XP and much better...

[IG-88]

Here is one called Alien Shooter that I think everyone will like:

http://www.bigfishgames.com/downloads/alien/index.html

Sweet soundtrack, pretty good graphics, nice (but short) demo and playable on my tabletop CP.  Plus they have some neat other games as well.

I'm buying it  

demo version is like 5.83 mb

[SirPoonga]

This is a long post, not sure if Scorched Earth was mentioned.  It's a DOS game that is now freeware.  I spent countless hours playing that game when I was a kid.

[Howard_Casto]

Something to note about these older pc games... Ironically your are going to have to run them emulated at this point.  Luckily the newest version of dosbox is a dramatic improvment.  I've yet to find a good "cabinet game" that it won't run in emulated dos mode.  

[SirPoonga]

I run scorched earth just fine on xp

[IG-88]

Do you have a good site to get that from SP? (Scorched Earth)

[Trenchbroom]

How is it that this one is not posted yet?

www.warblade.as

You like Galaga?  Try this.  If you were a European Amiga fan you might remember this one as "Deluxe Galaga" back in the early 1990's.    Now it's for the PC and better than ever.

Imagine Galaga with more power ups and a ton of easter eggs and you get the general idea.  I highly recommend it.

[Industen]

Get Medieval-

http://www.getmedieval.com/

A gauntlet clone with quirky character that can get on your nerves after awhile. Great game for people with 4 player cabs.

Duke Nukem: Balls of Steel

http://www.avault.com/pcrl/demo_temp.asp?game=bos

Excellent Pinball game with 5 unique tables with plenty to do on each. Give those flipper buttons a workout.

[dommer]

Wow, this thread rules.  Star Monkey is flat out amazing.  Better than anything I've seen in an arcade in years.

[IG-88]

Get Medieval-

http://www.game-revolution.com/download/pc/action/get_medieval.htm

A gauntlet clone with quirky character that can get on your nerves after awhile. Great game for people with 4 player cabs.

Duke Nukem: Balls of Steel

http://www.cdmag.com/articles/009/002/balls_steel_demo.html

Excellent Pinball game with 5 unique tables with plenty to do on each. Give those flipper buttons a workout.

I can't get either download site to open??

[dommer]

Don't know if anyone else was as addicted to this game as I was... 9th grade Assembly Language class... incompetent teacher, 2 hours of work and 4 days of Star Control 1 melee, with 2 people on 1 keyboard.  Well, enough reminiscing (if thats spelled right, if not, than enough of the word that looks like that), apparently the source for the 3DO version of Star Control 2 has been opened, and it's been ported to a number of different platforms, including *nix and Windows, Be(why? who knows), and I imagine you could probably compile it on OSX, but I'm not sure of that.  If you've never played it, the Melee version of the game is close to perfect for cabinets, all the keys are mappable, it runs @ 320x200, it's 2D space combat with something like 20 different types of ships, all with different weapons and special attacks.  All digital controls, very arcade-like gameplay.  Sort of like Street Fighter 2 in space.  Can't beat it.

http://sc2.sourceforge.net/

[Dr. Creep]

Don't know if anyone else was as addicted to this game as I was... 9th grade Assembly Language class... incompetent teacher, 2 hours of work and 4 days of Star Control 1 melee, with 2 people on 1 keyboard.  Well, enough reminiscing (if thats spelled right, if not, than enough of the word that looks like that), apparently the source for the 3DO version of Star Control 2 has been opened, and it's been ported to a number of different platforms, including *nix and Windows, Be(why? who knows), and I imagine you could probably compile it on OSX, but I'm not sure of that.  If you've never played it, the Melee version of the game is close to perfect for cabinets, all the keys are mappable, it runs @ 320x200, it's 2D space combat with something like 20 different types of ships, all with different weapons and special attacks.  All digital controls, very arcade-like gameplay.  Sort of like Street Fighter 2 in space.  Can't beat it.

http://sc2.sourceforge.net/

Total StarCon2 junkie here.  The melee combat subgame would be perfect for a cab.  I'm hoping the open source release means we'll see some cool additions, but as-is, its great.

Another recommendation is the original Grand Theft Auto - recently released as freeware by Rockstar.  

http://www.rockstargames.com/classics/

[str1der]

Not sure if this link was posted or not but check it out. All freeware no demos or shareware. There's some good software here.

http://www.gamehippo.com/

[SirPoonga]

Space Rampart
http://kombat.kajaani.net/


Scorched Earth
http://www.classicgaming.com/scorch/

[papaschtroumpf]

One game i've found that works surprisingly well is Duke Nukem - Manhattan Project.

For those of you who don't know, it's a modern return to the sidescroller roots of Duke Nukem, but it's 3D. (basically, 2.5D)

despite its 'decent' reviews, the main problem with it was that it wasn't suitable for modern gaming audiences who aren't interested in side scrollers, more 3D shooters. For us nostalgic folks who live the sidescrollers though, it's perfect. It also puts alot new cool situations into the genre, e.g. fighting a helicopter as it flies around the stage randomly attacking you.

This game just screams arcade cabinet, it's fast, it's addictive, there's lots of explosions and all bad one liners and destruction you'd expect from a Duke Nukem game. (Definately not one for the young kids...)

Might need a reasonable PC to run it though, as it isn't that old a game.



You can find a demo of it online if your interested,
http://www.dukenukemmp.com/

I found it for $1 in a bargain bin and it's awesome! perfect for an arcade cab, and I like the 3D look.
I agree, not for the younger crowd.

[Howard_Casto]

This thread is getting kinda cluttered.  Would anyone be willing to setup a website dedicated to this topic?  

Just something with a simple template/database that has:

Screenshot
The game's title
The game's "real" name (If it's a ripoff of a classic.)
A url
The type of software (XP, 9x, Dos, Web Game)
The Liscense (shareware, freeware, demo ect)
If the controls are remappable.
If a mouse is needed.

I'm not willing to make the site, but I would be willing to help fill out some of the data.  

Of course, a big established host would be nice that might have some bandwith reserved for "mirroring" to spare.  (Hint, Hint Saint )

Any takers?

[Magnet_Eye]

some nice games here:

http://www.gameover-games.com/games.html

 

more:

http://www.brothersoft.com/Games_Arcade.asp

[SaiNRuB]

I appreciate all the links everyone has contributed but would it be so nice to warn if the site has malicious poo ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- installing without consent.

I cant stand that crap hijacking my computer, makes me want to lose it.

Golden Palace Casino Must DIE!!!

[papaschtroumpf]

where can I get platypus? the link doesn't work and the pic is broken but I remember seeing it earlier and I liked the look of it.

[Serpent]

A kinda Monkey Ball clone for PC. It's called Hamsterball and it's only 8mbs. I've played it and it's perfect! I cannot remember a game so addictive since the Lemmings! Beautiful simple graphics, great circuits, perfect control and playability and lotsa fun! It's not and original idea but I'm glad that games like this are released for PC. I've heard it's been created by amateur programmers. Congratulations to them!

http://www.raptisoft.com/Hamsterball/index.shtml

[Tecil]

This is another good one to along the same lines.

http://icculus.org/neverball/

[Todd H]

Anybody able to get the old PC CD-ROM version of Tempest 2000 to work on their cab?  Does it support a spinner?  Problems with XP?

[Howard_Casto]

Ever played microsoft pinball arcade?  Ever wonder why they didn't make a sequel?  Well it's because this is the real team behind the project:

http://www.wildsnake.com/

Three tables (demos) for your enjoyment.  One based off of soccer stars, the wildy unique table that combines foozeball with pinball (2 player action!),  one made up table, based upon the classic pins of the 70's and one "video pinball" that looks like a cross between pinball and space invaders.

They are all pinball arcade quality.  As a matter of fact they have improved their physics engine since pinball arcade, making them the most realistic pinball simulations to date!

go get em now!

[SaiNRuB]

I found a modern tempest clone with sweet 3d candy.


Its shareware and its $15 and they tease you good but its fun while it lasts.


Juno Nemesis

[Mr. Dude]

Thanks for the link SainRuB!  Juno Nemesis is awesome, I bought the full $15 version and it's totally worth it IMO.

[SaiNRuB]

Hey no problem Mr. Dude.  


These two side scroller shmups are in development now but keep an eye for their official release. There is a playbel demo for Doves, Its very good.

Jets N Guns V2.0
Dovez

[nipsmg]

A kinda Monkey Ball clone for PC. It's called Hamsterball and it's only 8mbs. I've played it and it's perfect! I cannot remember a game so addictive since the Lemmings! Beautiful simple graphics, great circuits, perfect control and playability and lotsa fun! It's not and original idea but I'm glad that games like this are released for PC. I've heard it's been created by amateur programmers. Congratulations to them!

http://www.raptisoft.com/Hamsterball/index.shtml

For those who don't know (like I didn't)

Monkeyball is basically a marble madness clone.  

Hamsterball is a GREAT GREAT GREAT marble madness remake.  Replace the marble with a ball with a 3d hamster in it, it doesn't at all change the gameplay..

This game is GREAT. I played the demo, and bought the full version.  If you're a marble madness fan I can't recommend this enough.

[IG-88]

Hey no problem Mr. Dude.  


These two side scroller shmups are in development now but keep an eye for their official release. There is a playbel demo for Doves, Its very good.

Jets N Guns V2.0
Dovez

You'l have to keep us informed as to when that demo for jets & guns is released. Looks awesome!

By the way the dovez demo is freakin' huge! Dang near 97MB! Jeeze!

[Shieldwolf]

is there anyway to change the controls on tetris 4000

[KombatTuna]

Ermm.. for who doesnt know subspace yet.. an asteroid remake at the online sauce.. I wonder if it would play good with an arcade controller.. best way to know is try it I guess

http://www.subspacedownloads.com/

[IG-88]

Ermm.. for who doesnt know subspace yet.. an asteroid remake at the online sauce.. I wonder if it would play good with an arcade controller.. best way to know is try it I guess

http://www.subspacedownloads.com/

I guess I'm getting old and out of touch but what exactly is an "online sauce"......?

[JoyMonkey]

I guess I'm getting old and out of touch but what exactly is an "online sauce"......?

I'm thinking he means there's a tasty helping of online play options included. The site features an "online population graph". Deee-licious!

[KombatTuna]

Yea exactly people generally play it with the keyboard but ey.. its still based on asteroid D:

[betacrash]

I have not posted here in months.

A really good and FREE bust a move clone is Frozen Bubble. The graphics and sound are excellent. Very much arcade style.

http://www.frozen-bubble.org/

[KombatTuna]

Oh yea I got this one.. called icy tower, a kind of ice climbing remake on snes. Its simple but can be really adictive

http://www.freelunchdesign.com/games.shtml

[Howard_Casto]

I have not posted here in months.

A really good and FREE bust a move clone is Frozen Bubble. The graphics and sound are excellent. Very much arcade style.

http://www.frozen-bubble.org/

I appreciate the addition to the list, but this is a horrible game for cabinets.  

First off, although there is a fullscreen checkbox, you can't run it fullscreen.  (At least in the windows version, but that's probably the only version 99.9% of the poeple around here care about.)

Secondly, the font is very hard to read on an arcade monitor or tv.

Lastly and most importantly, the developers are very anti-mac os and very anti-microsoft.  I know this is just my opinion, but specifically saying not to use commerical software of any kind is going against capatalism.  Going against that is going against the american way.  Going against that is going against democracy.   Long story short, the price we pay for true freedom is that you are rewarded for hard work and rewarded less for less work. (For those of you who aren't following, democracy means you have to pay for stuff and get paid for doing stuff.)

The more I think about it, the more it angers me.  I'm uninstalling this particular one on principal.  Well that and the fact that it's like every other linux game..... a very poorly designed rip-off of a classic with annoying penguins replacing the main characters.  

[betacrash]

Ok. Well heres another http://www.hyperbowl.com Hyperbowl is a really good Arcade game if you use a trackball. I hope this game does not offend. I do believe that the people that make this game are fun loving democratic capitalists. There is also a limited version of this that comes with XP plus! The game costs 15.00 I have only played the XP Plus! version.

[Yander]

I don't know where to get them but there were to old games I remember. Overkill it was a vertical shooter and Kiloblaster wich was made by epic megagames. They were both pretty fun.


edit: get them here http://www.dosgamesarchive.com
they both were made by epicmegagames

[Grasshopper]

Lastly and most importantly, the developers are very anti-mac os and very anti-microsoft.  I know this is just my opinion, but specifically saying not to use commerical software of any kind is going against capatalism.  Going against that is going against the american way.  Going against that is going against democracy.   Long story short, the price we pay for true freedom is that you are rewarded for hard work and rewarded less for less work. (For those of you who aren't following, democracy means you have to pay for stuff and get paid for doing stuff.)

Eh? What ARE you talking about? I'm not sure what you mean by "The American Way". But I do know that Capitalism and Democracy are not the same thing. I suggest you look the terms up.

Personally I think people who promote and write open source software are admirable and should be supported.

[IG-88]

Oh God, Here we go. PLEASE don't turn this thread into some kind of political tirade. Everyone has different views, we all know that. Just keep this to the subject topic! Please! I was liking this thread!!!  

[Howard_Casto]

People who promote and and write open source software should be commended.  People who disrespect windows and mac os simply because you have to pay for them should be shot.  

If it wasn't for all of this cheap, easily available hardware that these commercial prodcuts made viable to build people wouldn't even have cheap computers to play with their precious free oses with.  Long story short windows (and to a lesser extent mac os) made the pc affordable and availalbe to the masses.  

Democracy and capitalism aren't the same things, but it's been proven that in practical applications you can't have one without the other.  That is unless you think everyone will work for free(or the exact same wage) and people will build things and give them away for free.  They sorta tried that once, it was called communism.  

[Justin]

* Justin disgusted.  Unsubscribes from this thread.  

[Howard_Casto]

ahem

changing the subject gracefully

this is very interesting although it's still not finished

http://www.parkproductions.btinternet.co.uk/robocop.htm

too bad you can't redefine the keys yet

[papaschtroumpf]

Duke Nukem Manhattan Project is on sale for $4.90 at gogamer.com.
Works very well in a cab, see review earlier in this thread.

[MrBond]

This thread is getting kinda cluttered.  Would anyone be willing to setup a website dedicated to this topic?  

Just something with a simple template/database that has:

Screenshot
The game's title
The game's "real" name (If it's a ripoff of a classic.)
A url
The type of software (XP, 9x, Dos, Web Game)
The Liscense (shareware, freeware, demo ect)
If the controls are remappable.
If a mouse is needed.

I'm not willing to make the site, but I would be willing to help fill out some of the data.  

Of course, a big established host would be nice that might have some bandwith reserved for "mirroring" to spare.  (Hint, Hint Saint )

Any takers?

I second this notion- anyone have the webspace available?

[Matt, GoC]

I have some cool games that are free that I will post links to as soon as I remember their names.  If anyone can find the game "Mystic Arts", get it!  I think it's free but I'm not sure.  But since so many are pointing to abandonware, I don't think it matters...
In Mystic Arts, you control this cute little girl who beats the crap outta werewolves and skeletons and such.  What's fun is you can see the whole screen and can bounce the enemies off the sides and juggle them for a long time.  Kinda short but very fun.  I'll try and post more later.

[TimO]

I just got finished making my site http://www.TimOProductions.com and I have made the requested section with all these games listed along with links, screenshots, and other stuff. This site has a lot more stuff too. Check it out, and if you have any questions or anything you would like to say to me you can contact me through the site. Thank you guys for the great idea for making that section.

[Matt, GoC]

I just got finished making my site http://www.TimOProductions.com and I have made the requested section with all these games listed along with links, screenshots, and other stuff.

Umm, I get a not found error  

[TimO]

I just got finished making my site http://www.TimOProductions.com and I have made the requested section with all these games listed along with links, screenshots, and other stuff.

Umm, I get a not found error  

oh really?   Sorry about that. Maybe try, http://www.timoproductions.com/arcade/pcarcadegames.html that should work

[EndTwist]

Wow! Awesome! Finally an organized place for all the games submitted.

[Sprucemoose]

TimO, thanks for hosting that site.  It looks awsome!

[str1der]

Thanks Tim that's great. I've posted this site before but I thought I'd do so again. They have a bunch of new games and these games will work great on the Build Your Own Megatouch that I'm working on.


www.bigfishgames.com

[papaschtroumpf]

great site! thanks for doing this.

[Justin]

What can I say?  EXCELLENT work.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!   Will try one of these every weekend  


BTW, anyone reading this, do yourself a favor and download MUTANT STORM.  One of the best arcade games I have ever played.  And I have played a ton!

[TimO]

Oh wow, I had no idea everyone liked that section that much! lol   I just hope you guys are looking at the rest of the site too!... well ... whats up so far anyway.  And don't be afraid to email me some more games to stick up there in that section. At the rate I'm adding new games, (I added 8 new ones just yesterday!) I'm thinking I might need to do one of two things. Organize them into types of games, or just make "page 2" of the games.

Oh and justin, I think you should try one out everyday! If you do it every weekend, you wont catch up!!  

[SaiNRuB]

TimO, thank you for adding a arcade software section on your site. From the looks of it already it will be a great resource when you complete it.


I just played the demo for Ballance. The demo is one level of the game, and controls are customizable. It is a ball puzzle platform game in the spirit of marble madness. Only drawback I see is not being able to use up/down to enter your name in the highscores. I give the demo a 5 out of 5 but i dont know when the US will get it. Its already released in Great Britain and Germany by the looks of the developers homepage.

http://www.ballance.org/news.htm

[Magnet_Eye]

dont know if it was mentioned, but here is a site that has all kinds of arcade typr games, with info, screenshots, etc!

http://www.arcade-game-download.com/

check out the Pac-Man 3D Shooter!  

[ErikRuud]

Think Tanks is Cool!

Thanks Slug54 for posting it.

www.garagegames.com

www.planetthinktanks.com

[Shieldwolf]

LOL i WAS GOING TO MENTION TINY TANKS.
I know the guys who made that game

[ErikRuud]

I assume you are referring to the Playstation game 'Tiny Tank'.

I thought that the tanks in Think Tanks remended me of the Boppers in the old MicroGame 'Rivets'.  Tiny Tank looks even more like a Bopper.

[bdsjake]

I see the slikstik forums have similar thread:

http://forums.slikstik.com/index.php?showtopic=256

from there I found Alien Shooter which looks interesting:

http://www.bigfishgames.com/downloads/alien/

Also, Kev are Retroblast pointed to a Halflife 2d game available for free:

http://www.steampowered.com/index.php?area=news&id=108483195775389600

ok, here's the question, maybe I need a new thread, don't know:  but seems like both of these games, and probably others, while cool, are hard to play on standard mame cab.  You really need a keyboard and mouse.  Perhaps if you had a trackball and tron type stick with trigger and two bottons, maybe.  The aiming in these games requires a mouse (or maybe trackball) to play the game properly.  Same with Zuma Deluxe that my wife loves.
http://www.gamezone.com/gamesell/p23389.htm

Anyway, has anyone figured out how to play these on mame cab?  

thanks,

[SaiNRuB]

Check it out....its Space Taxi 2!

Space Taxi 2

Joystick support
Keys remappable


Its pretty fun, just like on the ole Commodore 64 back in the day.

[Howard_Casto]

A quick note to TimO:

I wanted to put your site through it's paces so I did.  Many of the sites links are invalid. Why? Because you are allowing indirect linking to demos.  By that I mean you don't give a link to the homepage of the company, instead you give a link to the bulk downloads area of a game demo site.  Unfortunately game demo sites only keep demos online for about a month or so and then  they are gone.  

The safe bet is to link to the company/game's homepage.  Not a link to the file directly, but just the front page.  Those rarely change.  

Keep up the good work....  

HAC

Edit:

Something that's also of note is that your "needs trackball" status is completely off.  

For example, ball of steel has a completely mouse driven interface, not only that but you can't use keys to navigate either.  So obviously it does require a trackball to be played on an arcade cabinet.  Many of the other games are similar, e.g. they do indeed have remappable controls, but the keys to navigate through the menu to start the game are hard-coded, therefore the keys aren't remappable for all intenvise purposes.  

I'm not trying to rag on ya, I'm just offering some suggestions.  

[TimO]

A quick note to TimO:

I wanted to put your site through it's paces so I did.  Many of the sites links are invalid. Why? Because you are allowing indirect linking to demos.  By that I mean you don't give a link to the homepage of the company, instead you give a link to the bulk downloads area of a game demo site.  Unfortunately game demo sites only keep demos online for about a month or so and then  they are gone.  

The safe bet is to link to the company/game's homepage.  Not a link to the file directly, but just the front page.  Those rarely change.  

Keep up the good work....  

HAC

Edit:

Something that's also of note is that your "needs trackball" status is completely off.  

For example, ball of steel has a completely mouse driven interface, not only that but you can't use keys to navigate either.  So obviously it does require a trackball to be played on an arcade cabinet.  Many of the other games are similar, e.g. they do indeed have remappable controls, but the keys to navigate through the menu to start the game are hard-coded, therefore the keys aren't remappable for all intenvise purposes.  

I'm not trying to rag on ya, I'm just offering some suggestions.  

I'll fix the links sometime this weekend. I had no idea that it worked that way or that the sites did that, so thanks.  

Also, on the trackball comment... A lot of the games work that way. When I say "Trackball Needed" I'm reffering to the actual game play, not the interface. I thought that people would catch on. So I'm left with two choices, 1) note every game as a "trackball/mouse needed" which seems pointless or 2) I'll put a note on the top of the page that says "the below statistics for each game reffer to the actual game play itself, not the interface."


Also, I'm never on this board. So if you have a suggestion for the site, or a game that you would like to submit to the site. Please email me or IM me on AIM. You can get it at http://www.timoproductions.com
Thank you.

[Howard_Casto]

I disagree.... saying that a trackball is needed for every game is far more useful.  You see, the whole idea is we want games you can actually play on an arcade cabinet..... not everbody has a trackball so all games that need more than your stock controls need to be noted.  If that requries a new field then that's fine, but nothing is more frustrating than downloading a game only to find out it won't work on your setup.  That was kind of the whole point of this thread, although the point seems to be lost to a lot of people, who post games that have no chance of being playable on a mame cab.  

[Muttley]

Dunno if this has come up already, but Gish looks like it'll work pretty well on a cab (not in a position to try it yet), but will need a trackball for some menu screens:

http://www.chroniclogic.com/index.htm?gish.htm

Great little physics based 2D scroller/puzzle game.

Muttley

[SirPoonga]

Moonbase Commander form infogames.  Turn based strategy that just uses mouse control.

http://www.moonbasecommander.com/

[vputz]

Haven't tried it on my cab because it's a Windows game and my cab/HTPC is Linux-based, but "Dr. Blob's Organism" by Digital Eel and Cheapass Games would probably be a great candidate.  

Like Tempest, really, except that the gun stays fixed and the "tunnel" (in this case, a petri dish with a mutating cellular blob) is rotatable.  Instead of critters crawling up a tunnel, the blob grows (using an algorithm like Conway's Life) as you chip away at its edges.  Interesting powerups and a pretty frantic pace.  They have a demo at http://digital-eel.com/organism/files.htm.  Retail game is $10.

-->VPutz

[ErikRuud]

"Dr. Blob's Organism" looks pretty good, but the demo crashes my Win2k laptop when I exit the game.

[vputz]

"Dr. Blob's Organism" looks pretty good, but the demo crashes my Win2k laptop when I exit the game.


Weeeeird.  Never noticed any problem on XP.  You should write Digital Eel and whup 'em.

Nice seeing Mike the TV getting work as your avatar, BTW (grin)

-->VPutz

[rchadd]

Anyone know if the PC version of Worms playable on a cab without using a keyboard?

[Brax]

Has anyone mentioned Scorched Earth yet?

http://www.classicgaming.com/scorch/

I used to play this thing every day at lunch during work. What a simple and utterly competitive game!

Not sure if controls are remappable for a cabinet though, but what a great game.

[cbmeeks]

http://signaldev.com/pub/sotb.zip

HEHEHEHE.

Not a full game but a cheesy demo I did in Blitz Basic.  Would LOVE to see what it looked like running an a MAME box.

Someone run it and take some pics!!!   LMAO

-cb

[mlcampbe]

Anyone every tried Neverball and/or Neverputt from http://www.icculus.org/neverball/ with a mame cabinet?

It looks pretty cool and is very adicting at least to me. I don't know if it works with a joystick though.

[danny_galaga]

noticed mention of Armagetron earler in these posts. sounds great. I tried to download from various sources but no luck. am i not holding my tongue right or is it not available anymore? doesnt seem to pop up on winmx either...

[IG-88]

I think you can get it from this site:

http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/armagetron/armagetron-windows-0.2.5.2.exe?use_mirror=optusnet

seems to work for me  

[danny_galaga]

ok, im a doofus. every place i try and download it from says 'this file appears to be a web page, possibly an error message'. what gives? why cant it just be a normal file like anything else? why is life so hard? if a tree falls in the forest, could anyone give a @^%$&^%#?

[IG-88]

If you want I can try and email it to you. It's like a 1.2 mb file tho. Let me know.

[danny_galaga]

If you want I can try and email it to you. It's like a 1.2 mb file tho. Let me know.

sure. i cant seem to get it any other way... email:

blah

this has a few meg spare. thanks for your help!

[Hamselv]

Has anyone tried the 3D fighter game called BioFreaks? Somehow I think that game would be great on a cab.

I remember playing it on Win98, but I haven't been able to make it work properly in XP (something about OpenGL/Glide).

*EDIT*
Ok, so I didn't know that the game was actually an arcade game from Midway....

Supposedly it is not even all that good, but I must say I kinda liked it on the PC. Has anyone tried the MAME'd version, if it is fully functional yet?

[Lilwolf]

btw, biofreaks selling super cheap on
http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/cgi-bin/buy/online-item_id-B00005C7O1-search_type-Used-searchus.html

a few bucks... might be worth it.

edit - Never Mind - That was the playstation version.. (epsxe?)

[SirPoonga]

http://www.geocities.com/wolronweb/Pitfall.html

[Generic Eric]

Nothing new to add, but has any tried that game Jets & Guns?

AWSOME side scrolling shooter.  I hope the development hasn't stopped.  I have almost beat level one.  79% completed.  Very cool.  If anyone knows of another game like this, let me know.

[Chris]

Oh yea I got this one.. called icy tower, a kind of ice climbing remake on snes. Its simple but can be really adictive

http://www.freelunchdesign.com/games.shtml

I have Happyland Adventures, from the same site, on my cab.  The only problems it has in a cab are that it requires a keyboard for high score entry, and you can't load custom maps without a mouse.  Other than that, it's cab friendly.

[Howard_Casto]

Has anyone tried the 3D fighter game called BioFreaks? Somehow I think that game would be great on a cab.

The top three worst fighters of all time:

3.  Tattooed Assassins

2.  War Gods

1.  Bio Freaks

This isn't just my opinon, but the opinon of virtually every gaming magazine out there.  There is bad, and then there is Bio Freaks.  

[grumble]

Sega Virtual Tennis is really fun and feels like an arcade game (you can remap controls, etc)

I remembered playing a virtual pool game in high school (probably about 94) that would be perfect on the cabinet. I've seen lots of modern virtual pool games but I haven't found one yet that isn't a buggy piece of crap. Anybody know of a good one?

I forget the name but I picked up one of those ultimate Mahjongg(sp?) games at Wally-World for $5.00 and it's a lot of fun to play with the trackball.

[Generic Eric]

Nothing new to add, but has any tried that game Jets & Guns?

AWSOME side scrolling shooter.  I hope the development hasn't stopped.  I have almost beat level one.  79% completed.  Very cool.  If anyone knows of another game like this, let me know.

I sent the programmers of Jets and Guns an email asking about the progress.  There should be a full release in November, if memory serves.  Geez this is an awsome game.  FINALLY GOT to the Boss level (99)%.  What a fun game.  If you haven't tried it yet, its worth the download!

[MrBond]

Has anyone mentioned Scorched Earth yet?

http://www.classicgaming.com/scorch/

I used to play this thing every day at lunch during work. What a simple and utterly competitive game!

Not sure if controls are remappable for a cabinet though, but what a great game.

Just for kicks, try Scorched 3d, the new 3d remake of the original scorched earth!  It even has online play!  I wish the original had online capabilities.  (and yeah, it was mentioned, but I know some don't read the whole topic)
http://scorched3d.sourceforge.net/

[Felsir]

I found a really weird 'shooter' game. It's called "every extend"...
http://nagoya.cool.ne.jp/o_mega/product/e2.html The site is in japanese, the download is a .lzh file (you might need winrar to unpack it). The game is in english tho.
Once you get past the japanse website barrier you're in for a very fun (and new) game.

I've been playing this game the last three hours and I think I'm hooked...

You control a small 'ship' on the playfield, and cubes slowly float into the screen. You can blow yourself up to create an explosion that make the cubes explode. The exploding cubes generate another explosion and you cause a chain reaction. This extends the time you can play. You get a new 'ship' and the fun start over. You may not touch the cubes or the lasers that some cubes shoot. There are also some powerups thrown in for good measure.

[SpamMe]

Ooh, every extend is really nice. Shame you can't remap that z button (but that's a wrapper thing, right?), and that the game asks if you want to run it full screen every time you start it up instead of reading from an ini.

[Martoon]

Nothing new to add, but has any tried that game Jets & Guns?

Ya gotta love a character named "Erecta Von Hamburger"  

[Bgnome]

I disagree.... saying that a trackball is needed for every game is far more useful.  You see, the whole idea is we want games you can actually play on an arcade cabinet..... not everbody has a trackball so all games that need more than your stock controls need to be noted.  If that requries a new field then that's fine, but nothing is more frustrating than downloading a game only to find out it won't work on your setup.  That was kind of the whole point of this thread, although the point seems to be lost to a lot of people, who post games that have no chance of being playable on a mame cab.  

personally, i am interested in which games CAN be played with a mouse/trackball..  ive got a few games, but it is hard to tell which schmups support the trackball without having to download and try all of them..

[Mr. Dude]

I just tried the PC version of Crazy Taxi out on my cab and it works pretty good.  It has remappable controls and doesn't require the use of a mouse, for those who don't have a trackball installed.  

[Howard_Casto]

Yeah but you really can't play crazy taxi without analog controls.  


I don't think you guys really got my statment.  Wheather or not the MENUS need a trackball or hardcoded are important things to know, while what the game itself uses are less important unless they are hardcoded.  

Just like my Dogg Hunt game I just finished..... it requires a trackball or lightgun, but it isn't fun to play without those anyway.

[str1der]

Yeah but you really can't play crazy taxi without analog controls.  


I don't think you guys really got my statment.  Wheather or not the MENUS need a trackball or hardcoded are important things to know, while what the game itself uses are less important unless they are hardcoded.  

Just like my Dogg Hunt game I just finished..... it requires a trackball or lightgun, but it isn't fun to play without those anyway.

I'm not sure about Crazy Taxi but Simpson's Road Rage controls great on my cabinet. I thought they were pretty similar. My son has a blast with it.

[Mr. Dude]

Yeah but you really can't play crazy taxi without analog controls.  


I don't think you guys really got my statment.  Wheather or not the MENUS need a trackball or hardcoded are important things to know, while what the game itself uses are less important unless they are hardcoded.  

Just like my Dogg Hunt game I just finished..... it requires a trackball or lightgun, but it isn't fun to play without those anyway.

 , sorry I don't catch your drift Howard.  Crazy Taxi plays awesome on my cabinet with a regular 8 way joystick.  Are sure you've played the PC Version?  I use the joystick up to go forward, back for breaks and left and right for steering.  You only need two buttons during gameplay as well which is another great feature, one to put the car in drive and another to put the car in reverse.  It does require a start button as well during the main menu and all the controls are completely remappable, so once again I highly recommend this game for play on a cabinet.        

p.s. You're right Str1der Crazy Taxi and the Simpsons Road Rage are very similar.

[Howard_Casto]

Well, technically you can, but it ruins the experience and is far less fun to play.  Just like technically you can play analog console games on a mame cabinet, but it just feels horrible.  

[str1der]

Well, technically you can, but it ruins the experience and is far less fun to play.  Just like technically you can play analog console games on a mame cabinet, but it just feels horrible.  

I guess I'm a little confused. It's been 10 years since I last had an analog controller on my PC. So how would I be playing these PC games with one?

[math0ne]

Check this one out... pretty good fighter... configurable controls etc... fun stuff...




http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=4782

Download at the above link... its freeware by the way...

[papaschtroumpf]

looks great! compatible with MAME style controls

[papaschtroumpf]

A  recent thread about what non-mame stuff people have on their cabinet, led to a conversation with my wife, who said she wanted puzzle games (I curerntly have all of the MAME puzzle games filtered out).

In addition to the MAME ones (some of them will still get filtered out becasue they suck), she requested Bejewled from popcap games. It turns out that if you have a trackball if works well on a cabinet.

I then looked for aditional puzzle games on the PC for m cab.

Alchemy from popcap game works well with a trackball too (it was on the same free after rebates CD that I got Bejewled on).

- "Tower of the Ancients" from Small Rockets works with just a joystick and buttons, although you need to have both Space and Enter keys mapped.  Demo available from the small rockets web page. Works fine on XP despite the initial warning, which is often not the case for older Small Rockets products.

[CGRemakes]

I don't think this one has been posted, but this is a great freeware vertical shooter that plays great on cabs.  It has a very arcade feel to it.

http://www2.tky.3web.ne.jp/~yosshin/my_works/CH010912.EXE

(picture is from GameHippo)

[Mr. Dude]

Hey math0ne,
That game looks sooo sweet!!!  I downloaded the file though and I can't seem to get it to work.  I get all kinds of error messages when I unzip it and the when I click on the EXE to play it... it runs fine up till the main menu and then gives me more errors and escapes out of the game!  If you can give any word of advise I'd appreciate it, I really want to play this game.  

[CGRemakes]

Hey math0ne,
That game looks sooo sweet!!!  I downloaded the file though and I can't seem to get it to work.  I get all kinds of error messages when I unzip it and the when I click on the EXE to play it... it runs fine up till the main menu and then gives me more errors and escapes out of the game!  If you can give any word of advise I'd appreciate it, I really want to play this game.  

I have the same problem.  All the docs are in Japanese, so I couldn't figure it out either.

[skim36]

I have Descent:Freespace...haven't tried it yet...

[IG-88]

I have Descent:Freespace...haven't tried it yet...

Wouldn't have a link to Descent would ya?

[papaschtroumpf]

I have Descent:Freespace...haven't tried it yet...

Wouldn't have a link to Descent would ya?

Demo here: http://www.game-revolution.com/download/pc/action/freespace.htm
Just a few bucks on ebay...

I have it somewhwre, never thought of putting it on the cab, I thought it required a mouse, maybe I'll dig it out...

[math0ne]

Hey math0ne,
That game looks sooo sweet!!!  I downloaded the file though and I can't seem to get it to work.  I get all kinds of error messages when I unzip it and the when I click on the EXE to play it... it runs fine up till the main menu and then gives me more errors and escapes out of the game!  If you can give any word of advise I'd appreciate it, I really want to play this game.  

I have the same problem.  All the docs are in Japanese, so I couldn't figure it out either.

Hmm i'm not sure why you would get those errors.  I've played it on my laptop and my cab computer (although for some reason on the TV-OUT of my cab computer it is slightly slow).  Both of the computers are windows XP computer if that makes any differnce.

I think theres a thread on the underdogs website discussing the game and some of the errors people were getting.  Might be worth checking out.

Great fighter though, if your into that kind of thing.

[papaschtroumpf]

I got it working with no problems either.

[Mr. Dude]

I tried it on 2 win 98 machines, maybe it doesn't work well with win 98?  I'll check the site again and see if I can get any info.

[Rabe]

http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=3542 Gal Pani X, similar to the arcade Gal Panic games. A great Qix clone with anime graphics. standard Japanese key-layout (z,x and arrowkeys), not configurable, no mouse needed.


Shooters Solitude and Warning Forever. Shooters Solitude: A vertical shmup, uses fighter-game-esque button combinations for powerups. Japanese key-layout. Keys configurable, no mouse needed.
Warning Forever:  Nice looking vertical shmup, fight endless bosses which adapt to your style of fighting. Japanese key-layout, not configurable, no mouse needed. Both available as freeware at http://www18.big.or.jp/~hikoza/Prod/

From the people that made Torus Trooper (which was mentioned in another thread recently): Tumiki Fighters (horizontal shmup, kill your enemies and stick them to your own ship), Rrootage (vertical shmup using five different styles of shmup-mechanics stolen from other games, one of the best) , PARSEC47, Noiz2sa, A7Xpg are all vertical shmups. They are all fullscreen, and I think it's safe to say all have the Japanese key-layout, are not configurable and do not use a mouse (it's been a while since I've played most). All freeware, downloadable here: http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/index_e.html

- Rachid

[IG-88]

I disagree.... saying that a trackball is needed for every game is far more useful.  You see, the whole idea is we want games you can actually play on an arcade cabinet..... not everbody has a trackball so all games that need more than your stock controls need to be noted.  If that requries a new field then that's fine, but nothing is more frustrating than downloading a game only to find out it won't work on your setup.  That was kind of the whole point of this thread, although the point seems to be lost to a lot of people, who post games that have no chance of being playable on a mame cab.  

Great games I'm sure, but as the infamous Howard has said.......

[papaschtroumpf]

Hey Rabe, Thanks for the update, I'll check those out. Free is a very good price.

[papaschtroumpf]

I just got my X-Arcade newsletter and they have a few pointers that are probably worth exploring:

independent games 2004 winners: http://www.gametunnel.com/html/section-11.html
and retrogames 2004 winners: http://www.retroremakes.com/comp2004/results.php

[telengard]

I just got my X-Arcade newsletter and they have a few pointers that are probably worth exploring:

independent games 2004 winners: http://www.gametunnel.com/html/section-11.html
and retrogames 2004 winners: http://www.retroremakes.com/comp2004/results.php

Very cool.  If only someone would adapt "Geometry Wars" to the PC so I can play it in the cab.  That game would be soooooo great to play with 2 real joysticks.  Oh well.     

[SpamMe]

Just saw that Gish was mentioned a page ago. The game (including multiplayer modes) works great with a joystick/button setup, but the game menu system either required a full keyboard, gamepad, or mouse. The ChronicLogic folks were nice enough to provide a modified .exe that makes the menu system more cabinet friendly as well (menu works with up/down/enter instead), so if anybody needs it, send me a PM or something.

[elvis]

GamesKnoppix:

http://games-knoppix.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/

Burn the image to a CD, pop it in your drive and boot from it.

Some games are quite arcadey, others are better on a PC with a keyboard and mouse. 

[DreamWeb]

Lose your marbles by SegaSoft.  Now Freeware/abandonware?

You can download it here.

http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=2538

It's still one of my favourite puzzle games of all time.

You do not need a mouse to run this one... but, unfortunately, the keys are not configurable.  Still worth a look!

d.

[papaschtroumpf]

what keys are needed?

[DreamWeb]

Lose Your Marbles

1 player
Arrow Keys, Enter, Space, ESC

2 Player
1 player controls + A, S, D, W (directions), l-CTRL

You can also set one of the players to be a mouse (trackball?)

Just played another round of it.. GREAT fun.  Has network (not internet) support as well.

d.

[DreamWeb]

Excuse the newbiness of this question.. but..

IS there some kind of program you can use to change the settings for your keyboard encoder upon entering a game that uses different keyboard buttons than, say, mame does?  That would allow for games with non-standard keyboard configurations to work on a cab?  Is something like this even possible?  Am I explaining myself ok here?

d.

[papaschtroumpf]

some hardware keyboard encoders (between your CP and your panel) allow you to do that.
iPAC for example does and even has support built in some front end like mamewah
I use a KeyWiz and for all intents and purposes it doesn't because it takes a long time (30s or more) to change they keyboard config when yourtun it from XP.


If you're asking about dynamicaly remapping the keyboard in windows XP for example, I'm not aware of any programs to do that, but as long as the game doesn't crash, it would actually be a pretty generic solution.

EDIT: I know how to change the winodws mapping but it requires a reboot to take effect instead of being on the fly, which is not what's needed there.  it's a actually a pretty good idea. If nothing exists maybe it could be written using the windows keyboard hooks and acting as a "wrapper": capture a key before it gets to the application, translate it and inject it back in the windows message queue. I may look into writing something like that, but not for a while, too busy atm.

[IG-88]

I may look into writing something like that, but not for a while, too busy atm.

I'd BUY that from you.

[DreamWeb]

A couple of very similar games.  Both of which would be very cab friendly.  (the second would require a trackball for the menu though)

How about this one?

Turbo Sliders (shareware)
http://www.jollygoodgames.com/turbosliders/

And this...

Gene Rally (free!!!)  I highly suggest checking this one out.  A trackball is required to navigate the menus though.
http://generally.cjb.net/

[Mr. Dude]

Sweet... GeneRally is one of the coolest games I've played lately.  This game is so addictive, thanks Dream Web!!!

[DreamWeb]

I agree with you.  I'm EXTREMELY addicted to the game.  Be sure to download some great car packs and new tracks.  The stock tracks are ok... but, wow... some of the third party tracks are truly exceptional.

http://georgm.ge.funpic.de/tom/mainresults.php

Be sure to download the tracks from this website..  they are the hall of fame inductees and are all well worth your time to check out.

d.

[IG-88]

I agree with you.

[DreamWeb]

I'm still going through them..  Lots of really terrific ones, but none that I'd call a favourite yet!

d.

[DreamWeb]

I think this would make a great sticky thread, no?  It would also help to remind people to add their latest 'finds' to the list!

d.

[papaschtroumpf]

It is stickied in the second sticky in this forum. Not obvious for people that don;t know it's there, I agree.

[papaschtroumpf]

Jets N Guns has been released (I think it's mentionned in this thread from when it was just a demo)
Get a demo here: http://jng.rakeingrass.com/

I have been playing it a bit on my regular comp and I use the mouse a lot in the menus/configuration screens, so I'm not sure you can do without a trackball on this one.
This game is hard!

[DreamWeb]

Hey guys.. !  I'm trying to get Alien Shooter working on my cab.. and it plays fine.. but I think it would be much better if I could use both of my joysticks to play this more like Robotron plays as opposed to using my trackball to aim where I'm shooting.

I see that there is a configuration file that allows for the config of your keys and buttons.. but it doesn't state anywhere HOW (or if you can) set up anything for firing other than a mouse (trackball)

Thanks guys!

d.

[IG-88]

Email the people/person who programmed the game. I'll bet someone at Big Fish games could point you in the right direction. They're a pretty good bunch over there.

[DreamWeb]

Done!  Thanks for the suggestion.

I'll let you know if I hear back.

D.

[Timstuff]

Dang, that 3D lightcycles game is crazy fun.

[DreamWeb]

I heard back regarding Alien Shooter (and my request to allow for more Robotron like controls)

"Dear Valued Customer,

This game is not enabled for use with anything but a keyboard and a mouse. Here is the list of controls for Alien Shooter:"

So.. it's a no go.  Too bad.

But, hey.. I'm a "valued customer"!!!  Did you hear that Shrek?? She called me a steed.

d.

[MrSaLTy]

The jets N guns game is friggin cool.... the graphics are really sweet.  It is a pretty hard game but loads of fun.  I think with a trackball it could be cab usable.

[DreamWeb]

I don't think has been mentioned yet..  But.. if you have a trackball installed on your CP, you should look at installing ScummVM.

It emulates old (and some not so old) LucasArts (and others) adventure games.

I love playing those things on my Cab!

d.

[papaschtroumpf]

I don't think has been mentioned yet..  But.. if you have a trackball installed on your CP, you should look at installing ScummVM.

It emulates old (and some not so old) LucasArts (and others) adventure games.

I love playing those things on my Cab!

d.

Not what I want to play on my cab, but to each is own. Thanks for pointing ScummVM out.

[markb]

As I promised to dreamweb in another thread here is a list (+links) to some of the other games I play (or used to play) on my cab and forgive me if any of them have been posted before:-

Got a spare webcam and can mount it in your cab? then try these Eyetoy like games
http://syfi.co.uk/downloads-index.skk?type_id=1&category_id=1
Good novelty value however they require decent lighting. Playing a shoot-em-up waving your arms in the air can be taxing as well.

If you fancy a game with a bit more longevity I suggest 'Simpsons - Hit and Run' which my wife is currently addicted to. It requires about 10-12 buttons to play however most of these are views/options etc. Obviously this is not free but can be picked up fairly cheap on eBay.

Here is a link to an excellent shareware golf game:-
http://www.chrysler.com/games/world_tour_golf.html.

For a good little racing game that can be played on low end PC's as well try 'Legoracers' again available on eBay for very cheap and is fun with 2 players.

Another free game is Little Fighter available from the following address:-
http://www.littlefighter.com/
Quite a good fighting game and is playable on low end PC's with multiple players.

[KenToad]

Pardon me if someone mentioned this already, but definitely Atomic Bomberman.  It supports up to ten people on one frenzied playfield.  Four friends and I had a blast with this one last weekend.  Unfortunately, the sixth person had to leave, so no six-person bomber-fest, yet.  I also really enjoy the SuperNES versions of bomberman, but you're limited to four or five players, the game seems slower and uses four buttons instead of the two that are needed for Atomic Bomberman.  Super NES versions are good for nostalgia purposes, though.  I learned about this game (also known as Bomberman 95) from a German friend who said he played it all the time with his grad student buddies.  This is one of the few games I've noticed that can draw all ages.  It's simple without insulting the older folk's intelligence.

One drawback for cab play is that only two players can use the keyboard and you pretty much need the escape button for exiting (I think you can use the gamepads instead of the "enter button" for setting up the game).  Also, there are some great sounds and animations of trapped players digging their own graves, holding up signs a la Wil E. Coyote (sp?).  Give it a go, probably can find your backup copy online somewhere, 50 megs or so.

Cheers,
KenToad

[SirPoonga]

There might be some possibilities here.
http://bomberman.games-here.com/

[Generic Eric]

I just had a blast with this game
http://www.jollygoodgames.com/plasmaworm/download.htm
Plasma worm from jolly good games.  Its like a phscyadellic version of nibbler

[Frosty]

If you've got a trackball, any version of Worms (Worms World Party in this picture) is great to play on a cabinet (its turn-based game play is perfect for a cab).

[DreamWeb]

Yes.  I definitely agree.  I have Worms World Party installed on my machine as well.  Great fun.


Does anyone have a decent (virtual) pool game installed?  I'd think it would be pretty nice on a cab.

d.

[DreamWeb]

I just found this one.   A 3d marble madness remake..  That, visually, is quite nice looking!!  The camera angles are pretty darn interesting, and the leves are reamkes of the arcade version.

I did find a couple of bugs though.. but, I'll let you decide on those for yourself.

http://www.lucaelia.com/games.php

[tonyarcade]

The Star Monkey game looks cool...Also intrigued by "Art Is Dead," another game option by smae company...

[SirPoonga]

Was watching Icons on G4.  A game i played sometime ago came up, it should work for an arcade even though it isn't really an arcade like game
Grim Fandango.  Great adventure game.  It is controlled only by keyboard so is "should" be arcade compatible.   I don't recall if the keys are remappable though.

[namedos]

It has been mentioned before but I've had an absolute blast playing Tiger Woods 2004 on my cabinet.  Bought it a week ago at CompUSA for $10.  Hundreds of user made courses on the web.  I always enjoyed Golden Tee but the graphics and the controls in my opinion are significantly better on Tiger Woods.

Obviously you need a track ball but playing it in front of a 27" monitor about two feet from your face is much more interactive than playing on a desktop PC.

[daveg2000]

I just found this one.

[DreamWeb]

SirPoonga,

I tried installing Grim Fandango on my cab as well... (I have all the Scumm games on there.. which work like a charm)..   But I found that it needed too many buttons (not-remappable) to really make it worthwhile.

In the end, it just didn't work out.

d.

[SirPoonga]

yeah, I figured.  It needs a bunch of buttons that aren't config.  But if you want to blast your keyboard encoder with the right config it could be interesting.

[BobbyG66]

I just found this one.

[Chris]

It has been mentioned before but I've had an absolute blast playing Tiger Woods 2004 on my cabinet.

[papaschtroumpf]

The high scores  belong to XX13Z for most PC games on my cab 

XXX is a close second
whereas ZZ33 rarely plays, sho she is pretty low in most rankings

[DreamWeb]

The high scores  belong to XX13Z for most PC games on my cab 

XXX is a close second
whereas ZZ33 rarely plays, sho she is pretty low in most rankings

Gold.

[D5A1AC]

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but I use www.abandonia.net for abandonware retro classics. I have been checkign up on this site every now and then for the last 2 years

[MrTroy]

There should REALLY be a compiled list of games that work really well on Arcade Cabinets. That's constantly being updated or something

[SQrL]

the MAIN new game on my cab for me and all my friends has been "Trackmania Sunrise"...... all I can say is if you don't know what it is... OMG RUN TO GOOGLE NOW and download the demo... its a MUST BUY TOO!  the track making community for it is insaine too! 

 

[saint]

If you'll send it to me, and they don't object, I can host the file for anyone to download...

--- saint

Just saw that Gish was mentioned a page ago. The game (including multiplayer modes) works great with a joystick/button setup, but the game menu system either required a full keyboard, gamepad, or mouse. The ChronicLogic folks were nice enough to provide a modified .exe that makes the menu system more cabinet friendly as well (menu works with up/down/enter instead), so if anybody needs it, send me a PM or something.

[papaschtroumpf]

the MAIN new game on my cab for me and all my friends has been "Trackmania Sunrise"...... all I can say is if you don't know what it is... OMG RUN TO GOOGLE NOW and download the demo... its a MUST BUY TOO!  the track making community for it is insaine too! 

 

what kind of controls do you need for this game? not obvious from the web site.

[papaschtroumpf]

My wife wanted more puzzle games on my cab so I went out and bought several pf popcap's games (www.popcap.com).
They all play well on a cab if you have a mouse (you may have to enter a player name with a keyboad the first time you run the game).
They have free versions but those bring up browser windows to advertize their other games, so in the end you're probably better off paying for them. They're pretty cheap but if you want a bunch they do add up.

[Goz]

the MAIN new game on my cab for me and all my friends has been "Trackmania Sunrise"...... all I can say is if you don't know what it is... OMG RUN TO GOOGLE NOW and download the demo... its a MUST BUY TOO!  the track making community for it is insaine too! 

 

what kind of controls do you need for this game? not obvious from the web site.

Controls fine with joy. Not great controls, but work

up = accelerate
down = brake
left = left
right = right

You can select tracks, etc with mouse.

It is a pretty nice game, I havent tried user created tracks yet, but will.

-Goz

[Howard_Casto]

Since the last reply still wasn't clear enough, the controls are completely re-mappable to both a wheel/analog stick or regular keyboard keys. 

I must say I LOVE this game, however it's not fun unless you use some sort of analog device for control as it's a true arcade racer. 

[SQrL]

I use Left & Right on my 8-way arcade stick.  And I remapped gas, break, ect to buttons.  Its a blast and very easy to play WITHOUT analog controls (It was made to be played using the arrow keys on your keyboard).  Its more of a tap, tap, tap stearing "adjustment" game rather than ever so slight turning around corners (via analog steering). 

[SQrL]

Get all the latest TrackMania Sunrise community maps here:
http://sunrise.tm-exchange.com/

[Howard_Casto]

I use Left & Right on my 8-way arcade stick.

[Jollyrob]

old dos action puzzler, now abandonware

D/Generation, great game, i used to love it back in the haydays of PC gaming...circa 1991

http://www.gamingdepot.com/g/D_Generation

[ViriiGuy]

I am thinking the NFS games will be pretty sweet with my Driving CP Module,
When I buidl it that is

[Paradigm1969]

I saw a post for a game called "Ballance" from - SaiNRuB

What a relaxing yet challenging game.

10/10 for me - ballance.org

I just wanted bump this up...

[muttonchop]

Although the pc very is really shoddy/buggy "sonic adventure dx" plays prettty nicely on a cab.  Only uses a few buttons really.  Its a shame its so buggy tho =(

[SithMaster]

I think the commander keen series is worthy-though not sure if freeware-
the first series has three parts that can be downloaded from certain sites

[papaschtroumpf]

one MAJOR bad thing about Trackmania Sunrise is that it requires you to have the CD in the drive. I couldn't find a no-CD patch and it doesn't work with emulated CDROMS like Daemon Tools. Very very inconvenient for a cabinet.

[papaschtroumpf]

How is it that this one is not posted yet?

www.warblade.as

You like Galaga?  Try this.  If you were a European Amiga fan you might remember this one as "Deluxe Galaga" back in the early 1990's.    Now it's for the PC and better than ever.

Imagine Galaga with more power ups and a ton of easter eggs and you get the general idea.  I highly recommend it.

Warblade is awesome but it has one annoying feature for a cab:

it has the ability to build up profiles, meaning that as you play the game it remembers how well you did and make some things easier (for example after a while you start with double shot and $1000 cash).
Unfortunately profiles *must* be password protected and you can't just start a profile from the command line.
I would prefer to be able able to always automatically use the same profile, since I'm basically the only user on my cab playing that game.
The author of the game has unfortunately resisted that change so far.

[SQrL]

one MAJOR bad thing about Trackmania Sunrise is that it requires you to have the CD in the drive. I couldn't find a no-CD patch and it doesn't work with emulated CDROMS like Daemon Tools. Very very inconvenient for a cabinet.

Trackmania Sunrise uses the latest StarForce copy protection.

[Zook]

if you like it psychodelic try spheres of chaos a rather funky asteroid clone and ideal on a cab played in the dark with monitor brightness turned way up!

[SirPoonga]

Turbo Sliders now has AI players.

[SirPoonga]

requires a mouse/tball
http://www.binaryzoo.com/games/mono/index.htm

Check out all the games are binaryzoo.

[jimjim]

I just downloaded Lexor- It is a horizontal Puzz Loop/Zuma game.  You can use a spinner so I would say that it is cab friendly whereas Zuma is not.  (Zuma is still a fun game, just not for a cab.)

I also saw the Feeding Frenzy game in the arcades.  I think that Ultracade made it.  So I tried it on my cab and it works great with a trackball.  I think the reason I liked it is because it plays different and there isn't really any other games that are similar to it.

Hamster ball, which has been mentioned before, is awesome.  Obviously, it is a Marble Madness inspired game, but I actually like it better.

Midway is coming out with a bundle of arcade classics for the pc this month.  It is the arcade classics 2 and 3 that have already come out for the consoles.  You get 2 for the price of one.  Most are in Mame already, but I don't know how well the racing games like Hydro Thunder and SF Rush run in Mame.  I also don't know if they are re mappable for a cab.  Also some of the games are supposed to be multi-player.   All for 20 bucks, definitely worth a look.

[papaschtroumpf]

A number of games at Reflective Arcade (www.reflexive.com)  are suitable for a cab, althogh a lot of them would need a trackball.
Try before you buy though, some of the games are not worth the money.

A new favorite for my kids is "feeding frenzy".

That's also where you'll find platipus, already mentionned in this thread.


EDIT: in fact other software mentionned in this thread is available on this site, even software that I have purchased through other sources (directly from the developer) , like Warblade.

Edit again: All games come with a built in 1 hour trial


Also, there seems to be both a reflexive.net and reflexive.com, I'm not sure what the difference is between the two. It's obviously the same company but I'm not convinced the mix of games is the same between the two.

[chris2922]

Another World / Out of this World is a great game for DOS or Windows cabs.  You just need to find the right version - but they are both out there if you look.  I found both this week, though the DOS version is harder to find.

I use the DOS version and it requires NO extra button mapping.  Its also one of the best and most atmospheric games ive played - though i admit, nostalgia may be be playing its part there.

Also, DOS users should consider Doom.  A bit of remapping in the game and you can play it with an 8 way joystick and 4 buttons.  Ive completed it on my cab.

Ive left a floppy drive flush with the front of my cab and use boot discs to load the games as it runs ArcadeOS usually.  Simple but effective.

More dos games!!!

[DreamWeb]

Here's a new one.

It's a remake of the XBOX Live Arcade version of Geometry Wars.

It's called GRID WARS.

Right now it supports dual analog, mouse (trackball), or keyboard (Robotron style action).

I'm going to email him and ask for support for Mouse (trackball) and Keyboard together.  Then you could move with the trackball... and fire with a joystick.

From what I understand, it's currently under constant development.  Looks promising!

http://www.incitti.com/Blitz/

Dave

[SirPoonga]

http://phackett.com/rumblebox/
keyboard only controls, so it "should" be cbinet friendly, but I don't think you can remap the controls.  It's addictive.

[Howard_Casto]

Just a Friendly Reminder... Lego Star Wars 2 is out!!!

[AUX]

Another download link for Grid Wars - also some strategy tips...
http://worldofstuart.excellentcontent.com/grid/wars.htm

Here's a new one.

It's a remake of the XBOX Live Arcade version of Geometry Wars.

It's called GRID WARS.

Right now it supports dual analog, mouse (trackball), or keyboard (Robotron style action).

I'm going to email him and ask for support for Mouse (trackball) and Keyboard together.  Then you could move with the trackball... and fire with a joystick.

From what I understand, it's currently under constant development.  Looks promising!

http://www.incitti.com/Blitz/

Dave

[IG-88]

Here is a cool site that I got a DK clone called Champ Kong, from. It has all the original levels plus some extras I guess. (haven't made that far yet ) It's configurable so should work on a cab OK. I'ts DOS but runs on my W2K machine just fine. Might work in XP 

http://www.champ-em.com/kong.htm

[Konrad]

Just found this old post:

Warblade is awesome but it has one annoying feature for a cab:

it has the ability to build up profiles, meaning that as you play the game it remembers how well you did and make some things easier (for example after a while you start with double shot and $1000 cash).
Unfortunately profiles *must* be password protected and you can't just start a profile from the command line.
I would prefer to be able able to always automatically use the same profile, since I'm basically the only user on my cab playing that game.
The author of the game has unfortunately resisted that change so far.

Well, I rather like the "original", DeluxeGalaga for the Amiga. Warblade is an remake of it from the same author. DeluxeGalaga doesn't have these annoying "features" you mentioned .
http://hol.abime.net/5399/screenshot

[sphetr2]

SUPER MARIO WAR! Lots of sprites, over 1000 user-created maps, many game modes, and 4 players! I can't stop playing this game.

[Akuma]

To revive a cool-idea-topic, I would like to post a link for Alien Rampage

http://abandonia.com/en/games/852/Alien+Rampage.html

[Guywiththegun]

I HIGHLY recommend "The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King" especially for fans of the movie series. Perfect for a cab, and fun arcade style gameplay. Not to mention the awesome music from the films, voice-acting, and movie clips. The only downside is you have to watch the clips your first time playing . . no skipping. But its worth it.

Its a game I can see myself drooling over in an arcade at it been released as a cab a decade or so ago.

[shardian]

SUPER MARIO WAR! Lots of sprites, over 1000 user-created maps, many game modes, and 4 players! I can't stop playing this game.

That is pretty darn neat.

[AE35]

What would be REALLY nice is if the PC games used 'insert coins' etc...instead of those PC-like menus

That's what I need...otherwise it would take me totally out of the experience. Therefore I'm not putting them
on my cab.

Nicholas

[IG-88]

I HIGHLY recommend "The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King" especially for fans of the movie series. Perfect for a cab, and fun arcade style gameplay. Not to mention the awesome music from the films, voice-acting, and movie clips. The only downside is you have to watch the clips your first time playing . . no skipping. But its worth it.

Its a game I can see myself drooling over in an arcade at it been released as a cab a decade or so ago.

Are the keys remappable? How many buttons & J-sticks would it take to play it?

[Guywiththegun]

Are the keys remappable? How many buttons & J-sticks would it take to play it?

Yep, keys are remappable. That's the first thing I make sure to check, along with "playable without mouse." (Nothing annoys me more than a perfect game for an arcade ruined because you need a mouse for the stupid menus . . I'm looking in your direction NBA Live '08).

As for buttons and joysticks. 1 joystick for each player, no mouse-look or anything like that, the camera is automatic. I mostly use about 2 or 3 buttons though there are more for combos and stuff like that. Off hand I think its . . Normal attack, strong attack, death-blow (an enemy is on the ground and you stab it in the heart). There is also a button you hold down for projectile weapons, and an "action" button for setting catapults off and climbing ladders. I think thats it. So . . 5 buttons in all.

WELL worth it for the 10 bucks you'd probably get it for today. A quick No-CD fix and you're off. 

While I'm here, I'd also reccomend Spiderman: Friend or Foe. Same as above applies, 1 joystick (automatic camera), and a few buttons for everything else . . 2 player co-op play, etc.

[Howard_Casto]

I can't agree with those reccomendations.  Both of those games require ANALOG joysticks to play.  Sure you technically can play them with a digital joystick, but you can technically play mario 64 with a joystick as well, it'd just suck that way. 

[IG-88]

I can't agree with those reccomendations.  Both of those games require ANALOG joysticks to play.  Sure you technically can play them with a digital joystick, but you can technically play mario 64 with a joystick as well, it'd just suck that way. 

Just curious, but why do you think that way?

[Gehrig]

I played LOTR with a switch joystick.  It actually works really well.  I can't play N64 without an analog stick.  Most of the games are horrible with a regular 8 way.   I do recommend LOTR though.

[gatordad]

Trackmaina is simply addictive, Turn based play, and mappable controls.

Thanks for the headsup on a cool game.

Episode 1 Star Wars Racer for pc  and
The old MS game "motorcross madness" is fun and plays well on my cab.

I am going to dig up my old version of mechwarrior and give that a try soon, just got to find it.

[Arcade Freak]

hi folks,

are these games are played thru mame 32...or some other emu. i am looking for a FE that would be able to play all thoses games with as little effort as possible as my kids and wife love this cocktail table.

cheers,
claude

[gonzo90017]

No. They are all pc games.

[Gehrig]

Just tried Winter Sports 2008.  Wow... very good game on my cabinet.  No analog controls needed.  Simple controls, plus keeps high scores.  Need a decent system to run it well though.

Oops.. don't have the links to that full game since you need to purchase it.  Here is the demo though..

http://www.pixelrage.ro/downloads/RTL-Winter-Sports-2008-Demo-3208.html

[papaschtroumpf]

I just added Stopple to my cab, simple to learn but good on your brain

http://www.boiledsweets.com/Stopple/

[MazzMn]

hi folks,

are these games are played thru mame 32...or some other emu. i am looking for a FE that would be able to play all thoses games with as little effort as possible as my kids and wife love this cocktail table.

cheers,
claude

I am using a frontend called GameLauncher. It can be set up to start many normal PC games besides MAME and other emulator games.
http://www.dribin.org/dave/game_launcher/

[MazzMn]

I found a great R-Type vertical shmup style game called ChoRenSha. It is freeware and works great on my cabinet, no mouse required.
ChoRenSha
Found here: http://www2.tky.3web.ne.jp/%7Eyosshin/my_works/
Reviewed here:
http://www.pcgaming.ws/viewgame.php?game=chorensha_68k

[Thurman]

Just a reminder to check out Gametunnel's 2007 independent games of the year: http://www.gametunnel.com/articles.php?id=661

Knytt Stories is a pretty good side-scroller and has an active forum with newly developed levels.

[DeLuSioNal29]

hi folks,

are these games are played thru mame 32...or some other emu. i am looking for a FE that would be able to play all thoses games with as little effort as possible as my kids and wife love this cocktail table.

cheers,
claude

I am using a frontend called GameLauncher. It can be set up to start many normal PC games besides MAME and other emulator games.
http://www.dribin.org/dave/game_launcher/

Maximus Arcade cam also launch PC games by using batch files.  www.maximusarcade.com
See it in action here: (and I recommend a game called Hamsterball - Trackball game similar to Marble madness)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7OHMU9qUuk[/youtube]

[MazzMn]

Just a reminder to check out Gametunnel's 2007 independent games of the year: http://www.gametunnel.com/articles.php?id=661

Knytt Stories is a pretty good side-scroller and has an active forum with newly developed levels.

Looks like it has alot of defined keys....yIs there a way to customize the keys ?

[MazzMn]

Just a reminder to check out Gametunnel's 2007 independent games of the year: http://www.gametunnel.com/articles.php?id=661

FWIW, if you sign up for the newsletter at GameTunnel, they send you a code for 10% off the games downloadable from their site.

[Goz]

 Reflexive Arcades WW2 Pacific Heroes plays well on a cab. ESC key and mouse / trackball and you're in business.

[Sammie]

this is a REALLY COOL IDEA.

I thought I would take this to the next level.

As of 3-1-2008 this is a complete list of all the links in this article that still work.

I tried to find the home page for all these links so if there were more games on that particular site everyone could find them.

I hope this helps everyone!


http://www.devolution.com/~slouken/Maelstrom/binary.html

http://www.smallrockets.com/general/free.htm

http://armagetronad.net/downloads.php

http://sourceforge.net/projects/stepmania/

http://www.garagegames.com/demos/browse/game/

http://www.retrogames.com/

http://www.classic-game-remakes.com/

http://scorch.classicgaming.gamespy.com/

http://www.dosgamesarchive.com/

http://deluxesolutions.com/products/ps/index.html

http://www.bitmap-brothers.co.uk/features/xenon2000/index.htm

http://www.reflexive.com/

http://home.netfront.net/~marti/LittleFighter2/dn_1.html

http://www.bluemoon.ee/history/skyroads/

http://feralinteractive.com/?game=bg&section=profile&language=english

http://www.mobygames.com/game/rocket-jockey/trivia

http://www.dukenukemmp.com/

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/

http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/12/alienshooter/index.html

http://www.warblade.as/index.asp

http://www.rockstargames.com/

http://www.gamehippo.com/

http://kombat.kajaani.net/

http://www.raptisoft.com/

http://icculus.org/neverball/

http://www.wildsnake.com/

http://jng.rakeingrass.com/

http://www.dovez.de/

http://www.subspacedownloads.com/

http://www.frozen-bubble.org/

http://www.freelunchdesign.com/

http://www.hyperbowl.com/

http://www.parkproductions.btinternet.co.uk/

http://www.ballance.org/download.htm

http://www.arcade-game-download.com/

http://pc.gamezone.com/gamesell/pro0000.htm

http://www.gamershell.com/news/13305.html

http://www.chroniclogic.com/index.htm?gish.htm

http://www.atari.com/us/

http://www.digital-eel.com/organism/files.htm

http://www.geocities.com/wolronweb/Pitfall.html

http://nagoya.cool.ne.jp/o_mega/product/e2.html

http://www.gamerevolution.com/oldsite/download/pc/action/freespace.htm

http://www18.big.or.jp/~hikoza/Prod/

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/index_e.html

http://www.gametunnel.com/

http://www.retroremakes.com/comp2004/results.php

http://www.jollygoodgames.com/

http://generally.cjb.net/

http://tom.rscsites.org/mainresults.php

http://www.chrysler.com/games/world_tour_golf.html

http://bomberman.games-here.com/

http://www.lucaelia.com/games.php

http://www.gamingdepot.com/

http://www.binaryzoo.com/games/index.htm

http://www.incitti.com/Blitz/

http://www.phackett.com/rumblebox/

http://worldofstuart.excellentcontent.com/grid/wars.htm

http://www.champ-em.com/kong.htm

http://smw.72dpiarmy.com/

http://abandonia.com/

http://www.pixelrage.ro/downloads/

http://www.boiledsweets.com/Stopple/

http://www2.tky.3web.ne.jp/%7Eyosshin/my_works/

http://www.pcgaming.ws/viewgame.php?game=chorensha_68k

http://www.gametunnel.com/articles.php?id=661

[MazzMn]

this is a REALLY COOL IDEA.

I thought I would take this to the next level.

As of 3-1-2008 this is a complete list of all the links in this article that still work.

I tried to find the home page for all these links so if there were more games on that particular site everyone could find them.

I hope this helps everyone!

Thanks Sammy, this is much better than weeding through all the posts.
I wonder if we can take this even further and put this information on the BYOAC Wiki then we could organize it a bit more.
Someone started a list of Cab friendly software on the wiki here:
http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Cabfriendly_games
And the most useful page for me seems to be this page which includes a table of actual games
http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Indie_Games

While the list of places to get software is great, it would be even better to know if the games work without a mouse/keyboard (ie can work on my cabinet), and are fun!

I added a few I've tried to the wiki, but need more input on specific games.

I wonder if it would be ok/good to create a new page on the wiki with basically this "list of sources for pretty cool software"?

[MazzMn]

Saw this one recommended in the Software forum

Horizontal 2D scrolling 'shoot em up' ala rtype

http://xout.blackened-interactive.com/ProtoType.html

[MazzMn]

This looks to be a good source for games

http://www.shmup-dev.com/forum/index.php

[Goz]

I didn't see this one listed here

Taurus Trooper kinda a tempest variation pretty cool... techno sound track

[headkaze]

There is a nice list of games we have going over at the GameEx site here.

[Sammie]

I found this link today.

pretty cool if you like retro games for you cabinets


http://mamedev.org/roms/

[IG-88]

Tried the Star Fire games. They lack sound    which seems strange....

[Sammie]

not all of them are soundless

but they are fun.

side trac was really cool to play

[kingdomkz]

I just wanted to add two others because i didn't see them posted in the master list:

www.acid-play.com (Mainly 2D games, but this site is updated a lot)

www.caiman.us (Lots of 3D games and several different types of games)

[zombie_arcades]

Are these games legal? I see a lot of Mario, Sonic, Simpsons etc rip offs. Surely these cannot be legal?

[MazzMn]

Saint posted this on BYOAC the other day
Bloxs and Organisms seem to work with arcades and I must say the Organisms game is unique and fun
 
Free Games! Digital Eel Wants You To Play With Their Bloxs, Blobs, and Worms!
http://www.shrapnelgames.com/freegames2.htm

    PRESS RELEASE News Release For Immediate Release

    Digital Eel Wants You To Play With Their Bloxs, Blobs, and Worms!

    Three Digital Eel Classic Titles Available For Free!

    Hampstead, NC, 23 April 2008

    Many years ago, at the dawning of the new century, a trio of industry veterans gathered together to form the ultimate independent triumvirate. Under the name Digital Eel they plotted to storm the digital world with games of wit, ingenuity, creativity, and a healthy dose of good ol' fashioned fun. Deep in the bowels of their sprawling Seattle Gamecommand (actual size may vary) they hammered away at the furnaces, carefully crafting their first game.

    In 2001 Digital Eel unveiled the fruit of their labor and the world met Plasmaworm. Now, in 2008, Digital Eel is making it available (along with two other classics from their award-winning library of titles) to gamers everywhere for FREE!
    ...[Rest of press release snipped]...

    Plasmaworm is the fiendishly addictive arcade game of weird worms eating random probability eidolons in a tank of otherspatial plasma. Wait, what happens where? Fret not, it's a fairly straightforward game that can be enjoyed by gamers young and old alike.

    Big Box of Blox can best be summed up as Tetris on acid. So crank up some Floyd and challenge yourself to game modes such as Flaming Peelout, Blok Atak, Groink, Mushroom King and Asylum Cubez. Enjoy mind-blowing visuals as only Digital Eel delivers as you smash and squish boxes with six different game variants, special blox, ten levels of difficulty while bopping along with eight far out music tracks.

    Are you a gamer sick of blowing away Nazis, terrorists, and aliens? Ever think there has to be something else to shoot at? Does Digital Eel have the game for you...

    Dr. Blob's Organism, winner in not one, but two, IGF categories (2004 IGF Innovation In Audio and Innovation in Visual Art), is a game about shooting one-celled organisms in a petri dish. Think of it like the old arcade game Tempest, only with much squishier targets.

[MazzMn]

Here is a pretty good list of games, including R-Type and Grand Theft Auto 1&2.

Can anyone tell us if any of these games can be customized for arcade controls?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_commercial_games_released_as_freeware

[ideft]

Not sure if this game has been mentioned yet, but I thought it was pretty cool.

Ether vapor

[Loafmeister]

That looks like a pretty sweet shooter, thanks for the info!

[DeLuSioNal29]

The Plasmaworm link has been updated:

http://www.digital-eel.com/plasmaworm/demo.htm

The link below the demo is the full version.