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Major havoc marquee11/1/2023 So this was the challenge that Johnny had. You’d try to either source the original wheels, or get a 1:1 reproduction made. You wouldn’t put a set of modern alloy wheels onto an original 1952 Chevrolet Deluxe car you were restoring. Any restorer will tell you if one of those parts isn’t right, it will stand out like a sore thumb. I guess there’s two main elements to reproducing a classic arcade machine: The woodworking side of things, and the myriad of component parts not just the PCB and monitor, but also the artwork, the metal frames, bezels, marquee retainers, controls, buttons and wiring looms. So when he decided to build an arcade machine as an exact replica of the original from some 30 years ago, he had some confidence going into the project. His roster of cabs include Tron, Front Line, Asteroids, Asteroids Deluxe, Track & Field, Tutankan, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Robotron, Space Duel, Gravitar, Star Wars and Space Invaders. He has now amassed 34 machines, ranging from color raster, color vector and black and white games. Johnny has been collecting arcade games for about 17 years. Out of all the collectible games, this has always been my “grail” game. I love the play of the game and the unique shape of the cab. I have always wanted to add Major Havoc to my color vector collection. Here’s a gameplay video which gives a good outline of the game’s objectives: The game itself is a combination of a shoot-em-up and maze style, where the player takes on the role of Major Rex Havoc himself, travelling around a galaxy sabotaging reactors hidden deep inside space stations. Soon after its release, conversion kits were created, that allowed operators to convert other Atari Vector titles, using the native hardware and controls (it’s not unusual to see a Tempest converted to Major Havoc). Released in very limited numbers as a dedicated cabinet in 1983, this complex game created by Owen Rubin is regarded as being for the hardcore gamer and collector. Atari’s elusive Major Havoc is the cabinet he always wanted. There’s no doubt that the thrill of the chase is a large part of what we do in pursuit of owning the perfect collection of arcade machines.īut if the urge to own one of these elusive cabinets is just too much, what do you do? Faced with climbing prices and collectors holding onto these gems, some enthusiasts have taken matters into their own hands.Ī fellow collector from the USA, Johnny Gallegos, did just that. Would that kill some of the mystique and adventure of this hobby? Maybe. If I suddenly owned all of the aforementioned cabs, I’d likely struggle to identify another grail. I think there’s a bit of reverse psychology here too. Most of us would love to own those cabinets, but the reality is that they so rarely turn up, either waiting to be found or out there for sale, that we will most likely never own one, let alone be able to afford the asking price. Thinking off the top of my head here: Environmental Discs of Tron, Sundance and Quantum would all fall into that category for the majority of collectors. There are also some arcade games that are generally regarded as “Unobtainium” for most arcade enthusiasts. It might be the one you played as a kid, or just a very rare machine that always seems just out of reach either in terms of its scarcity, or cost (usually both in my case). You have a shield that can get you past an enemy but there is only one per station.In arcade collecting circles, the “holy grail” is that one cab. You now have a limited time to make your way back to your ship and escape. Following the direction of the red arrows, make your way to the reactor and touch it. After you have breached the defenses, you must guide your ship left and right to successfully land on the stations landing pad. You can only move left and right and fire. You can shoot a wall out of your way, however, this requires lots of shots and you are constantly moving forward. After that, you travel up through the maze, the walls of which are deadly to the touch. You can shoot the drones to prevent them from completing some walls. In later levels, this defense is a maze of energy walls. In the first couple levels, these are just drones you must shoot out of your way. You begin the game in your ship, fighting through a space stations defenses. This game is part space shooter and part platformer. You need to set the reactors of these stations to destruct. While the Empire has largely decayed, their robot-controlled space stations still keep humanity enslaved. "All from one, one from all, fighting for humanity." Long ago, the Vaxxian Empire overran the galaxy and enslaved most of humanity. You are Major Havoc, a clone and leader of a band of clones.
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