Video Game Mania 4: The Games

Video Game Mania consists of two types of events: Multi-player and single-player. Multiplayer games were played in single-elimination tournaments that I organized. Single-player games were scattered around the room, open for all to play as many times as they wanted. The two highest scores of each single-player games was recorded at 4:30. The players with the eight highest scores are seeded for the playoff round.

Scoring:
Multiplayer game, 1st place: 4 points
Multiplayer game, 2nd place: 2 points
Single-player game, 1st place: 3 points
Single-player game, 2nd place: 1 point

The Multi-player Games

Burnout 2 (Crash Mode) (GameCube - 2003)
This insanely fun game challenges you to drive a car into a crowded intersection and cause as much destruction as possible. Each player got three turns. Since the gameplay was not really head-to-head, George argued that this should have been considered a single-player game. He may have been right about that. Oh well.
1st place: Mike Brockel 14,887,616
2nd place: Joe Carpenter 13,101,864

Soul Calibur 2 (XBox - 2003)
This 3D one-on-one fighter features spectacular graphics and some very hot babes. And the crotch still burns!
1st place: Keith Lacey
2nd place: Greg Sunderland

Quake III Arena (Dreamcast - 2000)
I made a special effort to provide keyboards and mice for this first-person shooter, but that wasn't enough to satisfy several PC snobs in attendance, who whined incessantly about the control scheme and refused to even compete because of it! This isn't the Olympics here - just play the freakin' game ladies!
1st place: Keith Lacey
2nd place: Shawn Peterson

Madden 2004/Madden 2003 (Playstation 2 - 2003)
I had two televisions set up for this popular event, since it was the most time-consuming, even with one-quarter games. Steve Newcomb made brash statements about cleaning up in this event, but he was able to back up the trash talk by ripping opponents to shreds using his beloved Raider team.
1st place: Steve Newcomb
2nd place: Mike Fleming

Ice Hockey (Atari 2600 - 1981)
Believe it or not, this was by FAR the most popular multiplayer game, with some of the most exciting and competitive games of the day. While some were clearly sketical about this Atari 2600 title, Ice Hockey made old-school believers out of everyone!
1st place: Steve Newcomb
2nd place: Keith Lacey

Mario Kart Double Dash (GameCube - 2003)
Mario Kart is a classic game series, and the newest edition certainly lives up to its legacy. We barely had time to squeeze this event in, but Scott Zimmerman, a long-time Mario Kart veteran, left his competition in the dust.
1st place: Scott Zimmerman
2nd place: Keith Lacey

Unfortunately, time constraints did not allow us to play Super Bomberman (SNES), or Poy Poy (Playstation), two excellent four-player games. I feel the need to apologize to Steve See and Don Fuller who certainly would have kicked ass in these events. I'll be sure to schedule these two earlier next year.

The Single-player Games

Centipede (Arcade - 1980)
This full sized arcade game took in a ton of quarters, and newcomer Joe Whitehair stunned the competition by recording several impressive high scores.
1st place: Joe Whitehair 33,811
2nd place: Steve Newcomb 30,923

Tapper (Arcade - 198?)
Note that this arcade game is the original Budwieser version of Tapper, not one of those lame Root Beer conversions. Steve and Scott dominated this one, owning ALL top 10 scores (five apiece!). Together, Tapper and Centipede managed to pull in $38.50 in quarters this afternoon, which translates to 154 plays.
1st place: Steve Newcomb 53,675
2nd place: Scott Zimmerman 53,300

BurgerTime (Colecovision - 1984)
This oldie is hard as hell, especially since I made forced everyone to play it on skill level 3, which is insanely difficult. There is still a bone of contention concerning if indeed Joe Carpenter was actually playing skill level 3 when achieved that incredible score.
1st place: Joe Carpenter 49,950
2nd place: George Coutros 26,250

K.C. Munchkin (Odyssey 2 - 1981)
This fun Pac-Man clone was dominated by Keith Lacey. At the very beginning of VGM4, he sat down at this game and promptly scored the insurmountable score of 442. Few players managed to score even half of that.
1st place: Keith Lacey 442
2nd place: Ken Chuang 288

Gradius (Nintendo - 1986)
This classic side-scrolling space shooter is as fun as it is difficult. What's great about Gradius is how you can redeem "pods" you collect for a variety of weapons and power-ups. Judging by the score, there were a few Gradius veterans at VGM4.
1st place: Ken Chuang 131,700
2nd place: Keith Lacey 122,400

Marine Fishing (Sega - 2000)
Marine Fishing was without a doubt the most popular single-player game at VGM4. Most of the time you couldn't even get close to this game, as people were constantly gathered around waiting to play it. Greg X really took control when he discovered the Yellow-tailed Tuna in the "Offing" area, which each weighed in at over 200 lbs.
1st place: Greg X 238.1 lbs
2nd place: Joe Carpenter 229 lbs

Frogger (Sega - 1998)
You can't go wrong with this classic, and Tuan was determined to get the high score in this one - no matter what the cost. He finally did, but it wasn't quite enough to propel him into the playoffs.
1st place: Tuan Tran 26,740
2nd place: George Coutros 25,630

Fortress of Narzod (GCE - 1983)
This very cool vector graphics game was a hit among the shooter crowd. Fortress of Narzod challenges you to richochet missiles off the sides of a canyon to clear out hostile forces.
1st place: George Coutros 6,290
2nd place: Bobby Santos 5,550

The Playoffs and Finals

Quarter Finals

Indy 500 (Atari 2600 - 1978)
This is racing in its purest form. Two cars try to beat each other to 25 laps. The special paddle-like "driving controllers" were used for this event to provide the ultimate in realism and precision handling.

Semi Finals

Gunfight (Atari 2600 - 2002)
This terrific new Atari 2600 game (available from Atari Age) features some fast gunslighting action. I thought its premise was simple enough that it would make a good playoff game.

Finals

Boxing (Atari 2600 - 1980)
What better way to settle this that to have both finalists slug it out for the title? Just two warriors, alone in a ring, battling it out for the title of Video Game Champion of the Universe.

Quarter	Semi	Final		Semi	Quarter
1. Keith Lacey	1. Keith Lacey	4. Scott Zimmerman	2. Steve Newcomb	2. Steve Newcomb	2. Steve Newcomb
8. Ken Chuang	1. Keith Lacey			2. Steve Newcomb	7. Mike Brockel
4. Scott Zimmerman	4. Scott Zimmerman			6. George Coutrous	3. Joe Carpenter
5. Greg Sunderland	4. Scott Zimmerman			6. George Coutrous	6. George Coutros

VIDEO GAME MANIA 4 CHAMPION: SCOTT ZIMMERMAN

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