Vegas, what a splendid place...if you're planning on getting into some type of trouble, that is. Lucky for me, I wasn't there for any of the known "sins" that Vegas has to offer, just the good 'ol AMOA Show (Amusement and Music Operators Association, Sept. 17-19, 2003) which was good enough for me. Not too shabby for a place in the desert.

So what did AMOA 2003 have to offer this year? Depending on how hardcore of a gamer/fan you are, AMOA 2003 pretty much covered the full spectrum of gaming tastes. Like previous years, the AMOA is held jointly with Fun Expo, which deals with more of the vending and redemption type equipment, while the AMOA handles the arcade gaming goodies. Heck, without Fun Expo, there would be no trials of pizza, ice cream, snacks, the good stuff to keep you going throughout the day on the show floor. Anyone who's been to this show, knows what I'm talking about.

Alright, enough of the small talk, let's get to the meat of the action.

SNK Playmore

SNK NEOGEO USA this year shared a booth with Andamiro (develops/distributes the dance Machine, Pump It Up!), displaying SVC Chaos on a 33 inch dedicated Hanaho Cabinet.

Originally, what SNK NEOGEO USA planned to have on display was 4 to 5 cabs showing Metal Slug 5, but development and materials for MS5 were not ready for the show, hence, there was no reason for SNK Playmore to take up a whole booth to reshow SVC Chaos. At show time, Metal Slug 5 is slated for a October/November MVS release. I can't wait. This time, Slug 5 stays in the house, the development house, that is, not outsourced to another party, like Slug 4. Expect Slug greatness once again.

Samurai Shodown V - As we reported back in April 24, 2003, there would be a Samurai Shodown V and here it is. SSV is identical to it's Japanese title, Samurai Shodown Zero, minus the title change. Some on-line gaming sites emailed us when SSZero came out and said our info on SSV was inaccurate. Well, there you have it. It's a high to the "Five."

Samurai Shodown V Move Instructions

To no one's surprise, since SSV was licensed out to Yuki Enterprises, distribution of this game was decided by that party to be held by Apple Industries for the U.S. Market. International and worldwide distribution of this title is not finalized or known yet, at least by us.

As for the game itself, I truly enjoyed the play mechanics, graphics, music and sound effects of SSV. The addition of 8 new characters, added gameplay features make this not your typical rehashed fighter. All I can suggest is give it a try and decide for yourself. SSV is a worthy addition to the SNK library. As promised, check out our front page to download the SSV Videos, among other videos.

Official release for SSV in the U.S. is September 29, 2003.

Capcom

Once again, Capcom was a no show, but we're not surprised. Capcom has not made a direct appearance to these U.S. Arcade Shows for a few years and we don't expect them to until their next big 2-D Fighter. All we know is that they have something huge up their sleeves and when the word is given to announce this publically, news on this title will pour like you won't believe.

Sammy

Yeah, okay, so we're big SNK and Capcom fans, and we love games in general and there's nothing wrong with showing Sammy some love. Heck, a bunch of employees at Sammy were ex-SNK and some ex-Capcom employees so it's all in the family.

In recent memory, I can't recall any gaming company that has made such big moves as Sammy. All we can say is "mad props to them!!" because someone out there has to stir up the 2-D Fighting genre to spice up market.

First off, we all know Sammy made the official announcement of Capcom vs. Sammy, which will be co-developed by both parties, running on the Atomiswave hardware. More on this as it develops. There's nothing solid in terms of what title, characters Sammy will decide to use in this deal.

King of Fighters on Atomiswave. Okay, let's clear up some rumors here. We picked and probed and what we came up with is this: King of Fighters (not the official title) for the Atomiswave, is a one time deal between SNK Playmore and Sammy. Chop it, puree it, blend this fact any way you like, but this is the only title that is going to show up on Sammy's system. We cannot disclose the details on why this is the case, but enjoy KOF on Atomiswave while you can, because that's all Sammy is getting. We have mixed feelings about this, but we take it as is. Sure, we want to see some SNK titles on more powerful hardware, but as the old school gamer I am, I'm fine with SNK Playmore's properties remaining on the NEO GEO MVS system.

As for the development of KOF on Atomiswave, it is not determined at this point whether SNK Playmore will help in it's process of programming the game, amongst other things. When we find out more, we'll keep you up to date.

Guilty Gear Isuka - I won't lie, I don't play and haven't played any GG games yet, but from the action we saw, GGI was quite impressive. Changing the format from a 1 vs. 1 fighter in previous installments, GGI allows you to fight 1 vs. 1, 2 vs. 2, 3 vs. 1 and 1 vs. 3, simultaneously. With a larger fighting plane to work with, GGI using the 2 plane system similar to SNK's Fatal Fury 2 series. The gameplay itself hasn't been finalized yet. Sammy hopes to tweak the gameplay engine for the final and official release by October. The version we played had a few glitches in it where we couldn't turn around, even when pressing the "turn around" button.

Guilty Gear Isuka Move List 1

Guilty Gear Isuka Move List 2

Guilty Gear Isuka Move List 3

Dolphin Blue - The first time we saw Dolphin Blue, it was at AMOA 2001 and quite honestly, we didn't think this game was going anywhere. That's two years ago, and at every show that DB appeared in, we simply were more depressed than impressed. Even as early as this year's E3 show, DB looked like another flop trying to capture the Metal Slug feel. Well, it's AMOA 2003 and Sammy has made some long strides in it's development. With much more sprites on screen, the action was quite busy and the bosses were definitely polished up, giving some of them the Metal Slug Boss creativity found in all Slugs...except for, ahem, MS4.

To be frank, to make a game and try to mimic the details in Metal Slug is quite difficult, not only in creativity, but also in development time. I think Sammy has had a taste of the tedious work SNK put into it's Slugs. Point is, despite the major improvement in Dolphin Blue, the details you see in the Slug series are not particularly evident in DB. My biggest gripe about DB is this: A dolphin? C'mon. Give us more tanks, ships, scooters, planes. I don't know, jumping on a fish or dolphin, if you will, doesn't really get me into the action, but that's just me. After watching years of 'Flipper' I just can't get into this game.

Don't take my advice though, check this game out yourself, because everyone's tastes are different.

I must give Sammy credit though. DB has come a very long way from it's E3 version.

Knights of Valour - With this title, we wonder, is it IGS helping Sammy or Sammy helping IGS? Well, if you've played the previous KOV titles on the IGS hardware, there's alot of "flash" in it, but after a period of time, it's a pure bore.

KOV is quite similar to Capcom's Warriors of Fate, which I would consider much more fun and appealing. No throws in KOV? That's the first glitch. Any good 2-D beat 'em up must have some form of grabbing/throwing. Simple hacking and slashing doesn't quite cut it, for me, at least. The only thing KOV has going for it is cherry graphics and tons of simultaneous sprites, otherwise, a game of Asteroids is more amusing.

Beautiful graphics, great sound, but where's the gameplay? If you're a hack and slash fan, KOV is right up your alley.

Sega

Ah, it wouldn't be a AMOA Show without the 3-D King. Year in and year out, Sega never stops pumping out the undisputed most impressive driving games out there. There is no doubt that Sega simply ownz the 3-D Driving game arena in the arcades. There is no close second. At this year's ASI Show (Amusement Showcase International Show), Sega dazzled it's fans with Initial D.

Yup, you betcha, Sega did it once again. This time, they suped up the graphics to their classic, Outrun, releasing OutRun2. Unlike their other racers, which was powered by various versions of Naomi Hardware, OutRun2 runs on their new Chihiro hardware system.

We say new because the Chihiro Hardware is based on the XBox Architecture, so in simple words, it's the XBox under the hood. Hmm?? Wonder if Mr. Gates had anything to do with this? Surely a great move for XBox and Microsoft. What this obvious means is we can expect future Sega Arcade titles to be perfectly ported over to the XBox (yay!! too bad driving games suck at home without all the aesthetic goodies the arcade versions have to offer). Now quite honestly, I never thought the XBox hardware was capable of such visual effects and when we upload the video, you'll see what I mean. The speed and design of the backgrounds of OR2 is simply stunning. Creating the sense of high speeds while rendering 3-D objects at a smooth rate is an extremely tough task, but Sega (and the hardware) pulls it off with ease in OR2.

Nothing like power drifting in another one of Sega's driving masterpieces. Simply an awesome game. If you're a fan of high speeds, definitely check out OR2 when it unveils nationwide. We did not confirm when OR2 will be released. The version at the show was the world debut, with a working prototype hardware/cabinet.

Don't forget to check out the cherry video for some of the games above on our site. If anything, download the OR2 vid. Oh my g*D!!!!!

So another AMOA 2003 Show is over and until ASI 2004, we should expect some pretty "big" announcements for their 2004 calendar year. For now, all we can say is, we're excited about the upcoming release of Slug 5. This puppy looks to be pure heaven.