Think you’ve got game? Get off the couch and venture out for a day (or entire weekend) of video games. Whether your concept of gaming involves Donkey Kong or Grand Theft Auto, there’s a joystick for you.
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MORNING
Something for everyone
Start the day at “GAME ON 2.0,” a giant arcade dressed as a museum exhibit. Its second tour in Chicago boasts the Xbox 360 and 20 new games. Save an hour or two to play more than 125 games–you can leave the quarters at home–and learn how games are conceived. “Game On 2.0” has something for kids of all ages.
THE EXHIBIT
WHAT: Game On 2.0
WHERE: Museum of Science and Industry
WHEN: Through April 30
COST: $11.25-$16, including general admission
CONTACT: 773-684-1414; www.msichicago.org
What you’ll see:
CLASSICS: Remember these? Space Invaders and Asteroids, Pong, Dig Dug, Ms. Pac-Man and Donkey Kong.
OTHER FAVORITES: Everyone knows the story of the the Mario Bros., who squash and fireball their way to save the princess, but try your hand at these too: Tetris, Madden NFL 06, Tomb Raider and The Sims.
GROOVY: Dance Dance Revolution and Pump it Up: Exceed put players on the virtual dance floor. The Singstar Popworld karaoke game makes rock-star dreams come true.
JOG YOUR MEMORY
Name these arcade games, all featured at Game On 2.0, and put them in order by release date. A B C D E F G
Answers to the quiz: A. Space Invaders, 1978 B: Centipede, 1980 C. Missile Command, 1980 D. Donkey Kong, 1981 E. Ms. Pac-Man, 1981 F. Galaga, 1981 G. Dig Dug, 1982
EVENING
Dinner, drinks and games
THE EXPERT
NAME: John Vignocchi
OCCUPATION: Game developer, Midway Games
Which bars and restaurants do the skilled gamers hit? Vignocchi likes these spots, but watch out for him. “I’M A HUSTLER, but I’m not a video-game hustler,” Vignocchi said. After a night of game playing and club hopping, this gaming whiz likes to hit the bars and hustle “suckers” out of cash.
THE THROWBACK
For an “old school” arcade, Vignocchi likes Dennis’ Place for Games (957 W. Belmont Ave., 773-743-5207).
A FEW ROUNDS
For a neighborhood game of Golden Tee, Vignocchi recommends Justin’s bar (3358 N. Southport Ave., 773-929-4844).
BIG AND BOLD
For more of the same, but on a bigger scale, Vignocchi likes:
ESPNZone (43 E. Ohio St., 312-644-3776) boasts a huge arcade with lots of video sports games.
GameWorks (601 N. Martingale Rd., Schaumburg, 847-330-9675) is equal parts arcade-bar-restaurant. And with more than 50,000 square feet, you’re guaranteed to get a lot of all three.
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OVERNIGHT
Going hardcore
THE HARDCORE GAMERS
WHAT: LAN parties
DEFINITION: Monthly LAN (Local Area Network) party
HARDCORE GAMERS can gather their gear and join 24-hour marathons at LAN (Local Area Network) parties, where video game fanatics spend hours killing one another in outer space, underwater and myriad worlds. It’s an opportunity to play with a lot more interaction as “you can hear everybody yelling, everybody screaming,” organizer Tyler “Ghostwheel” Anderson said.
CRASH ONE OF THESE PARTIES:
LanBash (Crystal Lake), Sat.-Sun., www.lanbash.org
Zion (Zion, Ill.), June 10-11, www.zionlan.net
Stompfest (Indianapolis), date to be announced in early April, www.stompfest.com
LARGER EVENTS:
Major League Gaming Playoff Event (Chicago), dates to be announced, www.mlgpro.com
World Series of Video Games (Louisville), June 15-10, www.thewsvg.com
DreamHack (Sweden), June 17-20, www.dreamhack.org
WHAT REALLY HAPPENS at a LAN party? Watch video from a recent one at chicagotribune.com/videogames
THE FUTURE
What’s next?
ADVISER ERIC GWINN says the future of video games will be found right on your computer, where downloadable games will rule.
Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Revolution are still months away, leaving Microsoft’s Xbox 360 as the sole system that plays only high-definition games.
Meanwhile, GameTap and other sites let you download games to play on your computer (You can buy Xbox-style controllers so you don’t have to use your mouse and keyboard to move and shoot). With a combination of fun, old-school games and new shoot-’em-ups, downloadable games turn your computer into an arcade. And because it costs less to make games for the computer versus games for the Xbox or PlayStation consoles, you’ll get more choice among computer games.