In the first of, hopefully many, reviews of arcades that I get the chance to visit, I checked out the Namco Station in County Hall on the South Bank in London. This quite possibly has to be one of the coolest locations I’ve seen an arcade in, what with it being right next to the London Eye and over the river from Big Ben. Also the decors of the place is still quite new and modern, unfortunately the range of video games on offer is a little dated. Granted they have large selection of old favourites like Rally, Street Fighter, Daytona, Dance Stage, Silent Scope and Tekken, but there was a general lack of newer titles. Now you may argue that there has not exactly been a flood of new games, but I would expect an arcade in such a prime location to be right up to date with the industries latest offerings. One of the nicest features of this arcade is that downstairs there is a funky bar which also has a selection of probably the better machines like; Time Crisis 4, Outrun 2 and my drunken favourite Final Furlong. The other features of this arcade are; multiple bowling lanes and a bumper car track which is always a good laugh.
Game Range – 7/10 [Could do with some newer machines, Love & Berry and Dinosaur King don’t count for me, large selection overall]
Game Condition – 9/10 [Only one machine out of order]
Additional Facilities – 8/10 [Bowling Alley, Bumper Cars, Pool Tables, Bar & a McDonald’s concession]
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I am a big fan of the last remaining venues in London. Nice to see a fellow visitor – look forward to your other visits, love to tag along to see the process.
The Namco venue is the only site (in the world) that still has a operation Hot-Shot (venue shooting gallery system) – did you catch it?
All the best,