Disclaimer: The games discussed in this article are prototypes which have been seen on location test but have not been officially announced. This means that the final production models will likely change OR they might not even be released at all. As such, reserve your final judgments for later.
(H/T to Jdevy for the info)
As we finally head into the summer after a very long and cold winter (at least where I’m at – snow run-off is causing a lot of flooding issues in our area), chances are many will head out to visit arcades. Granted, this can vary depending on the area – for me, summertime when school is out is always the best time for business, whereas I’ve heard that some operators find it to be their slowest times. Either way, it’s a time where games on test tend to be encountered and we’ve got not just one from Raw Thrills today, but two.
King Kong Of Skull Island II
I did reach out for comment but as is their policy, they don’t comment on games in development, so I’ve got nothing official to add there (see the disclaimer at the top), but for those curious as to what the company is working on and testing out, let’s start with a sequel to a game that’s still being sold, King Kong of Skull Island. Here’s the only image I’ve seen of it, slightly modified for a larger/sharper view:
From the background, it appears to be something under-the-sea, judging by the seaweed-like plants on the left and something that might be a sunken ship on the right? Or I could be completely wrong and it’s showing an outdoor scene with a very blue sky. No clue as to whether or not this will offer 3 new chapters in the saga or not. This is currently on test at In The Game in Crestwood, IL
Raw Thrills hasn’t done many kits in recent times but they’ve not been wholly opposed to them either. I do imagine that this could be offered as such for existing KK units, in a similar way that LAI has sold upgrades for their Virtual Rabbids: The Big Ride Ultra HD.
T-Rex Adventure VR
Without a doubt, one of the most powerful earners to ever come out of Raw Thrills has been Jurassic Park Arcade. Despite the game launching 8 years ago, it’s still in my top 3 and is often #1, even though it’s in the back of my arcade and things like the T-Rex lighting has stopped working. The game itself doesn’t lean too hard onto the license either, so people just love anything to do with dinosaurs. As that is, I’m surprised that the business hasn’t really done much with them – sure, JP is the only big license to involve dinosaurs but license or not, dinos have earning power.
That might be what’s behind T-Rex Adventure VR, although I would not be surprised in the least if this passes testing and ends up having the Jurassic Park license attached to it for that extra bump. As you see below, the current build is running in a modified King Kong VR cabinet (the purple reminds me of KK’s initial design before switching to red – in fact, I want to say that this is the same cabinet they were using when first showing KKVR back in 2020) and I would assume that gameplay is similar to KKVR as well – use your hands to interact with the environment and swat at enemies. I’ll also assume that it uses the same engine as KKVR, with Raw Thrills looking to expand where they can with the VR platform they’ve built. This one is also on test in IL, but at Enterrium.
Any thoughts on these test games? Are you one of the few who has got a chance to play them yet and if so, what did you think about the early software?
