A couple of weeks ago, we had a small preview on some new arcade games from UNIS that would soon be coming to Western shores. Now that we’re only three weeks away from IAAPA, the company is pulling the curtain back on even more titles, so let’s take a look at Neon Rush, Monster Kart, Dino Storm, and more.
Note that we’ll speak a little more about their redemption-only games in the IAAPA 2024 preview; this post is focused on their new, upcoming video games.
Neon Rush
A new challenger has arrived to tackle the dominance of Super Bikes, and that is Neon Rush. Taking a page from Raw Thrills’ Fast & Furious Arcade with the dual screens (it should be noted that UNIS and Raw Thrills are partners, with UNIS building special versions of RTs games for China), this brings that hardware setup to a cyberpunk-like motorcycle racer. Like most of the other titles here, this game was first on display at GTI Asia China Expo 2024 and it will be at IAAPA. Here’s a cabinet shot:
From the material I received, these are 49″ displays. The number of tracks/bikes are not mentioned, nor how many units can link together, but it’s safe to assume you could link up to four (based upon the video below), but with eight drone spots, its possible it could be twice the quad. The swivel bikes also are fixed to a motion base and it appears to have wind effects. I wonder where this will fall pricewise vs. Super Bikes 3.
Monster Kart
One Nintendo-owned game in particular is undoubtedly the king of kart racers, but that doesn’t mean that everyone is banned from trying their hand at this driving sub-genre. Monster Kart promises “a roster of unique, monstrous characters” who must collect power-ups as they race to gain the advantage and cross that finish line first. There are five characters to chose from, three tracks to race and eight power-ups to use. This one can link up to six units, and it also has a motion base.
There is this new promotional video too which shows some of the game in motion. UNIS had previously posted a different trailer – it doesn’t hurt to have options though:
Something about this reminds me of the super obscure Nuon DVD kart racer Merlin Racing, although I would chalk that up to pure coincidence. There are plenty of elements shared by kart racers, but it is something that came to mind – other than the obvious Big N links.
Dino Storm
Back in 2020, UNIS showed off a game called Rowing Champs, but it is unclear if this ever saw a release in China. It certainly wasn’t produced here out West. They might be making up for that however with Dino Storm, which doesn’t sound like a river rafting game at first, but once you see the cabinet and game footage, you’ll see why it is called that.
The motion base has two motion modes: Comfortable (slight motion) and Exciting (realistic movement). While the information I saw doesn’t mention how many cabinets can link together, it definitely implies that they are link-capable and judging by the video below, it is reasonable to assume it handles up to four.
This one has you rafting through one of six prehistoric landscapes – which does lean a little into Namco’s Rapid River, although there were plenty of non-Jurassic themes and landscapes to encounter in Namco’s game. Dino Storm allows you to pick from different characters to race against, and several levels, the latter of which will have a variety of dinosaurs you’ll encounter. This also has different oar controls than Namco’s RR did (or Wahlap’s recent Crazy Rafting for that matter). The foot pedal control is also a nice touch, needing to be used to get your boat out of scenarios like being stuck inside of a water spout.
A second video of Dino Storm has also been posted by UNIS, showing the cabinet in action more. It looks like the motion base is the same as Monster Kart’s, just dressed up like a raft, but I’m not fully certain.
Sailor’s Quest VR 2
The sequel to one of the few VR games that UNIS has out there is coming along and we have a few more details on it than before. Naturally it continues the thread of being a treasure-hunting swashbuckling shooter piece, and is now using “newly-upgraded DPVR headsets”. The cabinet is similar to the original, with some changes to the color scheme and other cosmetic changes:
This one also has a trailer available, though it was linked on here already in our coverage of Bigfoot Smash:
Carnival Shot
UNIS has a stronger reputation for redemption than they do pure video games, and our last game falls snugly into videmption. At it’s heart, this is a shooting gallery light-gun game where you blast targets in a carnival setting across eight different levels. A player’s accuracy and speed are tested, as they attempt to nail the high scores that will either earn them a prize or tickets (the prize model is shown below – it does not vend both). On the prize model, it vends either small or big capsules.
Unlike the other games here, Carnival Shot doesn’t have an official trailer out yet, but site friend Oga-Shi did say it was like Point Blank on his try back at GTI last month. The vending/redemption aspect should make it more appealing to operators this time, after Point Blank X‘s mostly-aborted release out West.
As mentioned at the top, UNIS will be showcasing several other redemption and crane titles at IAAPA, but we’ll cover those in a little more detail in our upcoming preview. You can also find some of them on UNIS’ website if you just can’t wait.
For now, what do you think about these new arcade video games (Neon Rush, Monster Kart and Dino Storm) out of UNIS? Would you like to see them at a location near you?
