Developer: Andamiro Entertainment (visit their website)
Publisher: Andamiro Entertainment
Release: September 2011
Type: Sports/Arm Wrestling
Cabinet Configurations/Players: Single player standard upright
Hardware: PC based
ARCADE EXCLUSIVE?: Yes
Rating: Suitable for all ages
Synopsis: From the Over The Top Product page:
…“OVER THE TOP” [is] a traditional arm wrestling game [that] has very interesting and exclusive features. “OVER THE TOP” uplifting & stylish arm wrestling game has innovative clutch motor mechanism and smart-logic safety system. Players have choice to choose their preferable opponent matching their strength. The natural movement of mechanical arm gives the feel of a human arm to the player. For precise control the game is equipped with a clutch made by auto parts manufacturer. “OVER THE TOP” is suitable for play by young girls and boys. The game is operator-friendly and is very easy to maintain. All reinforced steel construction of the game cabinet makes “OVER THE TOP” a very durable. The game is equipped with [an optional] ticket payout feature as well.
REVIEW: By Adam “Arcadehero” Pratt
While coin-op boxing games offer a great way for people to show off their physical strength in public, those aren’t the only kind of games that can do that in arcades. As an example I offer Andamiro’s Over The Top arcade game. It’s not the first game to introduce the idea of mechanical, single player arm wrestling (take for example Jaleco’s Arm Champs) although it is the first in quite a long time to do so.
There isn’t really a storyline, all this does it is offers players a chance to arm wrestle 10 different opponents which they can select from at the beginning of the game. One interesting feature is that it lets you pick your strength level by gender. After that you take control of the molded hand that is in the shape of a buffed up human hand and when the game says go, give it a shot. If you win the match, you get to pick from a different opponent. With several opponents to choose from the difficulty levels are varied appropriately. To avoid injuries (which reportedly could happen in the past on other arm wrestling games) the game uses an “innovative clutch motor mechanism & Smart-logic safety system”. How that works exactly I have no idea but I have not heard any reports of problems and the game has been out for over a year. It makes plenty of sense for them to make a system that would avoid such problems since that would result in the game being pulled and bad press.The game does have an optional ticket payout feature for redemption use.
RATINGS
GRAPHICS
Not much better than an internet Flash game – everything is in 2D but the animation is appropriate to the game.
SOUND
Nothing too deep but like the graphics, appropriate to what is needed. If anything, people who will gather to watch you play will serve as the crowd cheering or jeering you on. There is a little voice acting from the game characters to egg you on.
CONTROL
The star of the show. The molded hand is perfect to what the game needs and makes it a true arcade game where the hardware gives the game a huge advantage over what you would get on a phone or a game controller. The motors are tuned perfectly to what the game presents and padding where you place your elbow allows for some comfort.
CABINET
In conjunction with the control, this uses an upright design that draws attention to itself. Not necessarily with lighting – it has marque lighting and LED lights around the monitor bezel next to each character but in front of the screen it has a grid cage which is unusual but cool.
ENTERTAINMENT
Boxing games pull their popularity from allowing people to participate in a quick, easy to understand game that also lets them show off to their friends. Over The Top fits into the same category although it can take a little longer than a boxing game (which is usually over in a couple of seconds). Either way its something that can draw players in through its unique presentation, with replayability driven by a competitive spirit.
RECOMMENDED?
There isn’t anything else like it on the new market and using modern technology it avoids the problems some of arm wrestling games of the past. The ticket feature makes it attractive for redemption centers but for standalone arcades you don’t have to use that so you can give players something different that they can’t get at home (aside from wrestling a human being, but that is always more exciting in public anyways, as Sylvester Stallone proved to the world.
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