New local arcade becomes largest in illinois

The Galloping Ghost Arcade is a new arcade business in Brookfield  that is the finest arcade around. This unique arcade opened up on August 13^th and is currently Illinois’ largest video arcade. It carries games such as Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Smash TV, and plenty of other classic games, as well as shooting games like Silent Scope and Time Crisis.

Unlike any other arcade place that have coin-operated machines and require plenty of trips to the coin machine for new tokens, Gallaping Ghost only requires a door fee when you walk in, and allows of an unlimited amount of plays on any machine. This also lets the customer to roam around the arcade floor to try out any game and play for as long as they please. The door fee also allows customers to play all day and to leave the arcade and come back later in the day to play more games, free of charge.

Doc Mack, the CEO of Galloping Ghost Productions (a video game production company) and owner of the arcade branch, liked the idea to give customers this privalege. “It allows people to not be stuck to only playing their favorite games. It gives them the option to try out new games that they have never played or even seem before.” Doc Mack said.

The arcade floor features over 170 games with new ones coming in everyday. “All of our new games are pretty much on request,” Doc Mack said. If there is ever a game missing, you can easily ask an employee for a request and Galloping Ghost will put in the effort to add that game to their vault.

Galloping Ghost Arcade also features an achievement list booklet and keep high scores on every game they have. The booklet’s achievements range from getting a high score for a game, to beating an employee working at the arcade at their favorite game. “It is a lot of fun for customers to keep coming back and gives them something more than just playing games here,” Doc Mack said. Above every arcade game holds a sheet of the high scores for that game, both locally and world records. High scores are only gained through one credit of a game.

Along with the arcade floor is the private gaming rooms. These 20’x20’ rooms come with four 42” LCD TVs with their own set of Xbox 360s of PS3s. The rooms are priced reasonably to rent for several hours or for a whole day with a group of friends. Each system is online compatible and are great for tournaments,  large groups, or parties.

One of Galloping Ghost Productions most promient work is their new game Dark Presence. This game which is G.G.’s own game they produced. The game takes up a whole room in the arcade which you can see how they are improving the game everyday.  Dark Presence allows people to set up their own character in the world and play as them. Once this game lands, there will be a launch at the arcade for the official opening of Dark Presence.

The Galloping Ghost Arcade is open Monday-Friday 1 P.M. – 2 A.M. and Sautrday-Sunday 11 A.M. – 2 A.M. Doc Mack is always bringing in new games like Killer Instinct I and II, Spy Hunter, and Time Soldiers. Tournaments will be in the future for games like Street Fighter that are held on weekends for those who want to come play. If you are interested in visiting the Galloping Ghost Arcade it is located at 9415 Ogden Avenue in Brookfield.

Play N’ trade: Good Games, Great Times

“Play N’ Trade” is a unique video game store that opened a few months ago but hasn’t gathered the interest and popularity it deserves. The Hodgkin located store is one of only sixteen in Illinois. The store’s focus is on everything video game related.

The store sells videogames, game systems, and accessories. But what sets it apart from other video game stores is it’s collection of used and “retro” games.

“We buy back old and used games from customers. The amount of money we give them depends on the rarity, popularity, and condition of the games,” Dan Yelen, an employee at “Play N’ Trade” said. “We don’t take old sports games anymore because there is no market for them. But we will want old games that are really good and rare.”

All the used games are marked down in price compared to brand new games, and you can get 10% off for being a member. Membership is $10 yearly and gives you opportunities like getting a certain percentage off certain items in the store.

But its Play N’ Trade’s impressive gallery of “retro” material that will really speak to old school gamers. They have old systems for sale that include the original ancient Nintendo to newly made “retro” systems like a system that plays super Nintendo and Sega Genesis games on the same system. They also have the standards of “retro” gaming including Nintendo 64s, Playstations and Playstation 2’s, original Xboxes, and all the different kinds of Segas. And with shelves full of games for all these old school systems, you’re bound to rediscover some timeless classics.

“It’s nice for people who didn’t have these games as kids or people who want to relive games they loved. Some of the best games came out for these retro systems,” Yelen said.

But “Play N’ Trade” isn’t just unique because of its vast collection of old and new video games, they also offer one of a kind disc repairs.

“It’s nice because a lot of people’s favorite games could be too scratched to play.” Yelen said.

Along with disc repair, they also repair broken systems including Xbox 360’s “Red ring of death,” a hardware or internal error that causes the Xbox 360 power button to flash red lights instead of the normal green light when powered on. When this happens the system will crash and not power on or function. This famous incident has claimed most original Xbox 360s.

Another unique feature at “Play N’ Trade” is that the customers are given the option of trying out videogames before they purchase them. They have systems set up in a part of the store called the “Player’s Club” where you can play games or compete in bi-weekly tournaments.

“Some stores don’t even have a description of the game, so (customers) could end up buying a game they don’t want. But at ‘Play N’ Trade’ that wont happen.” Yelen said.

“Play N’ Trade” is a truly unique store that I’d recommend to anyone who invests in videogames in any way. Whether you’re looking for a new or used game or even a game from twenty years ago. there’s no better place to look.