Arcades were a pretty big deal when I was a kid. I had parents who loved to gamble, so they would take me to places like Circus Circus or other casinos and drop me off at the nearest arcade so they could try their luck on the tables for an hour or two. I didn't mind at all. Armed with dozens of quarters, I was prepared to take on any game in the place. And then I heard a loud, evil voice declare, "Beware, Coward!"
In 1983 Laserdisc games were introduced in Arcades, and the now classic Dragon's Lair made huge impressions among players. Game company Williams took notice, and while their penchant was in building great pinball machines, they didn't want to overlook the Laserdisc phenomenon.
And in 1984, they released their first and possibly only Laserdisc-powered Arcade game: Star Rider.
Star Rider was unique in that the player would ride on a "cosmic cycle" attached to the cabinet and would race on a surreal highway of enhanced video thanks to the power of what Williams' called the Discan System. The riders themselves would be superimposed in the foreground, leaving for plenty of power for each track to display astonishing outer-space landscapes.
As the Star Rider, the mission was to win each race, which centers around a space stadium called the Cosmodrome. There are a handful of different worlds, and each world features different astronomic vistas. To win a race you'll need to avoid hitting other bikers as well as any obstacles on the path to victory. It's a simple racing premise which was eclipsed by modern games such as Wipeout, but Star Rider was truly ahead of it's time with it's stunning surreal imagery and vivid graphics.
Adding to it's appeal is the fact that it's a very rare Arcade machine to find, and no ROM yet exists of the game for play on personal computers...it's basically become an enigma within the Arcade world. So if you are ever lucky enough to encounter a Star Rider cabinet, do yourself a favor....play it.
Here is a promotional flyer for Star Rider:
And here is a look at the background visuals (minus the riders) set to the tune of Foreigner's, "Starrider":
The setting: Portland, Oregon...1981. A mysterious Arcade game appears in local Arcades called Polybius. The game plays like a psychedelic Tempest and quickly becomes a hit...and kids can't stop playing it. Soon after it's release, players of Polybius reported horrible side effects...including everything from amnesia and insomnia to disturbing nightmares and even suicide. Reports of men dressed in black suits regularly checking on the Polybius cabinets only added depth to this myth, with rumors that the game was a government funded mind-control experiment.
Although there have been plenty of rumors regarding Polybius, there has never been actual proof that the game ever existed. But now those that are interested in this type of game can live out their curiosities thanks to a website called Sinnesloschen, who have attempted to re-create Polybius as it might have existed way back in 1981.
Sinnesloschen's version of Polybius is actually a well-made endeavor. The game features several different options such as Post-Hypnotic Triggers and Sleep Algorithms, where you can enable conditions such as Hypersomnia, Narcolepsy, and Night Terrors. There is also a Subliminal message option, which turned on will periodically flash words such as, "OBEY"...reminiscent of the movie They Live. Lastly, there is a Supernatural option that when enabled will trigger random whispers and spectral faces...creepy!
You control a ship called Gyruss much like the games Tempest and Galaga, only here you control the ship on the right side and shoot at a spinning cluster of objects centered in the middle of the screen. The goal is to dodge and shoot the objects while enduring a heavy amount of hypnotic imagery that flash upon the screen.
Fans of Polybius can even take it one step further and build an actual cabinet including this version of the game. All of the artwork and information can be found at www.sinnesloschen.com, including a game download. It's the closest we'll probably ever get from an Arcade urban legend!
Here's a youtube clip of the game in play. Please do not watch if you suffer from any type of fast imagery disorder:
And here's a funny hoax video of a couple of guys supposedly finding an old Polybius cabinet....totally fake, but pretty funny:
