***Disclaimer: the photos linked to this review are poor quality - all I have is an instant camera and a scanner, so I tried my best. However, they should still give you an idea of what things look like.
Think back a few years, before you discovered MAME, before you used emulators. Imagine walking into your favorite arcade, only to be approached by a mysterious man. Eager to get your daily fix of arcade fun, you try to ignore him, but he gently pulls you into a dark alley... "Would you like an arcade cabinet of your own?" You sneer. Of course you'd LOVE to own one, but it'd be too costly and take up too much room for a machine that'd play just a single game. Then from the shadows he produces a beautiful arcade cabinet. "This arcade machine is different, it plays many different games!" At first you simply don't believe it, but to your disbelief, it's real...
In fact, that's exactly what HanaHo Games has produced, with the aid of internet emulation.
Emulation breathes life into the software we all love, and the ArcadePC completes that bit of high-tech magic by delivering an absolutely authentic arcade experience. The cabinet itself is simply perfect, rugged and professionally built. The monitor is incredible - I never realized how WRONG these games look on a normal PC monitor until I used the ArcadePC. The control panel is equally impressive.
Let's proceed to examine each aspect of this great product in detail:
The Cabinet:
I ordered my cabinet in black, but HanaHo also offers white and gray. I also ordered the optional 6 inch base to raise the unit to a comfortable standing height. Using a counter height chair or bar stool, you can sit as well. The cabinet is very attractive, not too big for the home, yet big enough to accomodate 2 players with no problems.
The dimensions are appoximately 64" high with the base, 23" wide and 32" deep. There is a removable door on both the back and bottom front of the cabinet, both with key locks, allowing the user to have total access to the innards. The bottom area is about 21" square, and my PC fit perfectly, along with a subwoofer I added on my own. On the left hand side of this area you'll find the monitor controls like contrast and size. You'll also find a built-in fan to keep everything cool inside the cabinet. At the top of the ArcadePC is the very cool looking marquee, completely lit just like the real thing, as well as a pair of good-sounding speakers. The volume can be controlled by a knob cleverly recessed above the monitor.
One of the most intelligent features of the design is the sturdy keyboard shelf that easily slides in and out below the control panel. At only 21" wide, the shelf cannot comfortably accomodate a full sized keyboard and mouse/trakball unit at the same time, so one of those keyboards with a built-in pointer/trakball would probably be best. I purchased a $40 wireless charcoal colored keyboard from CompUSA, which also has a built-in pointer stick. It's perfect for the ArcadePC.
Does the keyboard shelf ruin the authentic arcade look? No! When fully closed, the shelf and everything on it disappears from sight. When fully opened, you've got a full-blown PC to work on and surf the net. It's a great combination!
You can also order a real working coin box if you want to use the ArcadePC as a giant piggy bank, but you won't have front access to the inside of the cabinet if you do. Personally I didn't want that feature, but the option is there if that's your style.
The Monitor:
The ArcadePC contains a Wells Gardner 19K3102 monitor, a 19" arcade monitor that accepts VGA signals. Running arcade games on this display is unreal, or perhaps I should say very, very real! What does it look like? Just visit any arcade and look at the screen - that's what it looks like!
Computer monitors are great for detailed work and high resolutions, but videogames tend to look too dark and too blocky. With the ArcadePC you don't need to worry about that anymore - everything is bright, vivid and smooth. Forget about scanlines, interpolation and eagle - you won't want or ever need those again! Every game I tried looked fantastic, and I was able to get full-screen or nearly full-screen displays on every game I tried by adjusting the size controls.
You'll want to use tweaked modes in MAME, and basically any mode that runs around 56 - 70hz and 30 - 39mhz will work great. So long as you set your modes at 60hz, you should be able to display Windows at 640x480 and 800x600. Just remember this is an arcade display with games in mind, so Windows and small text will look somewhat fuzzy. With some fine-tuning you can comfortably work at the the ArcadePC though. In fact, I'm typing this review on it right now, and surfing the net is major fun from an arcade machine!
Another nice aspect of the monitor is that it results in more speed from your emulators. Why? Well, because software effects like scanlines & interpolation are no longer necessary, you'll be able to run games at their lowest native resolutions, resulting in less processor overhead for drawing the display.
As an aside, using the Dreamcast's VGA box, the ArcadePC monitor gives the coolest Soul Calibur display you'll ever see at home! Hopefully future consoles like the Playstation 2 will continue this trend of offering VGA output.
The Control Panel:
I ordered the SE panel (I modified my button colors), which is essentially a HotRod modified for the ArcadePC. The control panel is actually a seperate unit that easily detaches from the cabinet, so in the future it's possible to add other panels. The controls are simply incredible on the SE panel - accurate, smooth and responsive with every game I tried. Whether playing maze games, fighters, shooters or even Pong, it felt and controlled great! In fact, as someone who built their own homemade control panel, I can honestly say HanaHo has gone the extra mile and tweaked their panel to perfection.
The panel uses the keyboard port, and your real keyboard plugs into the panel. At the moment the controls are not programmable, but I had no problems using it with the most popular emulators and PC games. Yes, PC games... Quake was pretty sweet on the ArcadePC too. Right now HanaHo doesn't offer trakballs or spinners, but I'd bet those are being planned as future products. And even if they aren't, you could always order a blank panel or two and build your own. The panels are easily opened via 6 screws, and can easily be serviced or modified by the user if desired.
The Software:
HanaHo recently released their Capcom Classics Volume 1 CD-ROM for PC's to all HotRod/ArcadePC owners. They also plan to release an ArcadePC specific version of this software in the future. The CD-ROM is professionally designed and produced, just like store-bought software.
Included is a very nice graphical test utility for the control panel. All it does is offer a 3/4 image of the HotRod, which can then be manipulated onscreen via the real panel. It also displays the keyboard mapping for any particular button. Simple, but useful when you forget what button is what, or simply want to test the controls.
The main feature is a slick HanaHo frontend utilizing MAME as it's core. It allows the user to legally play these Capcom classics on thir PC: 1941, Block Block, Commando, Exed Eyes, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Magic Sword, Mercs, Section Z, Side Arms, Son Son, Street Fighter 2 Hyper Fighting, Strider, Carrier Air Wing (NOT UN Squadron) & Varth. Clearly that list represents some of the best games ever created, so the value is pretty obvious. The current incarnation of this CD is not optimal for the ArcadePC because it automatically uses software scanlines, which simply darken the display on the arcade monitor. Hopefully the ArcadePC version will address that minor issue.
Also included on the CD is Street Fighter 2 World Warrior and Street Fighter 2 Championship Edition ROMs, but not accessible via the frontend. Emulation fans will probably discard the HanaHo software and simply use their existing MAME setup, with the satisfaction of having full legal rights to play those games at home. Either way, it's a wonderful bonus package that adds great value to an already superb product line from HanaHo.
The Company:
If you're like me, you prefer buying from people you know and companies you can trust. HanaHo has been building arcade cabinets many years for companies like Sega and Capcom. So you know they're the real deal, and won't disappear anytime soon. In fact, they just recently built Spawn cabinets for Capcom, which looks to be quite an awesome game! Also of note are the two gentlemen who run the whole show: Conway Ho, owner, and Richard Ragon, CEO. I've had the pleasure of communicating with both of them and they are committed to delivering quality products to arcade fans around the globe. After badgering them with hundreds of questions and concerns, I can honestly say HanaHo will be there to help their customers.
Shipping:
OK, so you've decided to order an ArcadePC, but want to know how it's shipped? Well, in the USA HanaHo uses Pilot Air for delivery. Delivery fees are $200 over the price of the unit, and takes a few days to arrive once it's been built. The ArcadePC is shipped wrapped in plastic, inside of a large cardboard box and strapped to a wooden platform called a palette. A bit more packing would've been bice, but it did make the trip from California to New York in one piece. Don't delude yourself into thinking you can move it from the truck to your house by yourself. Be sure to have at least one or two friends/family on hand to help. For orders shipped outside the USA, you'll need to ask HanaHo for shipping details.
Conclusion:
What more can I say? If you're a true arcade enthusiast, and know how to use emulators, you will absolutely love the ArcadePC and wonder where it's been all your life. Sure, you could try to build your own cabinet, but I doubt most people could match the professionalism of this product. Keep in mind HanaHo builds cabinets for companies like Sega and Capcom - this is the real thing. In fact, if you look carefully at most arcade game marquees in the USA, you'll see the HanaHo Games logo! And now you can see it at home too. =)
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