Note: All the chaos, controversy, and joy that comes with E3 has been taking its toll on our blogging brains. I took this opportunity to reflect upon a game who's innovations seemed to be quite revolutionary at the time...a theme we should try to step back and follow. This of course, is the theme of simple and non-refutable fun.

What defines manhood? Well, while some would say that playing football, not giving a fuck about girls, or hunting buck in the great outdoors is manhood, my definition is quite different. Pumping quarters into a machine to continue your virtual life sounds strange as well, but not while you are playing Namco's Lucky & Wild. The game makes a 10 second continue countdown seem like life or death as you race back to the change machine which won't take your crimped dollar. Never has one's ego been diminished after a round of Lucky & Wild, even after losing quickly. The game throws the two players in a frentic onslaught of mobster cars, biker gangs and massive bosses such as an 18 wheeler, which was unlike anything else at the time and even now. While your lame ass friends were winning tickets to purchase useless gimmicks like a blow up baseball bat, you were lucky and discover Lucky & Wild and summon a friend to play with you. This was the start of something beautiful, an adventure you wouldn't dream of experiencing, because you didn't know it was possible. You were about to take the role of either Lucky or Wild and while it is not by most standards as a role-playing game, getting kissed on the cheek by saucy babes at roadside bars (increasing your score) at the end of missions seemed to make me feel like I wasn't wearing overalls anymore.

You see, in the 1990s the arcade was the place to get the most amazing and innovative gaming experiences. While home consoles were just starting to see the light of day during this time, arcades still provided the most flare, with the exception of the highly expensive Neo-Geo AES console which possessed high graphical detail and arcade style. While many other games like Mortal Kombat and X-Men: The Arcade Game were impressive, the Starsky & Hutch lookalike involved two seats contained in a car shaped area and was extremely appealing. Lucky & Wild was a game which was hard to pass up, even for somebody like my Dad who doesn't really like games but admits it's the coolest game he's ever played. It probably did really well with the angered business man, who just got out of his nine to five job and wants to kick ass he'll never kick and chase national criminals. Lucky & Wild isn't just a game, it's an experience and if you haven't played it by now, there is a good chance you never will, as it's pretty hard to find now even at many arcades.

With arcades slowly fading away and video games meaning home consoles, innovation seems to be somewhat of a pipe dream because of structural limitations. The Nintendo Wii for example, has been interesting in its approach to gaming, yet I wonder if it could ever reach the level of entertainment I had playing Lucky & Wild. I've had some epic battles and matches with Wii sports but without style and imagination one cannot vision himself/herself as somebody else, rather just themselves as a Mii. Lucky & Wild is a perfect example of game which rips off typical Hollywood movie cop films and succeeds. It succeeded because it took a formula well-liked within American society and transformed it into a high octane gaming experience which could never be achieved if it were licensed from an actual movie or duo. What makes it special is the game's ability to make you and your partner in crime-busting a reckless duo and important. When you sit down with you friend, you transform into two cool cops and you undergo radically constrasting events from your normal everyday life and interactions. That is what makes Lucky & Wild irresistibly playable and an escape from your ever increasing mundane life.