San Francisco Rush the Rock - Alcatraz Edition (1997 Atari Games)
Click on Marquee for KLOV listing.
The Story: The "Rush" series was first introduced to arcades with the original "San Francisco Rush" in 1996 and instantly became a hit. Less than a year later, Atari Games released the sequel we know as "Rush the Rock - Alcatraz Edition". It was essentially the same game, but with more cars, more stunts and more tracks, including the famous "Rock" track where you actually drive thru the Alcatraz Prison. It became known as one of the best driving games ever made. The game was fun and looked good. It has a sweet soundtrack and is housed in an awesome looking cabinet complete with neon green plastics and a rocking sound system complete with a subwoofer and speakers in the seat. Unfortunately I had missed out and was only familiar with the home ports until a few years ago. That was when I discovered that our local laundromat had one, and I was instantly hooked. I put many a quarter in that game but it didn’t last, they decided to get rid of it for some reason and put a Cruis'n USA in its place. Yeah, it’s good too, but I want my Rush, and it became my goal to someday own this gem.
The Score: Get ready for a rollercoaster ride. It was time for "Grandview Auction Sunday" in Kansas City, and this would be my second time attending. The first time I went, there was one Rush available (just a standard Rush mind you, no rock). It had a dim monitor and a busted marquee. I had heard that the original Rush can be upgraded to "Rush the Rock", and I really wanted it. I was determined to score this game, even if it meant overpaying for it. But with that in mind, the game had issues and I knew it would be a money pit. I found myself in a bidding war with several other bidders and found my bid quickly surpassing the $400 mark (keep in mind, this game has issues, lacks the upgrade, and I still would have premiums to pay to boot). In the end, I got outbid by a mere $5. I came home empty handed and bummed out, but looking back, I'm actually very glad that happened, let me explain...
Another Grandview auction was just a few months away. I went with the sole intention of "checking it out", since I just bought a California Speed at the STL auction a short time earlier. Just like the last auction, they had just one Rush to bid on. Déjà Vu, this one also has a busted marquee and a monitor issue (this time a black line going up and down the monitor, otherwise it has a good picture). The big difference though was that this was "Rush the Rock", and even better, in a dedicated cabinet, not just an upgraded "Rush". Surely, this was going to be a hot item and will probably fetch more than the standard "Rush" did a few months back. The time had come, and the auctioneer was going to start the bidding on this game. It went something like this...
"Do I have $500?" ............................ "$400?" ............................. "$300?" ................................
Are you serious? I couldn’t believe it. Especially after the bidding war on the last one a few months back. I was stunned and I think the auctioneer was too. He finally said "OK, $200?". For a complete and working Rush the Rock, really? At that point, I sensed either he would "pass it" or worse, maybe another bidding war was about to commence. I quickly threw both arms in the air in disbelief that nobody else wanted this game. Apparently my disbelief was in fact a reality, because it was the only bid he got. I was stunned and still am today. Any argument that the monitor and marquee might have "scared the bidders away" can be thrown right out the window (remember, 3 months ago...). I came home with a grail that night and my head just trying to contemplate how it happened. Oh well, patience and persistence had finally paid off.
The Service: The marquee had cracked in several places and was held together with packing tape, so that was replaced. Most of the bulbs inside the buttons were either blown or incorrect (these take a very specific bulb), and so I replaced those as well. I had found out that the shifter wasn’t working properly and discovered that someone didn’t bother to tuck wires in during a removal and reinstall (wires were pinched between the shifter and seat where it mounts). Some quick rewiring and were good to go. I also replaced the hard drive with a Compact Flash card & IDE adapter.
After playing this game for over a year with that black line across the screen, I finally decided to install a cap kit. Once I did that, I made the stupid mistake of plugging in a connector backwards, and after I realized my blunder and unplugged another connector, it lost power altogether. Oh, just wonderful. It developed an HV shutdown issue that I just couldn't put my finger on. I sent the chassis away to Chad who specializes in these kinds of repairs. After awhile I was greeted with a working chassis. Although now I am noticing a convergence issue (which relates to either the tube or yoke), it's a very slight issue and only affects a small corner of the screen. Otherwise that black line is gone and the picture is great.
The Score: Get ready for a rollercoaster ride. It was time for "Grandview Auction Sunday" in Kansas City, and this would be my second time attending. The first time I went, there was one Rush available (just a standard Rush mind you, no rock). It had a dim monitor and a busted marquee. I had heard that the original Rush can be upgraded to "Rush the Rock", and I really wanted it. I was determined to score this game, even if it meant overpaying for it. But with that in mind, the game had issues and I knew it would be a money pit. I found myself in a bidding war with several other bidders and found my bid quickly surpassing the $400 mark (keep in mind, this game has issues, lacks the upgrade, and I still would have premiums to pay to boot). In the end, I got outbid by a mere $5. I came home empty handed and bummed out, but looking back, I'm actually very glad that happened, let me explain...
Another Grandview auction was just a few months away. I went with the sole intention of "checking it out", since I just bought a California Speed at the STL auction a short time earlier. Just like the last auction, they had just one Rush to bid on. Déjà Vu, this one also has a busted marquee and a monitor issue (this time a black line going up and down the monitor, otherwise it has a good picture). The big difference though was that this was "Rush the Rock", and even better, in a dedicated cabinet, not just an upgraded "Rush". Surely, this was going to be a hot item and will probably fetch more than the standard "Rush" did a few months back. The time had come, and the auctioneer was going to start the bidding on this game. It went something like this...
"Do I have $500?" ............................ "$400?" ............................. "$300?" ................................
Are you serious? I couldn’t believe it. Especially after the bidding war on the last one a few months back. I was stunned and I think the auctioneer was too. He finally said "OK, $200?". For a complete and working Rush the Rock, really? At that point, I sensed either he would "pass it" or worse, maybe another bidding war was about to commence. I quickly threw both arms in the air in disbelief that nobody else wanted this game. Apparently my disbelief was in fact a reality, because it was the only bid he got. I was stunned and still am today. Any argument that the monitor and marquee might have "scared the bidders away" can be thrown right out the window (remember, 3 months ago...). I came home with a grail that night and my head just trying to contemplate how it happened. Oh well, patience and persistence had finally paid off.
The Service: The marquee had cracked in several places and was held together with packing tape, so that was replaced. Most of the bulbs inside the buttons were either blown or incorrect (these take a very specific bulb), and so I replaced those as well. I had found out that the shifter wasn’t working properly and discovered that someone didn’t bother to tuck wires in during a removal and reinstall (wires were pinched between the shifter and seat where it mounts). Some quick rewiring and were good to go. I also replaced the hard drive with a Compact Flash card & IDE adapter.
After playing this game for over a year with that black line across the screen, I finally decided to install a cap kit. Once I did that, I made the stupid mistake of plugging in a connector backwards, and after I realized my blunder and unplugged another connector, it lost power altogether. Oh, just wonderful. It developed an HV shutdown issue that I just couldn't put my finger on. I sent the chassis away to Chad who specializes in these kinds of repairs. After awhile I was greeted with a working chassis. Although now I am noticing a convergence issue (which relates to either the tube or yoke), it's a very slight issue and only affects a small corner of the screen. Otherwise that black line is gone and the picture is great.
