Blowing on cartridges and twiddling our thumbs through load times is a drag. (Though there is no substitute for binge playing Zelda throughout the weekend.)
Thankfully, there are far more active ways to enjoy your video games.
Here are just a few places we have spotted around the world that take the spirit of video games and apply it to real-life entertainment. (Just watch out for those blue shells.)
MariCar:
Game: Any Mario Kart
The best player in all of Mario Kart history is Yoshi. (The simple reason is I use Yoshi and so it must be so.)
The other universal fact is that this game is beloved by all. However, wouldn't it be far more fun to actually be in the game, throwing turtle shells and leaving a banana peel for an unsuspecting friend?
The closest thing this world has is MariCar: A tour of Tokyo from the whimsical seat of a go-cart.
Defenders of the TriForce:
Game: Any Legend of Zelda
SCRAP Entertainment won the rights to offer the summer's greatest game to patrons all over the world.
From now until the middle of July, you can play an escape room with a Zelda theme (in select cities).
We don't want any spoilers at this time; You can bet we'll have our ocarina on in case it comes in handy though.
Pokemon Go:
Game: Any Pokémon Game
Pokemon Go remains one of the best games come-to-life-an augmented dream come true for gamers.
While your own avatar may be gathering dust, we would like to remind you that any time is a good time to revisit the game. More than passing the time with a nostalgic nod to Nintendo, this game is an absolutely revolutionary travel tool. It forces you to get out of the house, hotel or hostel and see more of the town as you try to catch all the area's Pokemons.
Where you decide to fire up the game is up to you. Los Angeles and Tokyo offer tremendous urban sprawl while a trek through London will have you ambling across some amazing parks.
Inflatable Island
Game: Any Side-Scroller
Sadly, we haven't yet discovered a way to jump into a bunch of bricks that pop out some coins; or roll around shooting monsters like Samus. We can, however, jump, run and splash on what certainly looks like a Super Mario level come to life in the Philippines.
If you are near Subic Bay, power up the swimming trunks and dominate the competition. (Or, rather, just try not to fall off too often.)
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Adventure Combat Ops
Game: Any Resident Evil
Depending on the movie or video game, battling actual zombies would be a pain or outrageously fun.
In Vegas, it's very much the latter at a warehouse wherein you can shoot faux zombies and feel like a total hero at the same time.
IMAX VR (Los Angeles) & The Force Academy (Singapore)
Game: Star Wars The Force Unleashed
Those in Los Angeles can stroll just off Fairfax to experience a wealth of virtual reality games at the above mentioned IMAX VR. One of these games will have you immersed in a Jedi experience and waving an imaginary lightsaber all over the place.
But if you crave something a bit more tangible, some in Singapore have started quite the awesome club of Jedi and Sith called The Force Academy. As its website explains, you can join the Academy for a weekend if you're in town, or you can ratchet thing up to uber competitive levels.
Just stay on the high ground.
Future Nintendo Theme Park
Game: We can only imagine.
Nintendo granted all of our wishes when it announced that it would feature prominently at Universal Resorts-Universal Studios Japan, Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood with theme park additions of its brand. The magic, unfortunately, won't come until 2020.
So we will just have to wait and play a few more levels of the home version for now.
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