Ground Kontrol
Portland, OR 97209-3602
Phone: (503) 796-9364
- Hours:
- Sun-Thu 12pm-1am, Fri-Sat 12pm-2am
Editorial Review for Ground Kontrol – by Jennifer Boyd
In Short
Unique downtown "retrocade" features all the original stand-up arcade classics, from Asteroids and Space Invaders to Q-Bert and Burgertime. The store also carries that old-school favorite, Atari, along with dozens of original game cartridges, including Pong, Centipede and Paperboy. What's more, there's a selection of vinyl, cassettes and 8-tracks.
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Insider Tips
The ExtrasThere's also a video section full of blasts from the past. Whether you need a copy of "Weird Science" to complete your John Hughes collection or want to replace your brother's "Ferris Bueller" tape you lost in the eighth grade, Ground Kontrol's video collection is a good place to start your search.
User Reviews for Ground Kontrol
10/16/2007 Posted by itowedin
Had a couple of bad experiences there. I have driven there more than once to find out that it's rented out for the evening, which is something they don't make mention of on they're website event calender. Kind of dissapointing to be turned away at the door more than once. But I returned often only to be confronted recently by an employee saying he caught me on camera pushing a machine...Which I wrongfully did, and I did not argue. But the employee kept coming twords me and yelling like he was trying to start a fight. Saying he would throw me out, and he caught me on camera. I put my ipod back on to de-fuse the situation, and he walked away. I have done business with that employee several times, and even tipped him generously. I went there long enough to where they stopped ID'ing me, so I know they recognized me. I have often seen people, including owners brutalizing those machines, and never seen anyone confronted. So I'm not sure what happened there. I've noticed like any other business as it gaines popularity especially in Portland, that the crowd, and the employees become somewhat eliteist. That's exactly what's happening there now...There is almost a dress code that you have to wear a tiny round military cap, and drink those tiny Jamaican beers. So I go during the weekdays when it's dead. But this last episode has me shaking my head. There is a bit of a casino vibe in that if you play a pinball machine, and are successful, you might come back a few days later to find that same machine feels totally different, the level on the side reads much more incline, and there are NOTCHES TAKEN OUT OF THE RUBBER FLIPPER POINTS to lose another quarter of an inch in the center drain....However if your a pinball guy like me you don't have many choices in town, and this place offers a ton of them.
Pros: Great Pinball line-up. Live music, clean facilities.
Cons: Expensive soda, and beer. Aggressive staff. Eleteist crowd. No Parking. Dangerous end of town.
07/22/2007 Posted by darclight
Having been a hardcore gamer since the early 80's, I jumped at the chance to visit a retro arcade. I was not dissapointed! They had it all, space invaders, frogger, TRON!, Rampage, etc. I was even delighted to find their new aquisition Discs Of Tron! It was a great experience, and I was overjoyed to find coin op games for 25 cents again
Pros: Cheap classic games, good selection
Cons: Hard to find, parking downtown
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