Things To Do In Los Angeles: Arcades in LA: Jillian's Hi Life Lanes and Universal Gamestop

Friday, February 1, 2013

Arcades in LA: Jillian's Hi Life Lanes and Universal Gamestop

Located all the way in the back, hidden beyond a giant guitar are Jillian's Hi Life Lanes and GameStop Universal at Universal Citywalk. Planning and design sense end when you get to the Hard Rock Cafe in Citywalk. Why hiding more businesses and dining behind it was approved makes it as appealing as how ugly LA Live is.

Gamers! Though the trail to these shops is blocked by a overall terrible restaurant you most forge on ahead to both GameStop and Jillian's.

Jillian's is actually a two-story restaurant, bowling alley and arcade. It's greatest features is it's bowling alley located on the second floor. It's crazy impressive and if you want a party go here for a great experience. On the first floor is the arcade. It has both ticket giving machines for prizes and real arcade units. Some fun shooters like Rambo and Terminator are up while I write this. There are linked racers too. Jump into a tiny car and take down your friends! Though some of the video screens are very warn out in the racer units you can see your enemies face on screen as you race.

This arcade is definitely a tourist trap, but it will most likely have newer units to grab your attention and cash. The oddest machine I saw inside was a karaoke CD recorder. You can capture your wails and play them back as your memory of the arcade.

I mention GameStop Universal, because it's one of their larger stores. It has a whole line of systems to try out different demos. Yes, there's a list 10 units to try game on in the store. It's also home to many launch parties. You might have already gone for a grand launch of a game. They might also have special events sometimes.

Minor glitches

Like any other GameStop they should really clean the floors. Remember the demo stations to try out games at? Well, not all of them were up and running when I went, so maybe some easy maintenance is required.

This GameStop usually gets better swag than others so expect to see big statues of famous game characters. It's a safe bet that it carries a larger stock of the big titles coming out, but always call first to make sure you have a copy. It has a nice back catalog of PS2 titles and a generation back of games, but don't expect to find anything older than that.

Being at Universal CityWalk do remember you will have to pay for parking.