"Okay, I got my light gun!  I installed it as I wrote this, so you can follow along.  I opened the box (above), and looked at my new toy.  It came with a bit more than just the gun, as you can see by the pics below. "There was the gun, the interface unit,  and the install cd.  I was a bit miffed at  the lack of instructions.  I'm one of those guys that likes to read the instructions, I love them, I'm just funny that way I guess.  Well, I have to assume that since there's no instructions, it must be pretty straightforward.  Okay then, lets see.  There are two connections.  The USB cable is pretty straightforward, and the other connection simply goes to the vga input on my pc.  I plugged in the usb cable, and by the time I had the monitor plugged into the interface unit, and the interface unit into the pc, XP had already detected and installed the gun!  I'm not making this up, listen, I paid hard earned money for this, and I'll tell you the real story here. (Okay, I don't work too hard for my money, but you get the idea).  Alright, so I'm sitting here gripping a gun, but I don't have any idea idea how to use it yet.  Well, I guess I'll resort to the cd (guess it's not an install cd after all!)  Okay, the instructions are on the cd.  Button on the left is a mouse click, the switch on the right side is a calibration doohickey.  Okay, there's a little movie on there that tells you how to calibrate the gun.  Now my screen resolution may be too high, or I'm getting old, but it was a lot easier to watch that avi by running it in meadiaplayer right from the cd and stretching the window.  ANYWAYS...seems easy enough, so I guess that's it, I'm ready to MAME! 

Now, lightgun is enabled and  calibrated, so let's try a game!  I've never in my life played crossbow, well except for the awful Atari 2600 version, so I'm kind of excited.  So I'll be back after I give it a try.

Well that was pretty neat!  I couldn't break the the top 10 in score, but I enjoyed the hell out of shooting, well, stuff!  I also gave 'chiller' a try, and even though that is a sick game, it's damn fun.  I'm having a bit of trouble getting the calibration right, but after about 5 tries at re-calibrating, it finally got it the way I want it.  As a tip, I found that if it is shooting too low, then point the gun down slightly when doing the calibration test.  This might not actually work, but the last time I did it, it aimed where I wanted it to. 

I first thought that the gun was a little too light, (not realistic enough), but then I realized that if you're going to be holding your hand out in front of you for half an hour, you don't want to be holding 5 pounds!!  The trigger has a really good feel to it.  I was expecting a 'clicky' trigger, and missed it at first, but once I was used to it I found that a squeeze of the trigger is nice and smooth, and the screen flashes when you 'fire off a round'.  Far preferable I think.  Now I have to find a list of compatible games! 

 I went through a number of the online games, and although my eye is practically bleeding from an hour of squinting and shooting, I really enjoyed some of them.  I can say that the accuracy is much better in mame than the shockwave games.  I thought I would have another go  at the calibration. After a bit of searching, I came up with this snippet from the FAQ, and I tried it, it works!!!"

Q: My shots are always a little to the right or left of where I shoot.
> How can I fix this?
> A: If your shots seem to be going to the left of the screen, try
> shifting your screen a little to the right using your monitor controls
> and then calibrate the light gun  After calibration, you can move
> your screen back to its original position.  Do the opposite for shots
> going to the right of the screen.
 

Final Remarks: Once I got the calibration right, it opened up a whole new level of gaming for me!  I'm going to mount this to my main cab, as it adds a few more games to the arsenal of 'late-night drunken testosterone-enhanced macho fest"  games I can play with the guys!  I definitely think there should be some good ole instructions in the package, but that aside, this was an awesome addition to my cabinet. 

RATING  (OUT OF FIVE)

I like to think of myself as a fairly good FPS'er. However, I don't think I've played with a gun since Nintendo's Duck Hunt. That was a game all my friends played, it came with the game didn't it? By the time I got to try out the gun, Z had it installed in a cabinet.  He thinks that the front glass on the cabinet can throw the aim off of the gun.  I think he's right.  However it is not too hard to compensate.  In the standup arcade cabinet the gun always shoots to the left and down a bit.  So just shoot high and right! :-)  We found a list of games that work in Mame here and tried a few of them out.  He is right in that your arm can get tired after a while.  After a short time I'd say!  Give me a railgun and an armchair anyday!  Overall, I thought it was neat, but there should be a way to adjust the aim for that glass!

Final Remarks: Fun shooting a 'real' gun instead of a virtual one.  Feels good in the hand.

RATING  (OUT OF FIVE)

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