Midway Arcade Treasures

It's astonishing that 24 fun arcade games from the 80's are available in one package for only 20 bucks! Even if you're not an old school nut, you have to admit this is quite a bargain. Granted, not all of these are classics per se, but the best games here are worth their weight in gold.

Midway Arcade Treasures is a great collection, and a wonderful starting point. There are plenty of other treasures for Midway to unearth. Here’s hoping this isn’t the only collection from the publisher that made the move away from arcades – there’s a rich history there that should be honored and remembered, warts and all.

I suppose an online multiplayer mode would probably wreck the feel of the game, though. You can't really play this game without thinking of the dark, sweat-filled arcades that're now long gone, or of those plastic-sheathed sitdown machines you still sometimes see in bars. Midway Arcade Treasures is like a time capsule, buried back when games were simple, and no less fun because of that. It's definitely worth picking up, if for no other reasons than sheer quantity and quality.

I don’t even need to write a review, this one writes itself. All these games: 720 Degrees, Blaster, Bubbles, Defender, Defender II, Gauntlet, Joust, Joust 2, Klax, Marble Madness, Paperboy, Rampage, Smash TV, Sinistar, Satan’s Hollow, Robotron: 2084, RoadBlasters, Rampart, Splat!, Spy Hunter, Super Sprint, Root Beer Tapper, Toobin’, and Vindicators – for twenty bucks. Buy it.

Someone finally got it right. Midway Arcade Treasures is, simply, the best arcade compiliation disc I've ever seen. Most of 'em--and here, I'm sort of casting a knowing, accusatory look in the vague direction of the Namco Museum series--consist of one unquestionably classic game, paired up with four or five mediocre or obscure ones. You're essentially paying twenty to fifty bucks for an arcade-perfect rendition of a game that, if you're really that big of a fan of it, you've already paid to own at least twice before, on as many consoles.

In the days of yore (read: any time before 2002), game compilations would weigh in at a max of six games. And most sat pretty in the three to four range. That's what happens when disk space and the common mentality of bigger, shinier, and newer comes into play. Old games were for the past, or for people who were willing to blow into their NES for hours to get five minutes against Abobo. So that's why I stand up and salute companies like Activision (with their 50 title Activision Anthology, the inspiration for this collection), Capcom (with their twelve game Mega Man Anniversary Collection) and Midway, with the 24 title Midway Arcade Treasures.

For many, most of the titles on show will be obscure, but if you want to dip your toes into the bewildering waters of the '80s arcade, this is probably the best introduction released to date. If only the likes of Konami, Namco and Nintendo could join forces to produce the ultimate compendium we could start addressing some of the true classics. For now, as a round up of the greats of the US coin-op scene of the 80s, Midway's Arcade Treasures has no equal - and for the price represents an essential purchase for all nostalgists. Not perfect, yet, but it'll do for now.

Gamers over the age of 30 may recall dumping quarter after quarter into arcade hits such as "Joust," a game that requires players to ride on the back of a flying bird while dueling with enemy creatures, or "Paperboy," a newspaper delivery simulation challenging players to ride a bike down an obstacle-laden street and throw newspapers against the doors of subscribers.

Ah yes, the good old days of videogames. The Atari 2600, the Intellivision, the Colecovision, and then the mother of them all, the arcades!! The 80’s was the time when arcade games were the “In” thing. It was cool to hang out at the arcade and play Pac Man and Defender. The games were somewhat cheesy and they looked like crap compared to today’s standards, but we all have to start from somewhere. Ah yes, the good old days! And now it seems that many game companies are bringing out old school classics. We have the Atari Classics (which was REALLY old school) and Intellivision Lives (which did nothing for me). I must admit I have not jumped onto the bandwagon because they really have not released anything that I wet my pants over. That is until now.

Warning, Warning! This review will have references to the “old school.” Midway has been gracious enough to grant us a trip back to the olden (maybe glory days) days of Arcade gaming with Midway Arcade Treasures. For some of us, this is trip down memory lane, a visit to our old school ways. For others, this collection is a history lesson in how the video game industry has grown over the years.

When I was young, some friends of the family went out one day and purchased a Gauntlet II arcade machine, which, at the time, was a move inconceivable to my developing gamer’s mind. All of a sudden, the living room of these family friends’ house was like a little slice of heaven; not only could I play Gauntlet II for free, I could keep hitting the coin slot to play as long as I could possibly want (or at least until my parents told me it was time to leave). Over the years, however, I saw that machine collect dust, and then eventually move to the garage, until it disappeared one day, never to be seen again. Even at that young age, I had enough of an appreciation of what a classic that game was to be shocked that it was tossed out like an apple core or an E.T. cartridge.

Old videogames never die, they just return in classic compilation packs. As gaming hardware increases in power and capabilities, the more it's possible for the programmers to actually emulate the classic gaming hardware. It's nothing new...developers have been emulating system hardware for more than a half decade or more, both as a hobby and as commercial products. Midway was probably the first company to truly capitalize on the ingenious idea of recycling its old arcade games in new packs, and the company again returns to this scene with Midway Arcade Treasures, 24 arcade games released by Williams, Midway, and Atari Games released in the 80s thrown on a disc for less than 20 bucks. The game's presentation is awful and disappointing compared to other classic compilation packs on the market (Activision Anthology has nothing to worry about), but the emulations are spot-on, and the pricetag and value alone is worth the purchase.

It's great to have such a large selection of oldies here in one collection. I hope other makers take the queue and offer more than the usual "generous" four ancient Pac Man titles for the price of the newest games. These games are out there for PC folks in the MAME format-- for FREE. If the makers of these compilations want us to pay for them, they need to offer a generous selection such as this one. I enjoyed playing the oldies, and know this is a title that will keep me coming back; when I need a retro break from the chaos of modern shooters and high tech racers. Maybe someone will throw in some more sports titles on one collection. Now, if I could only get REAL reproductions of Tron, Kangaroo, Reactor, Vanguard and Gorf-- I'd be a happy gamer!!

On the other hand, Gauntlet is not as fun as you remember, Vindicators and Marble Madness are virtually unplayable with the analog stick control scheme, and instead of Budweiser Tapper you get, uh, Rootbeer Tapper. The true arcade experience of second-hand smoke, arsenals of carefully hoarded quarters, and Cheap Trick on the jukebox is absent, but you do get treated to original concept art and interviews with some seminal game developers. More than just a nostalgic trip,

Midway Arcade Treasure's "bang for your buck" comes from the sheer amount of games on the disk, and how perfect they're represented on the console. Apart from the difference in controls, these games are essentially what gamers played in arcade when the games were released in the 80s. Don't go expecting anything more than the games, however, as it was the emulation portion that received most of the attention; the developer didn't put much focus in giving players anything more than the basic retrogaming experience.

Old videogames never die, they just return in classic compilation packs. As gaming hardware increases in power and capabilities, the more it's possible for the programmers to actually emulate the classic gaming hardware. It's nothing new...developers have been emulating system hardware for more than a half decade or more, both as a hobby and as commercial products. Midway was probably the first company to truly capitalize on the ingenious idea of recycling its old arcade games in new packs, and the company again returns to this scene with Midway Arcade Treasures, 24 arcade games released by Williams, Midway, and Atari Games released in the 80s thrown on a disc for less than 20 bucks. The game's presentation is awful and disappointing compared to other classic compilation packs on the market (Activision Anthology has nothing to worry about), but the emulations are spot-on, and the pricetag and value alone is worth the purchase.

Even though this is the most violent of all of the games in Midway Arcade Treasures, it is the most enjoyable. I'm not exactly sure, but I believe you are playing on a television set, I'm guessing something like "American Gladiator". Anyway, story aside, you basically go from room to room, killing gigantic swarms of enemies and bosses, while using different weapons (including a rocket launcher, pistol, shotgun, and grenade launcher-type weapon). If this hadn't been included, the game would have been rated E, but the inclusion would make purchasing Midway Arcade Treasures a steal for $20. While Xbox Live play would have been nice, the vast amounts of high-quality 80's titles make this worth purchasing, whether you are a classic gaming collector or are from the PlayStation generation.

Anyone that took the time to read this entire review and remembers a lot of these games will probably have a good time with Midway Arcade Treasures - for a while. The list of games is quite impressive, and many of them, like Joust, Paperboy, Toobin' and Roadblasters are still fun to this day. The disc only costs $20 but you can't help but feel that a little more attention could have been paid to the details, and a little more pizzazz could have been added to the entire package to liven things up. If you're curious, spend one of those new twenties in your wallet on some old favorites.

Midway Arcade Treasures has all the ingredients to make a great addition to any gamer's library, but you can't help but feel that a much better job could have been done if more time had been spent making sure that everything worked correctly. It would have yielded a much more recommendable game. If you're a fan of the classic gaming experience who wouldn't mind the sorts of minor issues that are rampant throughout this collection,

Though video games have steadily become more and more graphically intensive, complicated, and popular over the years, anyone who spent any amount of time in an arcade during the early to mid '80s cannot deny that Midway and Atari produced some of their best work to date during that period. Since the video arcade as we know it has been dying a slow death for the past decade, fewer and fewer of these classic games are available to play in the original form, and a vast number of gamers have never had the chance to play some of the greatest games of all time. On one hand, Midway Arcade Treasures is a godsend, as it features no fewer than 24 incredible games that are practically unavailable in their native format. On the other hand, some of the games featured just don't play the way they should, marring an otherwise stellar compilation. If you have any interest in classic gaming, this collection is worth a look, provided you can get used to its quirks.

Only those trying to elicit an emotional attachment to these games are likely to get anything out of all them. The rest of us will just have a mediocre time and will have to hunt down a few cases of Pepsi and chips to fill that emotional void.

Midway Arcade Treasures could've been produced a bit better in some areas, and it'll take a long time to get over the lack of being able to get my Moon Patrol groove on again. However, it certainly has its merits and offers hours of fun with classic games to whet your whistle, and its features, while not exactly polished in presentation, should keep you entertained. Let's hope a sequel comes around.

My disappointment in this disc's shortcomings is tempered by the sheer amount of great, classic gaming on offer. Not all of the games still hold up, but enough do to make a purchase worthwhile for most fans of the classics. While this isn't the slickly produced, extras-laden collection I had hoped for, there are far, far worse ways to spend 20 bucks. And if you were wondering, Smash TV is still friggin' ridiculous.

Quite a list of games for mere $20. Here you’ll find over twenty games, making each less than a dollar to own. These games include SpyHunter, Defender II, Gauntlet , Paperboy, Rampage and RoadBlasters. The full list of games also adds Joust, Marble Madness, Robotron: 2084, Smash TV, Joust 2, Rampart, Blaster, Sinistar, Super Sprint, 720°, Toobin’, KLAX, SPLAT! , Satan’s Hollow , Vindicators, Bubbles, RoadBlasters.

It's one of the great tragedies of modern gaming that retro game compilations are so carelessly thrown together. The vast majority of them seem like quick 'n dirty cash runs by the companies that own the classic properties. Seldom is much effort put into adding extras, such as relevant historical materials or tips 'n tricks info, or even perfect emulation. Midway Arcade Treasures is guilty of most of the crimes mentioned above, with terrible presentation, few extras, and even some emulation issues. However, with a value price point and no less than 24 (mostly) classic Midway and Atari games on offer, it's hard to really get mad at it. Or stay mad, anyway.

Mal construit, peu respectueux et bien moins complet et intéressant qu'il aurait pu l'être, le titre/compilation de Midway déçoit énormément. Voguant sur la seule et unique loi mercantile liée à la nostalgie, il se perd dans des errances et des lacunes qui n'ont pas lieu d'être. Une collection qui s'apparente pratiquement à une petite arnaque en bonne et due forme. Heureusement que dans tout cela, restent les jeux légendaires et pour la plupart ayant posé les bases de nombreux softs d'aujourd'hui.