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Intro
Ah, the arcade. What was once the place to be for a gamer has now become
a haven for gangs of 15 year olds, old air hockey tables, and DDR machines.
Midway's Arcade Treasures harkens back to the days of yesteryear when they
were bustling centers of entertainment with titles that encompass gaming before,
during, and after the gaming crash of the 80s. With a compilation of over 20 games,
interviews, trivia, and an image gallery, this collection is a few control problems
away from being gaming nirvana.
Gameplay: 8/10
First off, let me get with the listing:
Spy
Hunter
Defender
Defender II
Gauntlet (4-players)
Joust
Joust
2
Paperboy
Rampage (3-players)
Robotron 2084
Smash TV
Bubbles
Roadblasters
Blaster
Rampart
(3-players)
Sinistat
Super Sprint (3-players)
Marble Madness
720
Toobin'
KLAX
SPLAT!
Satan's
Hollow
Vindicators
Root Beer Tapper That's
a lot of gaming goodness. For those who aren't familiar with the titles, just
keep in mind that they are relatively simple by today's standards; but, most have
kept their addictive nature intact. Then again, if you aren't familiar with any
of these, I doubt you're particularly interested in them now. If that's the case,
consider the Joust warrior sad that you're simply skimming this and not reading
it. Midway certainly has quite the past.
This compilation brings that to light with so many beloved games that it's hard
to decide which to play first after cracking it open. Now, I'm a Joust
man, but I'm also masochistic, so I also love Marble Madness and Robotron
as well. For those who prefer a leg up, many of the games include options to make
the game easier - Gauntlet allows for unlimited food - but the player can
always buck up and ignore the helpful additions. For those who never had a chance
to play these way back when, go ahead and play without the help, they'll give
you a whole new appreciation for the creature comforts that developers take with
games these days. After some sweat, and
a few tears, it's time to give the thumbs a rest and check out the additional
content. Unfortunately, interviews are minimal, but there are also additional
goodies that are almost as good. The trivia games are particularly interesting,
with many containing video from developers who answer the question and offer additional
background information. Galleries include front and back sell sheets, marquees,
arcade cabinets, and some print ads; these are particularly nice since they are
zoomable and are incredibly crisp, even when as close as possible. The extras
were excellent additions, and I only wished there was more. As
much as I'd like to end the review with praise, there were some problems. On the
more nit-picky side was that the video quality was poor and there was quite a
bit of loading. On a gameplay-related note, the controls never felt right. Quite
a few of the games felt sluggish or slightly off; one serious problem was Spy
Hunter not working when using the directional pad to steer.
Graphics: 8/10
With the newest game being older than a decade, it
isn't unreasonable to say that some of the titles aren't the best lookers. Although,
they are what they are, so one can't fault them for that; however, there were
some instances where it looked like the graphics were touched up a bit, with others
that looked as-is, so there seemed to be some inconsistency. Also, for those wanting
to feel like they are on a narcotic, Blaster is there to assist.
Sound:
7/10
Is there anything more enchanting than the beeps and boops of Robotron?
Or how about the announcer's muffled voice in Smash TV? No, I didn't think
there was - well, for about the first hour or so, then it starts to get a little
grating. I know they were going for the 'oldschool' style, but a little cleaning
in the audio department wouldn't have hurt. Control:
6.5/10
With Spy Hunter refusing to work with the directional pads
and the feeling of sluggishness in quite a few of the games, this is definitely
the weakest part of the title. Many games that should really be directional-pad
only were made native to analog, which I really didn't like as it never felt natural
for any of the titles - especially considering many have played these on past
consoles, as well as in the arcades. Overall:
7.5/10
For $20 you get quite a few bona fide classics. The production is
fairly poor, though, with an odd, cheap looking Egyptian motif and blurry menus
with Comic Sans font. There is also quite a bit of loading. Despite those faults,
and the controls, the interviews and extra media are worthwhile as one really
gets the feel of how the industry was back when and the enthusiasm the developers
brought to their titles. At budget price, Midway's Arcade Treasures is
a good deal and a great way to get in some classic gaming without having to dig
out any of the legacy systems. [
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