Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5959 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Midway Games Ltd
• Released on: 2004-02-06
• Rating: To Be Announced
• Platform: PlayStation2

Amazon.co.uk Review
One of the best-value retro compilations by far is Midway Arcade Treasures. The name is a bit of a misnomer, though, since it actually contains arcade classics from the likes of Atari, Williams and Bally--although the latter two companies were long ago bought up and absorbed by Midway.

Of these games Williams' are the oldest and most revered, with titles such as Defender, Robotron 2084 and Joust coming from the golden age of arcade games and guided by the hand of coin-op genius Eugene Jarvis. These games, along with lesser titles and follow-ups such as Defender II, Joust 2, Smash TV, Blaster, Sinistar and Splat!, mark Williams as the most gifted of American coin-op developers and all of the games are presented here exactly as they used to be--with 20-year-old graphics but timeless gameplay.

Bally's Spy Hunter, Rampage and Root Beer Tapper came a few years later and are still entertaining today, although Satan's Hollow is pretty much the only stinker in the whole package. Then there's the "newest" titles from Atari such as multi-player classic Gauntlet plus Paperboy, Marble Madness, Roadblasters, Rampart, 720º, Super Sprint, Toobin', Klax and Vindicators.

The only disappointment of this collection is that although some of these games have video clip interviews and the odd scanned in promotional image the actual presentation and menu systems are very cheaply done. This doesn't take away from the classic beauty of the games themselves though. This compilation a must for collectors and anyone else interested in a time when gameplay really was more important than graphics. --David Jenkins

Manufacturer's Description
Midway Arcade Treasures brings classic arcade gaming to the latest generation of hot game consoles! Over 20 classic video games that defined the arcades of the 70s and 80s are collected in one pack--fast-paced action with Spy Hunter, Joust, Paperboy, and Marble Madness, RoadBlasters;multi-player fun with Gauntlet, Rampage, Smash TV, and 720;Space-age and fantasy adventure with Defender, Joust, Robotron 2084, and Stargate. Also contains bonus DVD content including game histories, creator interviews, top gaming secrets and original music.

Customer Reviews

Midway Arcade Treasures Information.........
Midway Arcade Treasures includes 24 games:

Spy Hunter, Defender, Gauntlet, Joust, Paperboy, Rampage, Marble Madness, Robotron: 2084,
Smash TV, Joust 2, Bubbles, RoadBlasters, Defender 2, Splat, Blaster, Rampart, Sinistar, Super
Sprint, 720, Toobin', Klax, Satan's Hollow, Vindicators, and Root Beer Tapper.

A Huge Selection of in My view Some of the best games to hit the arcades all those years ago,
and now for your playstation 2.
If retro gaming is your thing, this is for you, Not all the sounds and controls are the same as the
original Arcade Versions, but with a little practice, and effort, you should master these Classics
in no time, Amongst these titles, must be one that you remember playing, but this time you dont
need a pocket full of change for your credits.

Nostalgic Game Play at its Best, hours of fun, This should be in every games collection, invite
your friends round and have a Retro Games Party, These games are the Front runners of what we
have today.

Even My Children Like playing these, and if they are hooked, that should tell you
something, because they are the worst critics, and the hardest to please, instead of being board in
minutes, or saying these are "Rubbish", They Love them, you even get a bonus DVD with loads
of facts and other things all game related......

Midway Arcade Treasures deserves a try, see for yourself

RAMPART!
If you ignore the 'Pyramid' intro and confusing way of listing the games (how hard can it be to give us a simple list instead of confusing pictures?) this is great for any retro-game lover.
I'd never heard of Rampart before buying this compilation but now its one of my all time favourites. Its a bit like Tetris but with Castles, Ships and Cannons as well - Genius!
Just buy it.

Lazy arcade conversions
I don't know how the 'gamer from Leeds' managed to be playing this collection about a month before it came out on sale and then write a review of it, nor do I know why s/he claimed that you get a bonus DVD, there is no bonus DVD.

What you do get is a lazy conversion job of a mixed bag of old games. One or two of them are pretty good, Gauntlet springs to mind, although Gauntlet has been made a touch too easy with the ability to keep topping up your health (like having unlimited credits) Defender looks and plays pretty much like it did back in the day in the arcades, and Sinistar is still rock hard.

On the other hand the rest of the bunch seem a little lacklustre at best, and downright stinking at worst. Super Sprint suffers really badly and is almost impossible to control with a joypad (you just keep crashing into the walls) which gets really annoying very quickly.

As for the 'bonus' stuff on the disk, a few interviews which are exactly the same footage, at exactly the same (poor quality) resolution as Midway's 'Arcade Party Pak' for the PS1, and some 'trivia' which is just kinda 'blah, why bother?' The worst sin here is that there isn't even an interview with the Gauntlet team, and Gauntlet was by far the 'biggest' game to be included on the disc, so you really are just going to be buying this for the games.

The egyptian pyramid theme that acts as an interface between the games is not exactly helpful either, makes the whole thing harder to navigate than it needs to be, and it looks pretty shabby too.

Now I know this is fairly cheap as PS2 discs go, but it really shouldn't be on sale for anything more than five pounds, anything more just makes it bad value for money (and yes I do feel a bit of a mug for buying it) When you compare it with the emulators that are available for the PC then it comes way down the list.

So why have I given it two stars and not one? Because even if it is a pretty lazy conversion job there are bound to be a few games on it that you will be able to play and enjoy, for a short while anyway. At least you will if you don't come at it with high expectations. Overall then, better to give it a miss unless you really have to have one of the games on here (and you better hope that the game you want has reasonable controls for the PS2!)