Last week I put this on my christmas list but on closer inspection I saw that it would be unwise to wait until christmas to get a copy of this. This is a perfect collection of classic Midway arcade games from the 80s and early 90s. These are games that were developed by Midway and not US version of Japanese games published by Midway. So you would have to go to the Namco collections to get your Pac Man fix.
The Midway Arcade Treasures is on Gamecube, PS2 and Xbox and includes :
SpyHunter
Defender II
Gauntlet
Joust
Paperboy
Rampage
Marble Madness
Robotron: 2084
Smash TV
Joust 2
Rampart
Blaster
Sinistar
Super Sprint
720°
Toobin'
KLAX
SPLAT!
Satan's Hollow
Vindicators
Bubbles
RoadBlasters
The company Digital Eclipse helped with emulator support and they did a great job supporting the various special controls and options of the games. This is a great deal and one of the best made collection of classic arcade games. I hope that other companies make a similar collection of their older games. I would love to see Sega, Capcom and Konami make similar collections.
While I could have played these in the open source emulation project MAME it is a whole different experience to play them on a TV game system with a game pad and perfect controls. There is Xbox Live based online highscore ranking for those old school dorks with Xbox Live. There is multiplayer gameplay on the arcade games that support it so you can play three person Rampage and four person Gauntlet. BBQ and I had a great time playing Rampage, Smash TV and Toobin with an unlimited supply of virtual quarters. The dual analog sticks really help in playing Robotron: 2084, Smash TV and SpyHunter. There is DVD style goodies such as creator and developer interviews, ad art and game histories.
This is without a doubt one of the finest collection of classic videogames I have seen and it is a deal at twenty bucks. It would be a great gift for kids of the 80s or kids of the 2000s.
"I would love to see Sega, Capcom and Konami make similar collections."
Well, I don't know if it counts, but Capcom are making a 10 (possibly 15, if the b&w GB games are included) game Mega Man Anniversary Collection, which, according to their press release - http://www.capcom.com/news/news.xpml?prid=450094 - is due for release in February in the US.
Yeah I will be one of the first one to get that. I know that Capcom released emulation collections of their older arcade games in Japan on PS but we never saw them in the US.
dude... you can play multiplayer rampage without an additional cartridge.. heheh.. this is awesome!!
Well you need a multitap on the PS2 if you want to play with all three monsters. It is running the actual arcade game in emulation.
Yeah I am going to have to pick this one up too, I thought I did read that Sega was coming out with a Genisis/Arcade collection... will have to look for the link.
This one's on its way to me in the mail. Looking forward to some Marble Madness.
It's a great value and it'd be great to see other developers follow suit. I do assume you've played Activision Anthology? It's hard to top any PS2 game that includes Pitfall 2, a 1981 Activision corporate video, and "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell.
Konami does, sort of, have a collection like that. They have the Contra/Castlevania collection, which includes a bunch of games -- unfortunately, it's PC only. bleh.
As for SEGA, well... as I'm sure everyone knows by now... the SEGA remakes that are part of the SEGA Ages line are coming to this side of the Pacific come early 2004. Can't wait for Fantasy Zone!
Youve got to try mame on a moded xbox. There are also emus for all the old consoles... 1 console... every system (and arcade game from your childhood). sex is somehow less ineteresting now.
So wait -- this records your high scores? And over Xbox Live? That's *awesome*. I was totally let down by the fact that the Atari Anniversary collection doesn't (it's also by Digital Eclipse).
Too bad I'm not buying any games until next year. Hopefully someone will get this for me. :)
This is on my Christmas list too, Jake. How much did you end up shelling out for it? If it isn't more than $20 or so, I may go ahead and grab it like you did...
Oh, I forgot to ask, which console did you get it for? I have a PS2 and a GC...Are there any differences between the various console versions?
I got the PS2 version. I think they are pretty much the same with the exception of the Xbox live high score sharing.
I too just bought this title. I found a Konami greatest hits on ebay that has Yie ar Kung Fu, Tempest and many other classics. What I am looking for is a joystick to play these with- rather than a game pad. Any advice out there?
Sure. I have reviewed two joysticks for PS2/PSOne
http://www.8bitjoystick.com/archives/jake_gamester_reflex_arcade_stick_for_ps2.php
and
http://www.8bitjoystick.com/archives/jake_review_pelican_ps2_arcade_joystick.php
What's the best joystick for Gauntlet?
I once played Gauntlet for 10 hours on one quarter!!!!! Really, I wouldn't lie about that sort of thing. I was thrilled when I found the capcom disk for ps2. I am looking for a joystick that resembles the original gauntlet joystick as closely as possible. It seems that most joysticks (and the controller pads) don't have 'slots' built into them for the eight compass points around the center of the joystick. I realize many more modern games offer a sort of continuous 360 degree rotation with the joystick, but for gauntlet you really need to be able to quickly lock into your diagonal movement and/or firing. The same is true for up/down and left/right, actually. The problem with the controller pad annd thumb pad is that I often find myself inadvertently moving or firing in a direction I did not intend, because the stick won't 'catch' in the direction I intended it to. Can anyone suggest a good joystick to solve this particular problem?
Thanks in advance......Tom.
I would get a Reflex Stick for PS2. That is what I use
http://www.8bitjoystick.com/archives/jake_gamester_reflex_arcade_stick_for_ps2.php