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Perfect translations, culutre shock and no quarters

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 26 / 26
Date: November 23, 2003
Author: Amazon User

My youth has returned!

Many of the games I had to stand in line at the arcade to play and then was slaughtered by in 60 seconds flat are contained on this 20+ game compilation of old arcade hits (and misses): Robotorn 2084, Rampage, Joust (1 & 2), Defender (1 & 2), Smash TV...just great stuff abounds. Of course, there are some clunkers, but hey: it was the 80s.

The translations here are frighteningly faithful: the graphics, sound and general play of the controls is dead-on (except for maybe "Marble Madness", but if you have a ball controller instead of buttons and joysticks, you're back in action). There was some element of culture shock once I got started playing these on the PS2 (it boggles the mind how few buttons you need to play any of these games as opposed to the thumb-wracking madness of today's offerings), and the game overall feels like a big cheat code since you don't have to stop playing just because you ran out of quarters. Just hit the start button and you're back where you were, fighting the big bosses...indefinitely.

A classic made up of classics. And at the price, you really can't go wrong, period.

Best Anthology available for PS2

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: July 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

What many people don't take into consideration is that this anthology blows the other anthologies and compilations away. The sheer number of games (20), the number of good games (at least half of them were favorites), and the level of faithfulness these ports are to the original games (very good as well), makes this collection absolutely incredible. Games like Vindicators, Road Blasters, Rampage, and Gauntlet look exactly like they did in the arcades. The sounds were straight out of the games. Additionally, the difficulty level was able to be changed, just like an owner can in the arcades. Finally, one feature that really helped was that most of the games allowed you to continue, some of them indefinitely, so for some of those games that you chugged a lot of quarters in, not just because you wanted to play those games, but because you wanted to FINISH those games, you now can!

The only imperfection to this gameset is that it doesn't allow you to use a steering wheel. Man, being able to use one for Road Blasters and Spy Hunter would have been excellent.

All this leads to Midway Arcade Classics II, which comes out in late fall of 2004, which sounds just as good as this one! Same low price, too!

Serious Treat for Classic Gamers like myself

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: November 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

You get 24 popular Arcade classics from Midway, Williams, and Atari. I don't mean the same old 4 or 5 games they keep releasing over and over again. Not at all! You do get the usual 5 classics that Midway has been puting out for the last few years, but this package also brings your about 15 more classics that havn't been released commercialy for any system since their original coin-op debut. I'm talking games like Smash TV, Gauntlet, Roadblasters, and more. I just can't believe there only charging $19.95 for this collection. It's incredible. It really doesn't take a genius to figure out that you need to go get in your car right now and drive to the nearest video game dealer and buy this. In case you were wondering, the gameplay is excellent. I assume this is emulation and if so, the guys at Midway did one heck of a job on this emulator. I was expecting Roadblasters to be sluggish, but it was true to the arcade version. Smash TV uses both of the sticks on the PS2 controller and it makes it pretty true to the arcade. If you love Arcade games the way I do, then there is no way you can pass this DVD up. The videos are interesting. I really expected all these original arcade programmers to be old men, but they were quite young. Blew my mind. I am loving this DVD and will for some time to come.

Oh So Good!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 21, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is awesome! WELL, WELL, WELL worth the $19.95! I spend more time playing the games on this disk than I do all my other games combined!

One thing though...If you're a 720 fan, you might be upset to know that the game controls are exactly BACKWARDS from the original arcade version. Takes some time to re-learn.

Other than that, EXCELLENT Game!

like I'm 11 years old hanging out at the Golfland Arcade

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: April 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This collection is awesome. If you're in your late 20's or early 30's you will get a big kick out of this. Paperboy and Rootbeer Tapper are the highlights. You'll be asking your mom for quarters again in no time.

Nostalgia with great gameplay

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Alot of my love for this title comes from the fact that I was a coin-op arcade junky in the middle eighties. That being said, the games included here really have excellent gameplay to draw on. Its not just the nostalgia.

My favorites titles include Defender, Stargate, (i refuse to call it Defender II), Joust, Spy Hunter, 720, Robotron 2084, Rampage and Gauntlet.

This disc also helped me to discover some games that Id missed back in the day. Im talking titles like Rampart, Bubbles, Super sprint and Toobin.

One issue to be aware of with this game is that it takes some time to get used to the controls. This issue is very noticeable in Spy Hunter and the games with a trackball in arcades. Its hard to translate at first, but eventually you will get used to it.

The history and DVD clips on the games were ineteresting as side notes.

Just a note on the amazon description, Moon Patrol is not on the disc unless it is hidden content that I have to unlock somewhere.

A fun trip to the past

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

For those of us who were fond of spending hard-earned quarters in the arcades back in the 80s, this game is a wonderful treat. For twenty dollars, you get an express trip to memory lane and the chance to play some old favorites without running out of money. But a special bonus is included in the disk. You can learn about the history of each game, pictures of the cabinets or concept art and even watch interview clips with the creators.

I only found two minor flaws with the game. First (And most importantly) the controls can be a challenge the first few times you play. It's not easy translating old arcade console controls to modern game pads but that clears up with enough practice. Secondly, not all of the games had histories, interviews or pictures in the bonus feature. It might sound like a minor sticking point, but it was fascinating to learn the history of these games.

If you are looking for a break from three-dimensional animation, stereo sound and realistic violence prevalent in today's games, invest in this little gem. Older gamers will appreciate seeing old friends again and younger gamers will enjoy playing classics.

Great Game, Great Price!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

If you happened to grow up during the video game boom in the 1980's, this collection is for you. I put it in my PS2 and was instantly taken back to my teenage days of arcade influenced ill-repute. Not only does this disc contain over twenty classics, but it also includes some games--such as Sinistar--that I never had the chance to play the first time around because their distribution was limited. The sights and sounds hold true to the originals. Interviews with game developers as well as miscellaneous documents and production notes/art have been included to give insight to the creative process. To be fair, games like Spy Hunter, Robotron 2084, Joust, and Defender are as much fun to play now as they were then, losing nothing in their original intuitive game play. Others, like Paperboy, seem a little awkward when compared to the original. Root Beer Tapper and Bubbles are still induce laughter, while Klax is an entertaining puzzle that will appeal to those who like Tetris. My personal favorite is Smash TV, a game that I never seemed to have enough change to complete back in the day. I had forgotten just how brutally graphic it was for its time.

Even if you didn't ride that first wave of quarter induced madness, you should give this one a shot--for the history, for the simple fun of straightforward game play, for the chance to trace the foundation and origins of the modern games many of us now enjoy.

Essential for fans of classic games

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I purchased the Playstation 2 with the intention of only picking about 10 or so games for the console - any more than that and I would probably find myself up until the wee hours every night. One game that is highly essential, especially if you only have a small collection, is Midway Arcade Treasures. Anyone who remembers these games back when they appeared in the arcades will be thrilled to have the identical translations of these classic games - and the best part is that there are over 20 titles to choose from, all on a single disc! You can place most of these games next to many of the titles that are being released today, and they compare favorably when it comes to overall fun - these games don't have much of a burn factor and you'll find yourself picking it up quite often. Klax, Root Beer Tapper and Marble Madness are particularly engaging due to their many levels and the challenge that they present. Then there's Defender, Stargate, and the extremely challenging fast-paced Sinistar (perhaps one of the most difficult games of all time) for those who enjoy intergalactic shoot-em-ups. The games that I find myself going back to quite often are Rampage (where you become a mutant creature that goes around demolishing every city in your path) and Smash TV (this is basically the Schwarzenegger film The Running Man taken to the extreme) - and of course I'm only scratching the surface, there's so many other classics here that you'll never find yourself losing interest.

In summary: This game is highly recommended for anyone that frequented arcades back in the '80s, or anyone that might have overlooked what is now considered the golden era of video games. Take a look at Amazon's price for Midway Arcade Treasures - with the amount of time that you'll spend playing it, there's no way that you'll be disappointed.

Cool games from the past !

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: May 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I've been trying to find Paperboy for playstation and it's only on this game ! If you like the classics, you'll love this !

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