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Definitely An Arcade Treasure

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 13
Date: December 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Midway struck gold with this latest release. Over 24 classic arcade games are included. Fun for the entire family, all ages and it's not too expensive.

The disc contains:

720*, Blaster, Bubbles, Defender, Defender II, Gauntlet, Joust, Joust 2, Klax, Marble Madness, Paperboy, Rampage, Rampart, Roadblasters, Robotron: 2084, Root Beer Tapper, Satan's Hollow, Sinistar, Smash TV, Splat!, SpyHunter, Super Sprint, Toobin', & Vindicators.

Also included is:

Interviews: informative, intriguing and sometimes funny. The creators & programers discuss the design and creation of many of these classic games.

Trivia: information on and about these classic games.

Gallery: containing conceptual artwork, drawings, photos and merchandising sales info about theses classic games.

History: historical accounts of the many classic games and their place in the video gaming industry.

This is an absolute treasure. To play these games again after so many years brought back so many memories. Although it does take some getting used to using the gamecube controls & buttons vs. the original arcade controls, it does hold up very well. Be prepared for hours of sore thumbs and headaches. And you don't need a bucket of quarters to play. How cool is that!

Some of my Favorite Midway Games!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: January 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I remember going to the local 7-11 Store and playing Root-Beer Tapper(Which was named Beer Tapper at the time)! I even bought the home version for the old ColecoVision when it came out.
It's great to be able to play some of these old school games again like:
Root Beer Tapper
Toobin'
PaperBoy
Marble Madness
Defender 1 & II

And many more!
I also liked the little video interviews with the games creators.
They tell how they created the games for the arcades... How they had to rush to get a game ready for the video game arcade shows (Which was kind of like the E3 video game conventions they have now). The only thing I found a little disappointing was the low volume sound for the games. I had to turn the volume way up on my home theater system just to hear the sound properly, but other than that the games are GREAT!

So if you are old enough to remember going into the arcades as a teen in the 80's and spending a ton of quarters on these games... Then you will LOVE this game! and for the price it's being offered at... How can you not want to add this to your collection of classic old school games?

Grab a copy today!

AwEsOmE OLD SCHOOL ARCADE FUN! 24 games in 1!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Dream come true! This collection is so awesome, let the tears of joy flow. These old school arcade games are super fun with solid logic, gameplay, mind stimulation, action, challenge, and entertainment. The 24 games are: Spy hunter, defender, defender 2, gauntlet, joust, joust 2, paperboy, rampage, robotron 2084, smash tv, bubbles, roadblasters, blaster, rampart, sinistar, super sprint, marble madness, 720*, toobin', klax, splat!, satan's hollow, vindicators, and root beer tapper!

This game is the best of all 'classic aracde collection games'. You get both QUALITY AND QUANTITY! It also includes game histories, developer interviews, and top-secret documents.

My favorite games:
Gauntlet - Unlimited quarters ruin the game
Paperboy - Fun but hard, the street hazards are hilarious
Ramapge - Fun, destroy buildings and eat people, multi-players
Smash TV - Fun! Lots of carnage. Like the movie "Running Man', multi-players
Super Sprint - Fun! No steering wheels? Feels more like radio control than driving with joystick, still fun, multi-players
720* - Fun!! I like this more than Tony Hawk 4, seriously!
Root Beer Tapper - Fun! The gameplay and concept is classic!

These games are more fun than most modern games. This is a MUST HAVE for all classic old school arcade lovers! If you want to play REAL video games then try this too. THANK YOU MIDWAY!

Takes me back to my youth

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I can't tell you how many quarters I dropped into many of the games on this collection back in the 80's! This is a great collection at a great price. I would suggest getting a 3rd party arcade stick for some of these games, they start around twenty bucks. Oh and the info is incorrect on the product description, some of the games support up to 4 players such as Gauntlet 1 - 4 players, and Rampage 1 - 3 players! And Robotron 2084 can be played using the Directional pad and C stick to make it close to the arcade experience. If you lived in the arcade in the 80s this is a MUST have!

Great selection, interesting extras

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: October 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

One of the things that really stood out to me about this collection was its inclusion of extras featuring promotional information as well as interviews with the games' creators. There are some real heavy hitters here. Defender is the quintessential "game designer's" game. I've seen numerous programmers from that era site it as one of their personal favorites.
You also get the insane Robotron, Smash TV, Paperboy, Spy Hunter, etc. Its a real great selection. The only rather questionable title (in my opinion) is Toobin. Maybe simply because I never thought much of it in the arcade. But all are welcome in this rather impressive lineup, and not all will meet everyone's tastes.
In all, this game made me realize the art of older games. They emphasized triumphing over chaos. You have to "rise above" the apparent insanity on screen and simply go with the flow. That's the key. You can't play Robotron in a paranoid manner. But this is not about game tips. Just get this and you'll know what I mean.

A great collection of classic games

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: July 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Midway sure crammed in alot of great classic games into one package for 20 dollars (do the math - you're talking less then a dollar a game - how can you go wrong?)

Some of the games haven't aged that well and the controlls take a little getting used to but complaints like that are pretty petty considering everything your getting.

If you're not able to enjoy games which aren't graphically cutting edge then obviously look elsewhere. However if you're looking for a great collection of classic games there isn't a better purchase you can make.

My personal favorites are Spy Hunter, Paperboy and Joust but just about every game in this collection is worth playing at least once or twice.

Grab up a copy and have some old school fun. How many games today can you play in 15 minute sessions and still feel satisfied?

GameCube Version

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Interesting what others are commenting about in the XBox and PS2 versions. One would think if a publisher ports something to all 3 platforms, they would work nearly identical. My rating is for the GameCube version only.
To review this set, it would heavily depend upon what games the user is familiar with and will actually play. For example, one reviewer was complaining about some old civil war strategy game, which I have absolutely no idea how to control. Another reviewed an arcade game which originally used a trackball or steering wheel. I tried that one out and it seems to work fine, and I can shoot the other cars diagonally in the other lane unlike what he mentioned.
Overall, all the games here seem to work fine. Good graphics, sound, and speed. No crashing or freezing up. All games seem to run their original playable arcade speed. Loading times are very short.
I bought this set mainly for the Defender games, Gauntlet, and Rampage. To comment, they all look and act exactly like the original arcade versions. Comparable to the PC MAME version. Now you can use the controller instead of the PC keyboard.
One should note that the translation is not 100% accurate from the arcade. For instance, you get muffled voice here and there once in awhile. Even that problem is present in the MAME version, which is the best emulation out there. Put into consideration that an arcade cabinet can have more power than an Intel Pentium 10GHz+. The hardware is so different. Replicating that on some cheap console, it is hard not to appreciate this Cube version.

A Nostalgic Trip back to the Arcade era 1980's.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: October 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Midway has done a great job of bringing 20 classicArcade games to the Gamecube. These games I fondly remember, going down to Golfland Arcade in Stanton,with my brother and friends. You can't go wrong with purchasing this game, for $20.00 you get 20 games and extra dvd features like interviews with the creators and more. If you're like me who grew up playing these timeless gems, go to your nearestvideo game store and buy it right now.

Great Classic Gaming Fun

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: December 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Retrogaming has become more and more popular in recent years. A number of titles have been released for various systems allowing people to play older, "classic" games on newer systems. However, none of them have offered as many games in one package as Midway Arcade Treasures does - 24 games spanning a good portion of the 1980's are present on this disc.

Some of the titles here were rather obscure at the time, such as Blaster, Splat!, and Satan's Hollow. Others are key games that altered the path of the industry, such as Defender, Robotron: 2084, and Gauntlet. But they all are reproduced in their full arcade glory, allowing players familiar with the games to enjoy them again, and new players can see games responsible for making gaming what it is today.

Some of the games here just aren't all that much fun anymore. Satan's Hollow, for example, just doesn't have gameplay that really stands up to the test of time. But don't let that turn you away - others of the 24 have gameplay that have aged quite well. Gauntlet still offers challenge, Sinistar is still extremely hard, and Robotron: 2084 is still one of the most playable games ever made.

The Gamecube controller works well for many of the games - the movement stick and C stick combo offer nice control for the dual joystick games (Robotron: 2084 and Smash TV), and they've managed to find working control schemes for just about all of the games. Those that used more unusual analog controls (the steering wheel for Super Sprint, trackball for Rampart) do suffer in regards to control, though, with the car in Super Sprint being really tough to steer accurately.

There are a number of extras on the disc that are worth looking at. You can see interviews with game designers, and find out what made them create the game as they did, and what they thought of player reactions to the game. Not all games have interviews though - one notable game missing them is Gauntlet. There is a written history of some of the games, mostly games that were in previous collections such as the 6 from Williams Arcade Classics. Many of the games also have images of flyers and game cabinets, images you can zoom and slide around. There's nothing too amazing in here, but it can be entertaining.

Overall, with the number of games here, you're sure to find a few that are worth playing. (...)

Great value

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

First, a confession: I think I am a little too young for this game. The only game on this collection that I played extensively in the arcades is Smash TV, which is the newest game featured. Most of these games, like Defender, Joust and Klax, I know only from the Atari or Nintendo home versions, and a few I've never played.

That said, this is still an amazing collection, even if you don't remember any of them. I think the cream of the crop is probably Klax, a Tetris-based puzzle game with interesting sound effects and changing goals. Marble Madness is also great. Even though it's extremely short (you could finish the whole game in about five minutes), it will take you a long time to become good enough to do it, since you can't continue.

I couldn't get into some of the admittedly important "classics" on this disc, however. Robotron 2084 must have been great in 1984, but with the nearly identical and much better Smash TV right here, what's the point? Similarly, I don't think I'll be playing Defender too much when I've got games like Gradius IV in my collection.

There are a couple of stinkers on here, too. Does anyone really enjoy Toobin' or 720? And while Super Sprint is fun in the arcades, it's impossible to control with a joystick.

The thing that struck me most about this collection is how these older games are not for wussies like new games are. If you don't know what you're doing, you'll lose all your lives in a matter of seconds. Contrast that to newer arcade games, which usually let you play for a certain amount of time no matter how much you stink.

At any rate, I probably would be willing to pay the $19.99 cost of this game for Klax alone (I remember paying more for the Atari Lynx version of Klax and Nintendo's Marble Madness), so this was a no-brainer purchase. However, what I really, really want is a collection of old NES games for GameCube... Metroid, Contra, Life Force, Mega Man, RC Pro-Am, Double Dribble, etc. Nintendo, Capcom, Konami, are you listening?

NOTE: In case you're curious, the "T" rating comes solely from the gore in Smash TV. All the other games are perfectly fine for kids (and even Smash TV is tame compared to most modern action games).

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