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Although Midway Arcade Treasures contains a pretty comprehensive listing of great games from the 80's, some are good while others are terrible. Smash TV has major bugs, too. Graphically and sound effects-wise, they are virtually identical to the originals. The maker of Midway Arcade Treasures claims that these are the original games run over a software emulator. That's apparently true in at least most cases, although I Spy Hunter and Smash TV seem a tad different than I remember them. One other gripe is that these games have to played from the CD - aside from being annoying, CDs eventually get dinged up and unusable. Anyway, here's a short list of reviews:
Rampage is just like the original. This is one you can play for hours! Score one for Midway Arcade Treasures.
Paperboy is a decent rendition, although there is a major lag in the controls. They are not at all responsive. This makes it nearly unplayable in higher levels. I don't recall this in the original arcade version, which had a huge, giant bicycle handlebar as the main control - although that thing was so big the game wasn't too responsive anyway. Well, it's still fun!
Smash TV is also just like the quarter-eating original. Unfortunately, this version randomly quits in the middle of games with not so much as an error message. It is the only one of the games that is so unstable, but, unfortunately, it was one of the best games. Too bad.
Spy Hunter is hte only game that can be considered unplayable. I used to be able to play this endlessly in the arcade, so I don't know whether I'm just losing my skills or the game is just junk, but even at the most generous settings it is virtually unplayable.
Robotron, Joust, Defender, Stargate (Defender II) and Sinistar are just like the William's originals. These have actually been available since 1996 (which I've had and played reguarly since almost the day they came out!), but it was nice that Midway included these. The customization controls are much easier for the Midway version than they were for the version I had. If you loved any of these classics, you will be pleased with the Midway editions!
I never really played much of the other 15 or so games included with this, so I cannot comment on their authenticity, but most seem true to the originals.
Wizard... is about to die!
Oh, do these words take me back. I used to play Gauntlet & Paperboy when I was in college after a hard day's work and they were just what the doctor ordered for relieving stress and tension... over the years I had tried various versions of each game and found that nothing matched up to the originals. Thankfully this collection came out and I can waste time again!
I originally bought this game because it had Paperboy on it - to my surprise it also has Gauntlet (yay!), Rampage, Spy Hunter, Defender and Root Beer Tapper included. It also has Toobin', one of the most underrated games of all time. So for selection, this can't be beat.
On the bad side, I will agree with the other reviewer - sometimes the graphics and music lag and the controls can be a pain. Make sure you have enough RAM (more than 128mb) and make sure you have a joystick. Using the keyboard is pretty tough at times and forget it if you play the games on a laptop without a keypad. If I had a joystick I know I could get past level 15 on Gauntlet - as it is with the keyboard, that's all I can do right now.
If you've got the system and you've been hankerin' for some good old fashioned arcade fun, this is the software to get. Just make sure your hardware is up to snuff.
And remember to save potions for later use...
Its full of bugs unless you run it on Windows 98/ME
These games lag, because the original programming of the games were designed for operating systems before Windows XP and 2000 and have various compatability issues that did not seem to be ironed out. The most notable issues are in driving games where the steering wheen acts as if the steering wheel is stuck all the way to the left spinning in circles. Sometimes the games do not exit properly, or there may be a delay before you can pause and exit.... Its very promising for $[...] but I wish the quality of this game would have been that of what Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe was......... No direct Console port from the XBOX, PS2 or Gamecube here. Just pure sloppiness.
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