Reader Reviews
This week we're on a mini-nostalgia tip, with Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, N64 throwbacks, Marble Madness rip-offs and Midway's latest arcade compilation.
Star Review: Midway Arcade Treasures (PS2)
by DDevil
As I'm sat here, I'm wondering, just how do you rate 24 different games with one number? It's not easy, as you might expect. Some of these games are better than others. I guess I better just start at the beginning.
Each and every one of these games comes from the period when the arcade was the place to be if you were a gamer. Back in the day when "arcade perfect" conversions were rare on home computers these are the games that swallowed our 10ps, and they took them quickly too - games were hard back then. Not that we minded at all, the games were also good, they were great.
But that brings me to the main problem of this collection: nostalgia is a fickle beast. It's so easy to look back on this collection of games with rose-tinted glasses. Your memory deceives you; didn't Rampage look a hell of a lot better back then? Wasn't SpyHunter easier? Was it so hard to hit the targets in Paperboy? These games for the most part can't stand up to modern games, not in the long run anyway. They're fun in short blasts, but you can't play them for long periods of time. They simply were not designed that way. Of course, the controller set-up can be faulted as part of this problem. Super Sprint isn't the same without the steering wheel that you could just spin. Smash TV and Robotron miss the large twin sticks (somehow the analogue sticks just don't work as well). Also, don't get me started on the controls for Toobin'. You'll be cursing that game before you get halfway through the first level.
Having said all of that, these games are still undeniably fun. Gauntlet is still a blast if you get three friends and a multi-tap. Paperboy is still has that "one more try" feeling to it, Defender is still ultimately playable and Smash TV has had me at the edge of my seat as I try to avoid being beaten by those damned mutants. It's all nicely presented too, the Egyptian tomb theme the menus use can be a bit awkward at first, but one you learn which symbol is which game its no bother. Also included are certain extras for each game; these contain history, trivia, a gallery and interviews. Problem being, the games don't all have information in each of these sections, with blank screens being left in their place. Would it have been too difficult to write a couple of paragraphs on the history of Bubbles (for example)?
I would have to say though; if you're old enough to remember these games I could think of worse ways to spend your money. £15 is well worth the laughs this game can give you when your mates are round and admittedly the low price influences the score I've given it. Of course, if you can't remember these games, if you're too young or had no interest in gaming back then knock a mark, maybe two, off my score. You just won't appreciate the set - it's for feeding that sense of nostalgia. Without it you're lost.