Another
generation of consoles, another repackaged collection of the same
retro 'delights' that kept 80's kids enthralled in arcades
everywhere. So how do these coin guzzling arcade games stand up
today?
I
should start by admitting that I never experienced the early 80's
arcade boom, my first experiences of video games starting in 1989
when I was hooked on coin-ops such as Final Fight, Bomb Jack, Ghosts
N Goblins and Bubble Bobble. Even then, games such as Defender and
Arkanoid seemed dated to my young eyes. I have always had a soft spot
for retro arcade games, though, and still play classics such as the
aforementioned titles, as well as brilliant games like Mr Do, Rush N
Attack, Galaga, Shinobi and many more. It was this love of simple,
yet addictive, arcade games that made buying Midway Arcade Origins a
no-brainer, especially at such a low price
point.
The
list of games provided here is as follows:
Defender
Gauntlet
Joust
Rampage
Total
Carnage
720°
A.P.B.
Arch
Rivals
Bubbles
Championship
Sprint
Tournament
Cyberball 2072
Defender
II
Gauntlet
II
Joust
2
Marble
Madness
Pit-Fighter
Rampart
Robotron
2084
Root
Beer Tapper
Satan's
Hollow
Sinistar
Smash
TV
Spy
Hunter
Spy
Hunter II
Super
Off Road
Super
Sprint
Toobin'
Vindicators
Part II
Wizard
of Wor
Xenophobe
Xybots
Firstly
I was shocked by the lack of Paperboy, a stone cold classic, and a
game I still enjoy playing, and then I started to notice other
missing games; Klax, Primal Rage, NARC, Roadblasters, Hydro Thunder
and STUN Runner. These were some of the best games on previous Midway
compilations so I was left slightly perplexed at their absence. I
figured Midway would at least provide a comprehensive collection of
all their classic arcade games on the Xbox 360 and PS3. I was wrong
though, and what we are left with is a strange selection of titles,
some fun, some average, and some downright awful. The majority of the
games have not aged well, and many are pretty horrible to play,
having a punishing difficulty level that may have worked in arcade
form, after all these games were designed to rob kids of their
change, but in a home environment they are just far too frustrating
to enjoy.
The
presentation is lacking also. There is a reasonably cool game select
screen which shows the original arcade cabs, but that's about it.
There are no game descriptions, artwork, or facts about the titles in
question. It seems very bare bones and a bit of a rush job to be
honest. There are achievements to be had, but most are easily
obtained after playing for 5 minutes, but there are some hard ones
that will time time and practice to obtain.
The
emulation itself is very good, but many of the games lose a lot of
what originally made them special due to not having the innovative
controls of the arcade machines. Without a trackball controller games
such as Marble Madness and Rampart really suffer, and playing
Vindicators Part 2 without the crazy twin tank joysticks feels very
wrong. The other games fare better, with the dual stick controls
working a treat on Robotron 2048, Total Carnage and Smash TV.
I
have never really warmed to the graphics or sound of Midway titles.
The visuals lack vibrancy, and charm, and the sounds seem very
metallic. Something about the music and sound effects really
irritates my ears, like nails down a chalk board. Midway also have an
annoying habit of cluttering the screen with tiny text and
unnecessary info and icons, making gameplay more difficult than it
should be. Many of the games leave you wondering what to do, with no
real clear set of rules of objectives. The best classic arcade games
are ones that anyone can pick up and play immediately, learning the
tricks of the game as you play, games such as Pac Man, Dig Dug, Bomb
Jack, Galaga, and Bubble Bobble all prove this.
There
are some good games here though, Super Off Road offers up some
frantic, and extremely bouncy, dirt road racing, which is great with
2 or more player. Smash TV and Total Carnage are fun blasters, but
suffer from the ludicrous difficulty level that makes getting past
the first level seem like an impossible task. Toobin is original and
also fun to play, seeing you floating down the rapids and waterfalls
as one of two 'rad dudes' in innertubes. The controls take some
getting used to, but once it clicks it becomes enjoyable, and is one
of my favourite games on offer here.
APB,
an overhead cop racing / arrest-em-up game, also has the potential to
be great fun, but is let down by fiddly controls an a visually
confusing display. Xybots is an engaging first person shooter (though
flick screen rather than the smooth scrolling of games like
Wolfenstein 3D and Doom), and is quite immersive, despite its basic
appearance. Root Beer Tapper, Bubbles, and Joust also offer some very
simplistic gameplay that works well in short bursts.
There
are online leaderboards for all games, which is a big draw, and an
essential addition to offer any replayability to old arcade games. The online scoreboards are the main reason you will want to return to the games, not only to beat your friends, but to see how you measure up again players all over the world. You will be up against some seasoned pros here though, so don't expect to be getting in the top 20 unless you possess some serious ninja like skills.
If
you grew up with most of these titles and hold fold memories of them
then you will get your money's worth, but for everyone else I would
err
on the side of caution.
There is some fun to be had here but I would personally recommend you
stick to Game Room if you have an Xbox 360, as the Konami arcade
games on there contain more charm, playability and
addictiveness than anything on offer here. Also available for a much
better 80's arcade experience is the Namco Museum Virtual Arcade
collection, though that lacks online leaderboards.
Midway
Arcade Origins will offer you some light entertainment in small
doses, and is good value for money. It is just a shame that it feels
like it was put together with no real care and attention. Not one company seems to be able to get the retro compilation right, Namco failed to add online leaderboards in their otherwise excellent Namco Museum Online Arcade, Sega left out many great titles on their Mega Drive compilation, and Taito split up the games for different platforms on their previous Legends series. Maybe next generation we will finally be given the definitive collection of a developer's lost arcade delights because, unfortunately, you won't find it here.
The online leaderboards are the main selling point here, though I find the scoreboards to be quite empty. Maybe the people who loved these games the most have already exhausted their entertainment value on the Xbox and PS2 Midway collections. If you are new to these games though this compilation offers enough fun and high score chasing to make it worthy of a purchase.
The Good:
- 31 Games
- Some good games on offer
- Online leaderboards
- Low price
The Bad:
- Poor presentation
- Many of the games are very dated, and frustrating to play
- Missing many great Midway games
Developer : Backbone Entertainment
Also available on : PS3
Price : R.R.P. £19.99
Price : R.R.P. £19.99
