Midway Arcade Treasures

"Is it any better than the PS2 version? As for the controls for the most part, yes. Everything else? Not really..."

Reviewing different console versions of modern Video games can be tricky. (Unless obviously of course the GBA is involved.) Because aside from certain exceptions like Soul Caliber II, most games for the most part seem the same in each version. (Even on a technical basis such as Graphics then again only a few companies like Tecmo ever really use the XBox's capabilities but thats a different story.) Is this game REALLY better on the GameCube than the PS2? Not really, but I will say this much that the GC version does have a few advantages over its PS2 counterpart.

For those whom haven't already read my review for this title's release on the Playstation 2 here is the main summary of it. This is another one of those "Classic Arcade Game Collections" that have been going on since the mid-90's in the era of the SNES & Sega Genesis. And even though Midway is in the title all the games here are from either Williams or Atari (due to their various deeds & misdeeds in the past of course). The pretty nice variety of games for this title are for the following...

Spy Hunter, Defender, Gauntlet, Joust, Paperboy, Rampage, Marble Madness, Robotron: 2084, Smash TV, Joust 2, Bubbles, RoadBlasters, Defender II (A.K.A Stargate), Blaster, Rampart, Sinistar, Super Sprint, 720, Toobin', Klax, Satan's Hollow, Vindicators, Splat! and Root Beer Tapper

What advantages those this version have over the one on the PlayStation 2? Well for starters Midway has easily utilized the "4-player" compatibility of the GC for the classic Melee game that is "Gauntlet" so if you have 4 controllers and there are 4 willing gamers you know well then have at it. The trivial info text/vid clips are still here as well. And the good news is that the Vid Clips are not looking bad at all, in fact they look just as fine as in the PS2 version. Though of course the best reason to buy this game for the Gamecube instead of the Playstation 2 is this, Control. This game is one of the biggest reasons why I strongly believe that the Nintendo GameCube has MUCH better Controllers than the Sony Playstation 2 IMO. Remember in my review of the PlayStation 2 version of this game that one of my biggest complaints with it is that the racing/driving games have horrible control & are pratically unplayable? For the most part those same games are MUCH and I mean MUCH more playable here with much better Control. Granted some games like "Spy Hunter" and "Super Sprint" can still be faulty to get use to but thats more upon the games this time. The ONLY games that the PS2 version admittingly had better control on were "720" and "Vindicators" (but then again Midway kinda screwed up on the Gameplay Controller Set-up on those two in the GC version). Why do I blame Midway for that instead of Nintendo? Simple, for some dub reason they decided to nullify the Analog Stick and focused on using the GC controller's D-pad's on the controls for those two which needless to say was a pretty dumb idea. But they are still not completely unplayable, so while its still flawed its just not as flawed as the PS2 version.

Overall while I like both the Sony Playstation 2 AND the Nintendo GameCube but this is one of those instances in which the GC did a bit better. (Of course I'm sure you all got the point by now.) Its still as easy to find and as low-priced as its Sony/Microsoft counterparts but the substantially better control does make it a bit of a better buy than a rental. The game itself is generally good but has some share in flaws (a few games like "Splat!" and "Satan's Hollow" are just not all that great despite which system you play it with). All these games from the Early, Mid to late 80's and even a few from the early 90's are directly emulated from their original Arcade ROM's. (Another words they are all on "Free Play", though don't worry despite the fact that you get infinte continues for the most part just about none of these games are too easy.) I've been looking forward to the upcoming release of its VERY promising sequel that is "Midway Arcade Treasures 2" ever since its existance has been announced but this version makes me anticipate it a bit more now. While this particular game may leave a few things to be desired. It is a VERY good example of how to do a "Retro Game Collection" game right, and can make one hope that more games of its genre are more like this.

+ Still a very good selection of Arcade Classics
+ Most of the games have MUCH better Control this time around
+ Utilize's "Gauntlet's" Multi-player capabilities quite well...
+ The "Classic Game Info Text/Vid Clips" are still just as well utilized as the PS2 version (Same thing with the "Free Play")
+ Its a bit more of a buy than a rental unlike the PS2 version (And their both just as easy to find and afford)
- Midway screwed up on the Gameplay structure on "720" and "Vindicators"
- Some of the games are still rather not all that good such as "Satan's Hollow"
- The game itself has better control but some of the games in it on the other hand can still be a bit faulty in that area.
- Lets just say don't be too suprised if the upcoming sequel ends up being a lot better
- Aside from better control the game itself is really not that much better

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/01/04