Midway Arcade Treasures 2

"Pay twenty and get twenty, that's Midway's second arcade treasures"

I had to say I never really enjoy the first Midway Arcade Collection that much like I used to back when they are still in their original arcade cabinet form but I do had to admit, for being a compilations of arcade titles in one, this disc isn't bad. Midway Arcade Treasures 2 is the second Midway arcade compilation disc, this time including more less games than the first one. So does this second disc a better compilation than the first. Let's check out the games.

What are you getting with this compilation...

For only twenty bucks you get lame and classics arcade favorites such as A.P.B., Arch Rivals, Championship Sprint, Cyberball 2072, Gauntlet II, Hard Drivin, Kosmik Krooz'r, Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat 3, NARC, Pit Fighter, Primal Rage, Rampage World Tour, Spy Hunter II, Timber, Total Carnage, Wacko, Wizard of Wor, Xenophobe, and Xybots. This is good line-up considering you get all of these which when you think of it costing only a buck each. Some are worth better then others but considering you get twenty for twenty it's a fair deal.

Graphics:

Usually emulation of retro compilation never had updated graphics from their original version so there are obviously no graphics update to be seen here. Also games that used to have glitches, bugs, or graphical issues from their original are still there. Some like Gauntlet II and Mortal Kombat II look pretty much pristine as the original arcade versions but a few like Primal Rage and Rampage World Tour had frame rates and loading issues. Usually, for PR loading the close-up of the characters during the vs. screen took a few seconds to boot. Also for some reason, there's also shadows flickering in the MK3 game which was not found in the arcade original. Besides a few minor glitches and bugs, the whole presentation of all the games are pretty much retro for the most part.

Music/Sounds:

Not to say that they're bad but if you didn't like them at the arcade, you'll probably not like them here. Some tunes found in MKII and Primal Rage and those in Arch Rivals sound quite okay. The MKII soundtrack is legendary for its time but the rest are just too overly mixed. Some are just 8-Bit blings, other are special effects bells and whistles and to add them all up, only a handful are actually memorable. Yet if you don't care that much about the tunes here, the compilation of games won't bother you.

Gameplay:

Each games are bound by their own genre of gameplay for example in Timber you are a lumberjack and you had to chop woods, you really only need two buttons for this and it works as simple as playing Mario on the NES. For fighting games like MKII, MK3, PF, and PR, you'll had to get used to the fighting control. You could also configurate them before you play and also determine their difficulties. One major problem though is that for some reasons the difficulties makes no difference for all the fighting games, the A.I. in them will still be overly cheap and clever no matter how hard or easy you set them at and you'll be forced to repeat a match countless times before you could conquer them. Besides the fighting games, there are also shooting games like NARC which is a mixed Contra, Metal Slug, and Max Payne in one where you run, shoot, and pick up items, the only difference being you could also walk four way instead of two unlike the others and you are given a health meter for longer gameplay. Lastly on the genre list are multiplayer games like Rampage World Tour and Gauntlet II, which with three to four players you'll have tons of fun playing. Besides they'll be the only titles you and your casual friends would play the most. There are more games on the list that I hadn't cover its genre like Spy Hunter II and Cyberball 2072 but those are just simple games.

Replayabilities:

Despite the big quantity of arcade classic titles on this disc, there's a few that are actually worth replaying but that only goes to the gamer. If one of the game is your kind of genre you might love replaying them again. Games like MKII, MK3, Primal Rage, Rampage World Tour, NARC and Gaunlet II are worth replayable time after time but some of them do get boring after a while especially Gauntlet II when no friends join. One disappointment that brought the replayability down a bit was that besides the default twenty available games to choose from, there aren't any surprise features or extra unlockable goodies to hype up the collection. Other than some "making of" videos, a few game demos, attract clips, and interview extras, the disc felt pretty lame. You don't get to unlock more classic games and some of the better arcade games like Stun Runner, Steel Talon, the first Mortal Kombat, Ultimate MK3, MK4, Race Drivin', and Mace: The Dark Age are not included, are plan to be included but got cancelled out, or are saved for future compilation which isn't a bad thing but would've made this compilation more enjoyable. Other than that, if you could lived with the already available twenty games and find them enjoyable, then the replay value might worth something to you.

Is it worth getting?

Considering you get twenty classic arcade for a buck of each in one disc, it's a good deal. Though how good the games turn out to be is another story but some of the games like NARC, Arch Rivals, MKII, MK3, Rampage World Tour, Primal Rage, Timber, Gauntlet II, and Total Carnage are worth the twenty bucks alone. If you don't mind the lack of unlockables, the glitchy presentations (on some of them), the old-school gameplay, or the lame extras, this disc might be worth your cash.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 01/26/09

Game Release: Midway Arcade Treasures 2 (US, 10/11/04)