Midway Arcade Treasures 2

"Lots of games, few great ones."

The original Treasures collection had me salivating, and when the second collection was announced shortly after its release, I couldn't wait to get it. Here was a collection that promised to include the first three Mortal Kombat games, STUN Runner, a game I'd heard so many good things about, but never played, and many more games to boot. Come release time, the first MK is removed, as is STUN Runner, Steel Talons, a game I never played, but was fairly indifferent towards being on the collection, was also removed. Midway Arcade Treasures 2 is still a fantastic value, it isn't as good as it could have been due to the game removal. What's worse is that MK 1 was removed solely so it could be included on a special edition of MK: Deception, meaning a classic game collection gets to suffer for a sleazy marketing tactic.

Take a gander at the final game roster - A.P.B, Arch Rivals, Championship Sprint, Cyberball 2072, Gauntlet 2, Hard Drivin', Kosmik Kroozr', Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat III, NARC, Pit-Fighter, Primal Rage, Rampage World Tour, Spy Hunter 2, Timber, Total Carnage, Wacko!, Wizard of Wor, Xenophobe, and finally, Xybots. With a roster of twenty games, MAT 2 features four less games than MAT 1 did, with MAT 2 featuring far more recent games on it. With twenty games here, I'm obviously not going to be able to cover everything on all of them, so bear with me. It's important to note that “more recent” doesn't equal “better” here and sadly, many of these games haven't stood the test of time, while some, like Pit Fighter, weren‘t the least bit fun to begin with.

Thankfully, games like Timber (essentially, Tapper with a lumberjack theme), Total Carnage (Smash TV, with more insanity), NARC (drugs and massive violence in a game before GTA made them cool), and Rampage World Tour (Rampage's addictive play, on steroids) make up for the utter garbage on this collection, like Pit Fighter. In the case of Spy Hunter 2, it's just a poor-man's version of a game featured on MAT 1, in this case, RoadBlasters, which does everything SH 2 does, only better. Luckily, that theme isn't recurring on this collection. I'm glad they dipped into the sequel trough here, while not relying on them to make up the game selection. There's a fantastic mix of original games and sequels here, which surprised me. It's just a shame that so few of the games haven't been totally eclipsed since their release.

Unlike MAT 1, where pretty much every game was of the quick play variety, here, you get that, and quite a few games, like NARC, the MKs, and, and Total Carnage, that basically require you to put in some time to really enjoy. The assortment of games here allows for both sides of the gaming fence to be happy, as Timber, for example, is perfect for the quick-play gamer, while NARC is great for those wanting to put a relatively substantial amount of time into a game. Personally, I enjoy each style, but to my amazement, Timber is my favorite game in this collection, and possibly out of both this and MAT 1, as it does just what it needs to, and does it perfectly.

Unlike the first Treasures disc, I hadn't played most of the games here prior to this collection. Going sight unseen into many of them, I was a bit intimidated. Would the games end up being enjoyable (a resounding yes, barring Arch Rivals and Cyberball, which I‘m fairly indifferent to), and would the controls for some of them end up like so many have in these collections, messed up beyond repair?

The default control schemes here, like with MAT 1, are usually fine, and if they aren't, then being able to configure them to your liking is a Godsend. In the case of Timber, for example, the defaults are fantastic, as they allow you to use the right analog stick to swing the axe towards the tree, which is not only realistic, but just plain fun to do. It also answers the call of those who wanted right analog control for Root Beer Tapper in MAT 1. Tragically, not all of games have sterling control. Take Pit Fighter, for instance. It controlled horribly in the arcades, worse in the home ports, and has risen to the rank of mediocrity here, where at least the button layout works in its favor. All things considered, I'm amazed at how the S pad works at doing justice to the controls here. None of the games are hampered by it, while some, like Timber, really benefit from it. It's hard to ask for much more than that.

The visuals in these collections usually suffer the least, and that isn't any different here. Barring some slight shadow problems in the MKs, things are replicated pretty well. Hard Drivin' does appear to play smoother than I remember it being in arcades, but there's no way I'm holding that against this collection, as it actually makes the game bearable. Some of the games, like World Tour, still look fantastic, while others, like Pit Fighter, never looked good to begin with. NARC looks better than it ever has on a console, and makes me weep when I think about playing the NES version. Thankfully, the presentation for the game selection has been improved. The gaudy Egyptian theme for the first MAT has been obliterated in favor of a DNA helix-based one, which works much better. The cleaner look works very well, and is much more eye-pleasing. It's worth nothing that MAT 1 has been re-released with packaging resembling MAT 2's, only with orange trim instead of green, I would hope that they also redid the innards a bit to replicate MAT 2's game selection menus.

The audio fared about as well as the visuals, although there is a massive problem that I'll get into later. First off, there is a lot of good to report with the sound. The music and sound effects for most of the games is replicated as well as could be expected, and even the sound effects for the MAT 2 menus work well. Wizard of Wor is the glaring exception to this rule. While I never had the pleasure of playing it in arcades, I doubt the audio was out of synch like it is in MAT 2. Here, you do something, and a second or two later, the proper sound effect will pop up. The music will come up at the wrong time, and often gets lost amid the sound effects, which is a shame, as WoW has the deepest music of any game in this collection. It's a shame that this mars the collection like it does, but it really renders the game itself rather unplayable without the volume turned down.

Despite the few noticeable errors that plague this collection of games, it's still worth a purchase. With a roster of 20 games across many genres, you're sure to find something that either you, a friend, or a relative will enjoy immensely. For me, Timber alone is worth the $20 asking price. It doesn't hurt that this collection features the best home renditions of NARC, MK II, and MK 3, which, ironically enough, were massive selling points to me, and then became eclipsed by the bliss that is Timber. If you've ever been a fan of any of the games here, or have ever wanted to try them out, plunk down the $20 and give them a shot. I ended up being surprised, in a very good way, by some, and hopefully, that'll be the case for you as well. While I still feel that MAT 1 features the better collection of games, this one irons out some of its wrinkles, and has a great game roster in its own right.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/30/04, Updated 11/07/04