I spent far too much time and money amongst the eerie digital glow of these games during my high school years. Every Friday and Saturday night (some weekday afternoons!) found me in a noisy Putt Putt arcade in my small town. Plopping in tokens and lamenting the time when they would run out. Sometimes, I would attract a crowd as people wanted to see "that game" beaten into submission. Sometimes, I would drop in token after token in a game that I wanted to be good at-- only to sneak away in defeat. Now, I can re-live all of the memories-- without the crowds and need for $$$ tokens. Now, the game is never over and I can have the ability to PAUSE when needed!

 Midway Arcade Treasures for the Xbox comes along at a good time. Just when the onslaught of high tech games has reached a fever pitch, it's refreshing to back off and get retro-- with some equally challenging, less complicated arcade games. Sure, I love 5 minute sappy mini-movie intros and graphics that put me in the game, but for the sake of playing and getting "dirty", you have to step back sometimes and play something that requires more skill-- and less tech.

Back before the depth and strength of today's' processor power, games relied on skill and good design to make them popular. A good scenario, fast reflexes, appropriate buttons and time to kill was all you needed. There have been a lot of retro releases like this one, but this is the largest collection I have played. It's about time! Asking "Max Payne" prices for a handful of old titles has been ridiculous and not very appealing. With this one, you are given about 24 different titles. That's a generous sampling. Not only that, they had the wisdom to include sequels to some of the more popular games. They could have held off for a second release, but put them on here, instead. Nice touch.

For the full listing of the games, see them at this location. I cannot, in the interest of space, list them all nor review them. I did want to touch on a few that I spent more time with. One of those is Joust. This has always been a favorite. I have played various versions of this, but none as genuine. Joust has you flying on an Ostrich-- jousting against evil knights and avoiding flying birds and treacherous lava pits. It took a while to get the controls down, but when I got used to it, it was a lot of fun. This was actually one of the few games on the disk that I was better at in my home- than in the arcade. They also included Joust II, which I did not know existed! That was a lot of fun, though I was terrible at it. In that version, you can transform into a Pegasus-- which makes a lot more sense than jousting on a Ostrich! When needed, you push a button and you are on the horse. The knights are a lot more aggressive, and the playfield is more complicated. 

Another favorite was Paperboy, which I was never good at. I'm still terrible, but at least I can be bad-- without wasting quarters. Satan's Hollow was a good one for me, and one that I demolished in the arcade. At home, my luck was not nearly as strong. There is Defender and Defender II (not Stargate). I never liked those in the arcade (because I was not good!!), and don't like them at home (because I am still not good!!). Gauntlet was fun, and though I did better solo than I ever did in the arcade, that one is still best played with multiple people. 

Some games that I loved are here, but harder to play than they should be. Some of the games here were designed "special". In the arcade, they had their own cabinets and often had unique controllers. Track balls, 4-way joysticks and etc. Here, you have to use the XBox's stick and multiple buttons. When you have a 360 degree stick and try to do moves designed for a 8-way controller, there IS a difference. You cannot easily pop off a quick shot to save your cyber-skin. The games that use a trackball are down-right horrible. I was awesome at Marble Madness in the arcade, but in every home-offering (back to the Commodore C64), I have been terrible. The arcade track ball offered a subtle, finesse movement, whereas the home version require controllers that cannot achieve that as easily. Robotron 2084 was always a favorite. I was very good at that one as well, However, at home, I fought the control configuration more than I did the actual enemies. More often than not, the better games in this selection were "crippled" because of the controls' interface.

Graphically, the game is great. Unlike some past home version collections I have tried (the terrible "PowerJoy system offered on TV), these are the REAL arcade game and not their earlier home intro versions translated again. They are not Commodore C64 versions brought to the Xbox. You get the actual graphics and levels of the original arcade versions. Good (Satan's Hollow) or bad (Root Beer Tapper), the graphics are the same. Compared to today's hot, in your face titles, they are horrible. But, this is about playing games-- not watching a lot of fluff surrounding and masking a average title. 

The sounds are identical to the arcades as well. Robotron 2084 and some others are particularly nice in this regard. I have played lesser attempts to bring these home, and they sounded terrible. But, the sounds are now genuine and a lot of fun. I seriously felt like I was in the arcade again. I just needed some Brut cologne, my Members Only jacket and the smell of overheating chip boards to make it complete. 

This is a fun title-- if you remember and cherish these games as I do. Some are hard to play because of the translation in the controller interface. If you have never played them in an arcade with the original controls, it may not be as noticeable. However, it is a struggle for me to un-learn how I (successfully) played these games for hours at a time. You just cannot replace the finesse of a track ball with a toggle stick! I appreciate the large selection given here, though some were bad in the arcade, and are just as bad at home. But, some of the ones I hated may be your favorites, so it's unfair to judge in that manner. Just know that there is something for everyone. They even have a skate boarding game ("720") that pre-dates the Tony Hawk series by a couple of decades. I don't recall seeing it in the arcade, but it's here-- now! The controller issues are very hindering, but otherwise this is a good collection to have. If you have to play the latest and greatest in technology, this is not going to make you happy if you need to see cell-shading and THX sound for a good gaming experience. This is catered to retro gamers and those seeking a break from the onslaught of modern technology. 

Gameplay: 7
All of the elements of the original games are here. Total, 100% reproductions of those hulking cabinet games from the 80s. There is little to learn, and the controls are simple to learn, however the execution of that is tricky. While the games are reproduced very accurately, the controller scheme interferes with some hard core gaming fun. Otherwise, most games can be selected and "jump right in" without spending hours studying a instruction booklet. These are especially good for younger players, whom may not yet be ready for the complexities of the modern games.

Graphics: 8 
This is tricky to judge. By today's standards of gaming, even the Game Boy Advance looks better. However, you cannot compare genres. These games are the exact replications of their arcade grandparents. The blips and blocks were there back then, and are there-- now. 100% restored; for better or worse.

Sound: 7.5
The sounds are faithfully reproduced, though sometimes that isn't a good thing. Though odd through a thundering sound system-- as opposed to a mono speaker in a old arcade cabinet-- the simple sounds and music are a nice trip down memory lane... but only for a short while. Then, they get annoying. Since the sounds rarely have anything to do with gameplay, I opted to turn on some music for my game playing experience. 

Difficulty: Easy
It's easy to pick up and play most of these games. There are brief instructions at the start of each one, and a booklet for those that really need to read something, Otherwise, it's just pick up the controller--- and GO. 

Concept: 6 
I cannot truly penalize the creators for re-introducing old titles. This is a compilation of OLD games. Therefore, originality points are thrown out the window. I did not like the game selection interface. That was annoying and could have been much more "thought-out". 

Overall: 7
It's great to have such a large selection of oldies here in one collection. I hope other makers take the queue and offer more than the usual "generous" four ancient Pac Man titles for the price of the newest games. These games are out there for PC folks in the MAME format-- for FREE. If the makers of these compilations want us to pay for them, they need to offer a generous selection such as this one. I enjoyed playing the oldies, and know this is a title that will keep me coming back; when I need a retro break from the chaos of modern shooters and high tech racers. Maybe someone will throw in some more sports titles on one collection. Now, if I could only get REAL reproductions of Tron, Kangaroo, Reactor, Vanguard and Gorf-- I'd be a happy gamer!!