Midway Presents Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1 | |
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Developer(s) | Digital Eclipse |
Publisher(s) | Midway Games |
Platform(s) | PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Super Nintendo Entertainment System |
Release | PlayStation: Sega Saturn: Super NES: |
Genre(s) | Various |
Mode(s) | Single-player, 2-player (Alternating turns) |
Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1 is a 1996 compilation of Atari arcade games for the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, published by Midway Games. It is a successor volume to Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits . [4] The Saturn and PlayStation versions of the game include an FMV documentary on the "Golden Age of Atari", featuring video interviews with the programmers behind the six games in the compilation. The later Super NES version was announced by Midway as their final release for any "16-bit" console. [5]
The compilation includes the following games, [4] all of which were licensed from Atari Corporation. All of the games except Battlezone can be played in two-player mode, where both players alternate turns.
Publication | Score |
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Electronic Gaming Monthly | 5.675/10 (PS1) [6] |
GameSpot | 6.9/10 (PS1, SAT) [7] [8] |
Next Generation | (PS1) [9] |
Critics praised the compilation's use of emulation to exactly recreate the games' arcade versions, [6] [7] [9] [10] the menu system, [7] [9] and the documentary FMVs. [6] [7] [9] A reviewer for Next Generation elaborated that "Unlike the Williams disc ... the history is narrated over a slideshow of memorabilia, and the insightful clips run longer, dispelling ancient rumors and relating anecdotes of Atari coin-op's golden age." [9] Most also applauded the selection of games as consisting almost entirely of classics which remained enjoyable in spite of the gaming industry's advances over the years. [6] [7] [9] [10] However, reviews generally criticized that the standard PlayStation gamepad does not work well with the games in the collection, particular those which used paddle controllers and trackballs when they were originally released, [6] [7] [9] [10] though the PlayStation Mouse is supported and was considered a better option. [6] [7] Tom Ham summarized in GameSpot , "Bringing together six classic games that launched entire video game genres (and stole countless quarters from gamers), The Atari Collection 1 is a wonderful trip down memory lane." [7] Electronic Gaming Monthly 's review team focused more on the controller issues, and had a less enthusiastic reaction overall. [6] GamePro similarly concluded, "Even though the authentic graphics and gameplay rate high, the limitations in control and sound bring down the overall enjoyment." [10]
Area 51 is a light gun arcade game released by Time Warner Interactive in 1995. It takes its name from the military facility. The plot of the game involves the player taking part in a Strategic Tactical Advanced Alien Response (STAAR) military incursion to prevent aliens, known as the Kronn, and alien-created zombies from taking over the Area 51 military facility.
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NBA Hangtime is a 1996 basketball arcade game developed and released by Midway. Home versions were released for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Super NES, Sega Genesis, and Microsoft Windows.
NBA Jam Extreme is a 1996 basketball arcade game by Acclaim Entertainment based on the 1996–97 NBA season. After Midway Games released two NBA Jam games, Acclaim, the publisher of the home versions of NBA Jam, ended up winning the exclusive rights to use the Jam name. NBA Jam Extreme was the first Jam game from Acclaim, as well as the first edition of the game to use 3D graphics. In contrast, Midway's competing NBA game NBA Hangtime featured 2-D visuals similar to the previous Jam games. Extreme also features longtime sports broadcaster Marv Albert doing commentary instead of original commentator Tim Kitzrow. New to the game is the "Extreme" button, essentially a super version of the series' trademark "Turbo" button. The cover features Shawn Kemp of the Seattle SuperSonics, and Hakeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets.
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