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Midway Arcade Treasures | |
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![]() Original cover art | |
Developer(s) | Digital Eclipse |
Publisher(s) | Midway |
Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Microsoft Windows |
Release | PlayStation 2 Xbox GameCube Microsoft Windows |
Genre(s) | Various |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Midway Arcade Treasures is a video-game compilation of 24 arcade games, emulated from the original PCBs. The compilation was developed by Digital Eclipse and issued by Midway for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and Microsoft Windows. The game could not function on the Xbox 360's backwards compatibility feature, but did on PlayStation 3 and Wii.
Midway followed up Arcade Treasures with two compilations of additional games: Midway Arcade Treasures 2 in 2004 and Midway Arcade Treasures 3 in 2005. A mixture of titles from these compilations was released for PlayStation Portable in 2005 as Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play , and a Windows-exclusive combination of volumes 2 and 3 released in 2006 as Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition .
The original compilation was later re-released as Midway Arcade Treasures 1, with the title and packaging updated to match the succeeding volumes, but the lineup of games remained the same.
The compilation plays similarly on all three consoles, but the Xbox version has the extra ability to upload scores to an online scoreboard. The special features on each version of the game are the same. These include game histories, developer interviews and other documents. This compilation is a combination of the games included in Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits, Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits, and Arcade Party Pak for the original PlayStation and PC and each contain exactly the same extras from those collections. Additionally, there are eleven more games included that are not found in those collections.
While the PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions can be played on the earliest models of the PlayStation 3 and Wii respectively (due to their backwards compatibility), the Xbox version is not Xbox 360 compatible.
The collection consists of the following 24 arcade games:
Aggregator | Score | ||
---|---|---|---|
GC | PS2 | Xbox | |
GameRankings | 75.31% [3] | 73.86% [4] | 75.02% [5] |
Metacritic | 72/100 [6] | 76/100 [7] | 74/100 [8] |
Midway Arcade Treasures received mixed, but generally positive reviews from reviewers at GameRankings with a 75.31% of the GameCube version, 73.86% of the PlayStation 2 version, and 75.02% of the Xbox version. Criticisms are the poor menu layout, slowdown in Smash TV, for the documentaries and interviews having video quality that is grainy and unrestored, as well as the documentaries and interviews being rehashed from previous Midway collections.
Midway Arcade Treasures also received mixed and positive reviews from review aggregator Metacritic , with a score of 76 for the PlayStation 2 version, a score of 74 for the Xbox version, and the lowest being a score of 72 for the GameCube version. The reviews were mostly the same as GameRankings , stating the game's positive and negative points. Many of the complaints were based on the DVD content having poor, and stuttering quality, the menu being not pleasant to look at, and some of the games being difficult to control (with Vindicators as the main point of focus). Reviewers concluded that the collection was worth getting.
The compilation sold more than 1 million units by August 2005. [9]
A similar collection of Midway arcade games was also released exclusively in Japan by Success under the title Game Center USA: Midway Arcade Treasures, which compiled 32 select games from the original Midway Arcade Treasures and Midway Arcade Treasures 2 and was released for the PlayStation 2 on September 21, 2006. [10]
The included games are 720° , A.P.B. , Arch Rivals , Bubbles , Championship Sprint , Cyberball 2072 , Gauntlet , Gauntlet II , Hard Drivin' , Joust , Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest , Klax , Kozmik Krooz'r , Marble Madness , Paperboy , Pit-Fighter , Rampart , RoadBlasters , Robotron: 2084 , Root Beer Tapper , Satan's Hollow , Splat! , Spy Hunter , Spy Hunter II , Super Sprint , Timber , Toobin' , Total Carnage , Vindicators , Wacko , Xenophobe , and Xybots .
After Midway's bankruptcy, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment acquired the rights to Midway's games and released another arcade compilation called Midway Arcade Origins in 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, which included 29 select games from Midway Arcade Treasures volumes 1 and 2 plus Super Off Road from 3. It also contains Vindicators Part II, which replaced the original Vindicators from Midway Arcade Treasures.
Another collection simply titled Midway Arcade was released for iOS devices in 2012. The compilation included 5 games from the original Midway Arcade Treasures: Defender , Joust , Rampage , Root Beer Tapper , and Spy Hunter , as well as Arch Rivals from Midway Arcade Treasures 2. This compilation also included four non-proprietary arcade games: Air Hockey, Arcade Basketball (themed after Arch Rivals ), Pool, and Roll Ball, as well as a redemption center where players would purchase prizes using tickets and a jukebox that allowed players to play music from their iTunes library.
Two packs containing three additional games were also purchasable from the App Store: the Action Game Pack contains A.P.B. , NARC , and Total Carnage from Midway Arcade Treasures 2, while the Adventure Game Pack contains Gauntlet from the original Midway Arcade Treasures, as well as Gauntlet II and Wizard of Wor from Midway Arcade Treasures 2.
Joust is an action game developed by Williams Electronics and released in arcades in 1982. While not the first two-player cooperative video game, Joust's success and polished implementation popularized the concept. Players assume the role of knights armed with lances and mounted on large birds, who must fly around the screen and defeat enemy knights riding buzzards.
Gauntlet II is a 1986 arcade game produced by Atari Games that serves as the immediate sequel to the original Gauntlet, which was released the previous year. Like its predecessor, Gauntlet II is a fantasy-themed top down dungeon crawler game and was released as a dedicated cabinet, as well as a conversion kit, both available in 2-player and 4-player versions.
Spy Hunter is a vehicular combat game developed by Bally Midway and released for arcades in 1984. The game draws inspiration from the James Bond films and was originally supposed to carry the James Bond brand. The object of the game is to drive down roads in the technologically advanced "Interceptor" car and destroy various enemy vehicles with a variety of onboard weapons. Spy Hunter was produced in both sit-down and standard upright versions with the latter being more common. The game's controls consist of a steering wheel in the form of a futuristic aircraft-style yoke with several special-purpose buttons, a two-position stick shift, and a pedal used for acceleration.
Robotron: 2084 is a multidirectional shooter developed by Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar of Vid Kidz and released in arcades by Williams Electronics in 1982. The game is set in the year 2084 in a fictional world where robots have turned against humans in a cybernetic revolt. The aim is to defeat endless waves of robots, rescue surviving humans, and earn as many points as possible.
Klax is a puzzle video game released in arcades in 1990 by Atari Games while Namco distributed the game in Japanese markets. It was designed and animated by Mark Stephen Pierce with the software engineering done by Dave Akers. The object is to catch colored blocks tumbling down a machine and arrange them in colored rows and patterns to make them disappear. Klax was originally published as a coin-op follow-up to Tetris, about which Atari Games was in a legal dispute at the time.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection is a compilation of video games developed by Atomic Planet Entertainment and published by Capcom. It was released in North America on June 23, 2004 for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube and on March 15, 2005 for the Xbox. The Anniversary Collection contains the first eight games in the original Mega Man series, which debuted on the NES with the first six games, moved to the Super NES with the seventh game, and moved to the PlayStation and Sega Saturn with the eighth game, plus two bonus arcade games. The plot follows the robotic protagonist Mega Man in his continuing adventures battling the evil Dr. Wily and his army of Robot Masters. A similar set of compilations, Mega Man Legacy Collection and Mega Man Legacy Collection 2, were released in 2015 and 2017 respectively.
Super Sprint is a racing video game released by Atari Games and Midway Games in 1986. Up to three players drive Formula One-like cars on a circuit that is viewed from above. The game is a successor to Gran Trak 10 and the Sprint series, which were black-and-white games from the 1970s. A sequel, Championship Sprint, was released later in the same year.
Smash TV is a 1990 arcade video game created by Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell for Williams Electronics Games. It is a twin-stick shooter in the same vein as 1982's Robotron: 2084, which was also co-created by Jarvis. The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Genesis, Master System, and Game Gear versions are titled Super Smash TV.
Midway Arcade Treasures 2 is the second collection of classic arcade games published by Midway for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. This compilation includes 20 games that were not in the 2003 release of Midway Arcade Treasures. Unlike the previous game, it was rated M for Mature instead of T for Teen by the ESRB.
Midway Arcade Treasures 3 is the third and final compilation of classic arcade games published by Midway for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. This compilation includes 8 racing games that were not in the 2003 and 2004 releases Midway Arcade Treasures and Midway Arcade Treasures 2. Like the first and second installments, however, the Xbox version is not compatible with the Xbox 360. Unlike the other installments in the Midway Arcade Treasures series, it is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB. It also differs from the other installments by focusing on one specific genre, while the first two featured games from a wide variety of genres.
Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest is an arcade game developed by Williams Electronics and released in 1986. It is a sequel to Williams' 1982 game Joust. Like its predecessor, Joust 2 is a 2D aerial combat game with platforms to land on. The player uses a button and joystick to control a knight riding a flying ostrich. The object is to progress through levels by defeating groups of enemy knights riding buzzards. Joust 2 features improved audio-visuals and new features such as mutant buzzards created by eggs falling into lava, the ability to transform from an ostrich to a flying horse, and differently themed levels. Waves no longer seamlessly flow into each other; the gameplay is divided into separate screens with transitions between them.
Namco Museum is a series of video game compilations developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for home video game consoles. The first title in the series, Namco Museum Vol. 1, was released for the PlayStation in 1995. Entries in the series have been released for multiple platforms, including the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS and Xbox 360. the latest being Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2, released in 2020.
Rush is a series of racing video games developed by American-based company Atari Games and published by Atari Games and Midway Games for home consoles. The series debuted worldwide in 1996. The games consist mainly of racing with various cars on various tracks while players perform stunts in races.
Gauntlet Dark Legacy is an arcade video game released in 1999. It is the seventh title in the Gauntlet series, and is an expansion of the previous title in the series, Gauntlet Legends. The expansion adds five new levels, and four new character classes: Dwarf, Knight, Jester, and Sorceress. It also adds a large number of secret characters, some of which can be unlocked in the game, while others are only accessible by entering specific cheat codes.
Blaster is a first-person rail shooter released as an arcade video game by Williams Electronics in 1983. It was developed by Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar. A vague sequel to Robotron: 2084, the game is a shoot 'em up set in outer space. The goal is to destroy enemies, avoid obstacles, and rescue astronauts in twenty levels, to reach paradise.
Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition is an arcade compilation released exclusively for Microsoft Windows on February 15, 2006 in North America, and on March 17 in PAL regions. It is a compilation of Midway Arcade Treasures 2 and Midway Arcade Treasures 3, which had both been previously released on consoles only. Unlike the previous two volumes, it includes the original Mortal Kombat. In the two months after its release, two official patches were released for the collection, one to fix missing music for half of the games that was accidentally left out of the shipped version, and a second one to correct a button function oversight that prevented Random Select and Smoke battle easter eggs in Mortal Kombat II. A few pieces of additional artwork for Wizard of Wor and Primal Rage were made available as supplements on the Midway website. Like the previous release, the Deluxe Edition's Primal Rage content suffered from emulation issues.
Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits is an arcade game compilation released for the Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Advance.
Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play is a video game compilation of Midway, Atari and Williams arcade game classics released in 2005 for the PlayStation Portable. Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play was re-released for the PlayStation Store on June 28, 2010 by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment due to Midway's bankruptcy, also meaning that Warner Bros. owns rights to most of the Midway, Atari and Williams arcade library after the purchase of some assets of Midway Games.
Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits is a video game anthology for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation, Sega Genesis, Saturn, Game.com, Dreamcast, MS-DOS, and Microsoft Windows. The IBM PC compatible and game.com versions are titled Williams Arcade Classics, while the Saturn version was titled Midway Presents Arcade's Greatest Hits. The 2000 release Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits Vol. 1 contains much of the same content.
Midway Arcade Origins is an arcade compilation released on November 6, 2012, in North America and in Australia. It is the successor to the Midway Arcade Treasures series, and includes a selection of games that were included in those compilations, with the sole exception of Vindicators Part II. Midway Arcade Origins was added to the Xbox One via the backwards compatibility program.