Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play (PSP) Review

It was only a matter of time before we saw a release of MIdway Arcade Treasures for the PSP. I mean, why not? The brand has already seen three successful releases across the current generation platforms, chronicling the history of Midway from the old days of Defender and Joust to the current racing masterpieces that are Hydro Thunder and San Francisco Rush. So it was only a matter of time before the handheld world got its own taste of the Treasures, without having to endure the crappy budget releases that Destination Software Inc. has been up to. Yeah, like I need a bad-playing version of Rampage for the Game Boy Advance. Yech.

So here's Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play, a PSP release that includes the following arcade classics...

Spy Hunter- Basically race against the clock and a bunch of enemies that want to rampage you off the road. Good fun, for what it is.

Sinistar- Fly through space, collect Sini-bombs, and destroy enemies and the vicious Sinistar. "Ron...Howard!"

Defender- Classic side-scrolling shoot-em-up where you have to rescue humans and blast aliens. Addictive.

Paperboy- Deliver papers and avoid the dangers of everyday delivery, like dogs, cars, etc.

720 Degrees- Skateboarding game where you basically have to "Skate or die!"

Klax- Puzzle game where you stack up tiles in rows, columns, and klaxes to eliminate them from a playfield.

Joust- An action game where you take control of a winged bird and try to defeat enemies while avoiding a pterodactyl.

Marble Madness- Roll around a number of mazes using your marble, dodging dangers lurking about and beating the clock.

Toobin'- Cruise on down a series of rivers in an inner tube, knocking out enemies with tin cans and collecting items.

Rampage- Pick from one of three monsters and trash any given number of cities, any way you can.

Gauntlet- Team up with friends and work your way through dungeons, battling enemies and collecting items.

Rampart- Take part in historic sea battles and then rebuild forts using a Tetris-styled puzzle engine.

Wizard of Wor- Work your way through a maze loaded with monsters, and use your lasers to blast them.

Xybots- Maneuver through a series of mazes, blasting monsters while using multi-directional targeting.

Championship Sprint- Race around a series of tracks using stock cars, avoiding the walls and picking up items.

Arch Rivals- A fully-nonsense game of b-ball with tons of punches and dunks to go around.

Cyberball 2072- A futuristic game of football with everything from robotic tackles to exploding balls.

Xenophobe- An alien blast-a-thon with split-screen action. Think Aliens with a sense of humor.

Mortal Kombat I, II, and III- All three first Mortal Kombat games, in which you choose combatants and fight to the death with a number of moves.

So, yeah, an impressive collection, wouldn't you say? Digital Eclipse once again took the reigns for development, and they've done a pretty good job with all the games. However, a few problems pop up during play.

For instance, some of the games are improperly sized for the PSP. Sinistar is a prime example of this, crammed into a small part of the screen instead of being expanded vertically. This could've easily been remedied, but it wasn't. However, the games are still playable, they just take a little bit of getting used to. And that scrunched version of Spy Hunter? Oy, takes getting used to.

There's also the occasional gameplay problems with a game, such as Toobin'. When this game was first introduced to the market, it had buttons for back and forward paddling, as well as can throwing. Well, condense that into an analog stick and buttons and you're going to struggle a little bit...ESPECIALLY since it goes lengthwise across your screen.

And there are glitches that come up in the middle of the emulations that could have been ironed out a little bit more. There's nothing specific that comes to mind here, but a few times during some sessions, I ran into some small things that popped up. You probably won't get too bothered by it if you're a passionate gamer, but if you're a newbie, you'll wonder if these games had that problem in the past as well. Not really a good thing.

The package still has tons of value. Along with being able to pick and choose from a number of classics and learning a little bit about gaming's past, you can also hook up a friend through Wi-Fi and play some serious multiplayer, which can be a lot of fun...especially if you're in the middle of a heated match like Joust or Mortal Kombat I or II. (I just avoid MKIII, wasn't that great to begin with.) For best results, play in an arcade, just to get the old feeling back.

Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play could have been a little better in terms of its presentation and some of its title selections (why no Hydro Thunder?), but it's a good start for the series' portable run, and I hope that future chapters continue to bring us the best of Midway's gaming past.