Midway Arcade Treasures review:3 stars (The Xbox controller ruins it) - If you like playing classic games on your Xbox, then you definitely need the Xgaming X-Arcade joystick (ASIN B00008ELB0 or B00006I5ZX), preferably the 2-player version. I tried playing Joust, and the standard Xbox "S" controller was really holding me back. These 80's games depend on "button smashing", and that's something the Xbox controller doesn't handle well.4 stars (Can't let go the arcade memories) - All 24 games have configurable settings such as number of lives, difficulty, continues and game-specific options. There are also game-controller settings in case you are not comfortable with the button location defaults. Many games include design notes, pictures, trivia, videos, and a brief history.
Although the games operate and sound exactly as the originals, playability is not quite the same, which is not Xbox fault of course, it's simply a reality check for those of you who imagine themselves standing in a game cabinet dropping quarters and pushin buttons in a frenzy. The original Xbox game controllers will never emulate the original cabinet feel. It takes a while to get used to playing games such as Defender and Toobin', even with customizable buttons. The feel of Robotron 2084 is similar (use of two analog sticks) but the size of the Xbox controller sticks makes it difficult to handle as well, especially when you are playing for a high score.
The arcade games are online enabled, you can post your scores on Xbox Live provided you are subscribed to the service. This feature will be available until December 2004.
There are currently free PC arcade emulators on the Internet such as M.A.M.E., but there is a gray area of legality about downloading emulated arcade roms (game files), plus the difficulty in finding them makes this Xbox collection a welcome and safe alternative.
4 stars (Bring back the memories!) - Really, $20 for 20 old style arcade games. Are you kidding me?! The purchase price is worth Gauntlet, Marble Madness and Spy Hunter alone. This set of arcade classics includes every popular game from Midway you can imagine, including the insanely popular Defender and Joust.I grinned from ear to ear when I popped this in the Xbox and told my son that I used to pay .25 to play these games. He just kind of chuckled and looked at me all strange.Marble Madness was and still is my all time favorite arcade game and it is true to form in this port to the Xbox. Actually every game I've played on it is true to the old school arcades.For $20 you can't go wrong with this purchase. That is only $1 a game! You will be playing it for hours and hours. Midway Arcade Treasures Features: Video Games Xbox (x box) Microsoft Action Adventure DVD content with creator and developer interviews DVD also includes 80's music For 1 or 2 players Over 20 classic arcade favorites Includes Spyhunter, Gauntlet, Defender and Joust
Midway Arcade Treasures is the Video Game version. The full version can be purchased by clicking on the "CLICK HERE TO ORDER" button below for around 19.99USD.