By
Michael Palisano
When it comes to creating a compilation
of classic games for the PSP, Midway has done a decent job converting some
of their legendary titles to the portable console. Featuring more than 20
classics ranging from Defender to Mortal Kombat 3, the game offers a broad
cross-section of classic titles, may of which are online-enabled for
multiplayer action. The presentation is somewhat erratic, with most
converted perfectly while others suffer from bad aliasing and poor sounds.
The games themselves are still highly enjoyable for the most part with
generally decent emulation, making this a solid purchase for gamers who
want to play their favorites on the go.
Looking at the lineup of titles included
in Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play, you'll see a good selection of
titles spanning about a decade of gaming. The titles range from early 80's
classics like Defender and Wizard of Wor to games like Marble Madness and
Paperboy to obscure games like Toobin and Klax. The compilation also
includes the entire Mortal Kombat trilogy, which has been faithfully
recreated on the console, though not flawlessly. There's a little
something for everyone in this package, which should appeal to nostalgic
gamers of different ages and genres. The games themselves have largely
held up nicely, though a few like Arch Rivals and Xenophobe feel a bit
dated these days. The vast majority of games can be played either solo or
online using the PSP's wi-fi feature, which is a big plus. However, you
can't transfer the games to another PSP owner, meaning both players need
to have the game in order to play. The good news is that the games are
relatively inexpensive if you divide the number of titles by the retail
price. Given their proven replay value, the overall package offers a good
value.
Most
of the titles should be familiar to classic gamers, with games like
Defender, Joust and Sinistar needing no introduction. These three titles
look fantastic on the PSP's screen, though you might want to toggle
Sinistar's default mode to a wide screen presentation, since its very hard
to play with the default smaller screen. Those who were disappointed by
Wizard of Wor's much too fast emulation on the consoles in MAT2 will be
happy to know that these problems have been corrected, and the game now
plays at the proper speed with its signature gothic music and creepy
computerized voice samples very much intact. WOW has also been updated to
allow for multiplayer wi-fi play, and is still as addictive and exciting
as ever. Extended Play's version of Spy Hunter is decent as well, though
it seems that the controls are a little bit more sensitive, making the
game slightly difficult to play. Adding to the package, Gauntlet allows
you to relive the excitement of the first multiplayer dungeon crawl.
Playing alone is fun, but the gameplay really comes alive with the added
addition of wi-fi play as well. Championship Sprint is another classic,
this time based on the classic racing series, remaining as addictive and
challenging as always. Midway has also included a few lesser known games
as well, with the under-rated Rampart adding a slightly different type of
gameplay to the proceedings. It's an arcade style strategic warfare title
that's surprisingly easy to play and fun, though its slow pacing and
complicated structure will probably turn off some players, this has always
been a favorite and is definitely worth checking out. .
The destructive fun of Rampage also
makes an appearance here, with the same group of monsters you loved back
in the day returning once again to wreak havoc on cities and skyscrapers
throughout the world, fighting off army men and their helicopters as well.
The original Spy Hunter also makes a welcome appearance, though the
controls are a bit awkward and take some getting used to, which for a
somewhat disappointing translation. Once you warm up to it, you'll be
humming the Peter Gunn theme, docking with your weapons van and morphing
into a speed-boat just like old times. The addictive Marble Madness is
also included, and it too has somewhat touchy controls that make rolling
the ball a bit harder than you want it to be. While it's tempting to use
the d-pad initially, you'll actually get better performance with the
analog nub after some practice, and the game's simple charm hasn't really
worn off much in these past twenty years or so. Another simple yet
addictive game here is Paperboy, which translates almost perfectly to the
PSP's screen in size, while the gameplay's short bursts and levels make it
an ideal game for portable play. One of the biggest surprises on the
package is the addictive racing game Toobin' which offers a surprisingly
enjoyable game that's easy to understand and play thanks to its superb
controls. Adding a second player makes this ride down the river even more
fun, and the full screen approach in this one makes this even more
enjoyable.
Sadly,
not all of the games on this pack are winners, and there are actually a
couple of duds that haven't aged well. The basketball title Arch Rivals is
a decent game, but its simplistic play mechanics and sprite based graphics
are fairly ugly by today's standards. Add in sluggish play and poor
controls and you have an exercise in frustration. Cyberball 2072 is nother
disappointing sports title that riffs on football, but quickly loses its
appeal thanks to the limited number of plays and somewhat dull
presentation. Klax was obviously inspired by Tetris and while its simple
play is appealing for a short burst, its extended value is dubious since
repetition sets in quickly, making this more an endurance test than
anything else. While these games aren't that endearing, there are a couple
of hidden classics, like Xenophobe and Xybots which make up for it.
Xenophobe is a surprisingly engaging side-scroller where you have to
destroy all the alien forces infesting your ship before the timer runs
out, which adds tension to the game. The first-person shooter Xybots is
interesting as a game, and also as a historical title since it anticipated
the look feel and approach of games like Doom which wouldn't come along
until several years later.
Considering the fact that Midway Arcade
Treasures: Extended Play includes a divergent group of titles from
completely different eras and genres, its understandable that the
inconsistency of the package's emulation makes some of the games more
appealing than others. Still, it's baffling how beautifully Wizard of
Wor's full-screen approach contrasts with the squashed, truncated screen
of Sinistar. The worst offenders in the package are the three Mortal
Kombat games, the latter two games suffer from excessive load times,
miscued music and other glitches that take some of the shine off the
overall package. It's not outlined in the manual, but you can change the
screen size of some of the games, which is a great relief after you see
the squashed up screens of some of the titles like Sinistar initially.
However, the fact that you can't rotate some of the vertically oriented
titles to fill the PSP's screen is also disappointing, especially when you
compare it to Namco's PSP collection released a few months ago. There's
also a lack of extra features such as documentaries and artwork which
these collections usually features, which is another disappointment.
However, if you can overlook these problems, there's still plenty of fun
to be had rediscovering the charm in hidden gems like Rampage and Xybots
once again. While Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play isn't a flawless
compilation by any means, its faults are mitigated by the fact that most
of the non-MK titles are emulated decently, making it a good value for PSP
owners looking for some classic gaming in the palm of their hands.
