Collection Review: Sonic Gems Collection

Game: Sonic Gems Collection
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 30th September 2005

Sonic Gems Collection has many of the assorted games which are difficult to get hold of or play normally from the Sonic Franchise. As such it's perfect for crossing some tricky titles off my list. There are also some titles which I'll be playing on easier formats or have already reviewed. For these I'll still consider them towards the collection's overall score, but won't be reviewing them in this roundup, for the sake of time and convenience.

The games featured in Sonic Gems Collections are Sonic The Fighters, Sonic CD, Sonic R, Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Game Gear), Sonic Spinball (Game Gear), Sonic The Hedgehog Triple Trouble, Tails Sky Patrol, Tails Adventure, and Sonic Drift Racing. This is a good selection of unconventional Sonic games, especially the Game Gear releases, of which I've only played one, on the Master System. There are also bonus Mega Drive games which can be unlocked by playing ridiculous amounts of the game (12 hours or more usually), but I won't count these as regular content, since Streets of Rage and Vectorman are hardly regular Sonic titles.

Sonic: The Fighters

Game: Sonic: The Fighters
Console: Arcade
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 1996

A Sonic The Hedgehog fighting game is a strange concept when you think about it. Although the characters have got into their fair share of fights over the years, most of these were after the release of this arcade only game. Sonic: The Fighters features 8 playable characters who form the opponents of the first 8 stages of the game, with Metal Sonic acting as the final boss. Once players have beaten a stage, they gain a Chaos Emerald, and move on to the next stage. Once all 8 Chaos Emeralds have been collected, the Death Egg can be accessed as the final level.

The controls are simple and consist of punch, kick, throw and block commands. Movement for all characters is slow and clunky, and gameplay is very much of the button mashing variety. Usually a single attack is enough to defeat most enemies when spammed enough. There's a little difficulty with beating Metal Sonic, but it's nothing that perseverance won't overcome. In terms of character differences, each has a different throwing move, but otherwise punches and kicks are mostly the same, and there's little difference in feel between mascots.

Graphically the game is incredibly blocky, and reminiscent of the original Tekken in its movements and look. While there are many different arenas for fights to take place in, the backgrounds are always more interesting than the ring itself, with no destructible environments or useful location based attacks. The soundtrack is somewhat below par for a Sonic game with only a few enjoyable tracks to fight to.

Overall, as an arcade fighting game, Sonic: The Fighters falls short of what's expected. At many points it's far to easy just to mash the buttons and win, with strategic fighting sometimes even coming off worse. The block system is interesting, but is never allowed to expand with fights being far too short at their default length. There's a small amount of enjoyment to be taken from the game for Sonic fans, but that's about it.

Rating: 51/100
Grade: D

Sonic R

Game: Sonic R
Console: Sega Saturn
Developer: Traveller's Tales
Release Date: 18th November 1997

Sonic R is not a good game. There are people who have learned and mastered its slippery controls in order to speedrun the game, and some seem to enjoy the challenge of the game's obtuseness, but anyone looking for a quality Sonic racing title will be sorely disappointed. We've been treated in recent years to the Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed series which blows this game out of the water, and comparing the two, there's very little to like about Sonic R.

The first thing to note about the game is its controls, players control their character's acceleration almost like a car, turning controlled on the same pad. There's a special move for each character, and many can jump over obstacles. The turning circle of all characters is huge and getting through a race without scraping along the sides of the track is near impossible. Hitting anything will make the character stop dead in their tracks, and constant inertia will prevent players from being able to steer in the direction they want to.

Graphically the game is very blocky and features low res textures for all of the track detail. The actual design and look of the levels is fairly varied and perhaps one of the best aspects of the game. The tracks themselves can be extremely confusing in terms of where to go, though usually there's multiple paths and confusion can often lead to a shortcut. The soundtrack, whilst not exactly fitting is enjoyable and well produced, but the sound effects of each character running, or particularly Tails flying are grating after a while.

Overall Sonic R is difficult to enjoy unless players have enough time with it to overcome the extremely dodgy physics and controls, find all of the hidden chaos emeralds and unlock the characters within the game. I wouldn't personally recommend doing so, but each to their own. At the time of release Sonic R was likely a comparatively average racing game, especially with all of the characters on foot, and 3D only just taking off. Thesedays we can look back and wonder just what went wrong with the benefit of hindsight.

Rating: 48/100
Grade: D

Game: Sonic Spinball
Console: Sega Game Gear
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 1994

I've already reviewed Sonic Spinball for the Mega Drive, which I found to be a fun break from the platforming Sonic The Hedgehog games, with some fun concepts and good progression for players who had the patience to make their way through all of its stages. As expected, Sonic Spinball on Game Gear has been simplified a little, and is a little less straightforward in terms of being able to see how to progress.

Just like the Mega Drive version, players control both Sonic and the flippers of the pinball machine, giving a twist on the regular pinball formula. Unfortunately most of the game is trial and error, with emeralds being collected with enough perseverance. It'd take a lot of exploring to make it to the next level; much more than in the Mega Drive version, and that means there's less interesting stuff to do in each level,

Graphically the game is far more basic than it's Mega Drive counterpart, as is to be expected for an 8-bit version of a 16-bit game. Sega seemed to have an obsession with putting their Mega Drive games onto the Master System and Game Gear back in the day, with many of their titles reaching both. The music is alright but nothing compared to the Mega Drive version, once again.

Overall Sonic Spinball for the Game Gear is a little disappointing for anyone who's played the Mega Drive version and seems as if it'd only appeal to someone who hadn't yet upgraded to the system, back in the day. As a slightly different version of the game it's interesting but somewhat inferior, and so perhaps a little unnecessary.

Rating; 60/100
Grade: D

Sonic The Hedgehog: Triple Trouble

Game: Sonic The Hedgehog: Triple Trouble
Console: Sega Game Gear
Developer: Aspect
Release Date: 31st October 1994

Sonic Chaos was a late game for the Game Gear, featuring easier gameplay than many of the main series instalments in the Sonic series. Sonic The Hedgehog: Triple Trouble is effectively the sequel, and features 6 more zones, each with 2 main acts, and a third boss battle act. There are fairly varied, though there's nothing that we haven't seen before in the Sonic series in terms of bosses or gameplay. There's a few interesting sections including a minecart section and a snowboarding section, but overall the main draw of the game is the multiple paths to be explored in each act.

Interestingly players will only lose some of their rings when hit by an enemy in this game; 30 for most enemies, and 50 for spikes. This gives some extra chances to the player, if they've collected more than 30 rings, and isn't really a bad idea, despite only being implemented in a few other games afterwards. The level design is interesting, and focuses on many different paths and levels of height; this makes the game somewhat too easy, as there's always another chance to finish the level. Another plus is the ability to play as either Sonic or Tails through the game.

Graphically the game is basic, especially for 1994; as the world was heading towards 32 and 64 bit systems, 8 bit graphics and sound just weren't as cutting edge. There's even sections of the game where the HUD disappears behind the level effects. Musically there's not a lot to like, as many tracks sound hastily put together and almost dissonant. Sound effects are pretty standard for the sonic series, if somewhat distorted.

Overall Sonic The Hedgehog: Triple Trouble can easily be enjoyed as a Game Gear exclusive, and 8-bit Sonic 2D platformer. While its visuals and music are basic, and the gameplay is fairly easy, everything comes together, just like in Sonic Chaos to provide a playable and interesting Sonic experience. It's definitely worth at least a single playthrough for Sonic fans.

Rating: 65/100
Grade: C

Game: Sonic Drift 2
Console: Sega Game Gear
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 1995

Sonic Drift 2 is a racing game featuring 6 characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog series, racing eachother in an Outrun-esque style, with big inspiration also coming from the Mario Kart series. While the original Sonic Drift isn't included in this collection, its sequel doesn't make a great case for itself or the series as a whole. The first issue is the Outrun style presentation of the game; the course comes towards the players rather than the cars actually seeming like they're racing on the track. This can make corners hard to anticipate and leads to a lot of going off track, even when braking and attempting to use the minimap which takes up half the screen for guidance.

Secondly there are items which can be used on opponents; Robotnik is constantly throwing mines from the back of his car, and movement tends to be very stop-start thanks to the sheer amount of obstacles created on some tracks. Winning a race is fairly random; I suspect strong AI rubberbanding, as a terrible performance is just as likely to yield a first place finish as a good one.

Graphically the game is basic in its 8-bit style, once again Sega seemed to have supported the Game Gear well past when its technology was cutting edge. Super Mario Kart's Mode 7 graphics helped it to become the classic that we know and love. The visual design also seems to be rather poor with the minimap and HUD taking up around 40% of the screen. The music for the game is fairly average with hardly any stand-out tracks.

Overall it's a pretty unenjoyable racing game; I was reminded of Woody Woodpecker racing on the Game Boy Colour and other such lacklustre titles. Even Sonic fans will find that the good track and character variety isn't enough to save the poor racing action. This one is to be avoided at all costs.

Rating: 30/100
Grade: E

Game: Tails: Sky Patrol
Console: Sega Game Gear
Developer: Sonic Team
Release Date: 28th April 1995

A Japan only release for the Game Gear with Tails as the main character, Tails: Sky Patrol couldn't have had less reach if it tried. Luckily, with it's inclusion on the Sonic Gems Collection, anyone can experience the obtuse difficulty of its gameplay. Tails must make it through five levels, starting with a training area, in order to defeat whatever evil is threatening the world this time. He is able to fly and carries with him a ring which can be used to defeat enemies and latch onto level effects.

Tails loses a life if he collides with the floor, runs out of energy or otherwise hits something and can't recover. Energy can be replenished by collecting sweets which are dotted around the levels. It's hard to explain why the game is so difficult, but I almost gave up inside of the training stage thanks to the level design going against most gaming logic. Mine carts which usually transport players to the next section lead to death, there's dead ends everywhere; meaning players have to learn the levels by heart to progress, and whether you're playing through at speed, or taking your time there's no less difficulty.

Graphically the game doesn't look too bad at all, especially for the Game Gear. The screen can be a bit cluttered at times with all the obstacles, collectables and level effects but the colours and backgrounds look nice. A contributory factor to the difficulty is also that not a lot can be displayed on the Game Gear screen while it scrolls, so players can only see a little way ahead at any one time. The music is whimsical but not particularly memorable or good, which seems to be a theme in many Sonic Game Gear releases.

Overall Tails: Sky Patrol is hardly enjoyable at all with a completely new control system to learn, poor level design and a clutter of obstacles and enemies thanks to the Game Gear's screen size. When the training area seems almost unbeatable, you know it's time to lower the difficulty just a little. It's a shame that I wasn't able to experience more of the game's four main stages, but there was just no way to get through without serious hours being put into a game that just wouldn't reward the effort.

Rating: 29/100
Grade: F

Game: Tails Adventures
Console: Sega Game Gear
Developer: Aspect
Release Date: 1995

With Sonic Team's effort for a Tails game coming up short, it fell to Aspect to develop something a little better. Tails Adventure was the result, a platformer which feels unrelated to the Sonic series as a whole, introducing new gameplay mechanics and with a far more generic feel overall. There's a Mario style overworld map, and the gameplay itself is more item based, with duck enemies as the main focus. It's almost as if Tails could have been replaced with any character and things wouldn't have felt out of place.

The game itself is competently programmed and designed with long, but engaging and varied stages where Tails must use the items and abilities which he acquires to progress. There's some puzzling required in places, and the pace isn't as fast as regular Sonic games, but this doesn't hinder the enjoyment. The controls are generally good and allow players to switch between their items and move around with little fuss.

Graphically the game is technically better looking than many other Sonic Game Gear releases, however the colour palette and imagination of the areas lets the game down somewhat. Musically there's no classic Sonic-esque sounds, but the soundtrack isn't terrible by any means, so it's stuck inbetween in a sort of mediocre zone.

Overall Tails Adventure is a welcome break from Sonic style gameplay, adding more depth to its platforming, with slower gameplay. It might have been a little better to create a new IP for this game however, as Sonic fans will likely be disappointed at the lack of classic Sonic gameplay, and non-Sonic fans are unlikely to check it out. Still, those that do will find a competent and fun little adventure.

Rating: 62/100
Grade: C

Those are all the games I'll be looking at on this collection, though Sonic The Hedgehog 2 for Game Gear and Sonic CD are also included, but I'll be looking at those separately. Overall as a collection, Sonic Gems is handy for collecting some difficult to find games, like the Game Gear exclusives, and Sonic The Fighters, which only appeared in arcades. For non-Sonic fans though, it might appear as a collection of fairly outdated and substandard games. The average quality of games isn't particularly high, though there's some that are definitely worth playing.

The emulation on the collection is average, with some running a little strangely. The biggest criticism I have of the emulation is that playing Game Gear games on a TV caused a little motion sickness, due to the small size of the screen. The extras included in the collection are well worth checking out, but take some earning when compared to other collections.

Collection Rating: 69/100
Collection Grade: C

Collection Review: Midway Arcade Treasures (Part 2)

In case you missed Part 1 of this review, we previously took a look at the first 12 arcade games featured on the "Midway" Arcade Treasures collection. In this part we're going to look at the final 12 games on the collection and summarise my thoughts on the collection as a whole.

Rampart

Game: Rampart
Console: Arcade
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1990

Rampart is an interesting arcade/RTS/tetris hybrid which sees players building a wall around their castle, then placing canons to attack invading ships. Between rounds, damage to the player wall must be repaired, and expansion to other castles on the map is allowed, as long as they're full contained by a wall also. The more castles controlled by a player, the more canons available to them, the stronger their overall force and the greater their chance of victory.

There is however a time limit in the build and repair phase, and a harsh one at that. There's literally no time to expand your reach with the amount of damage that's usually done to your walls and castle, and sometimes there's not even time to repair the wall around one castle, resulting in a loss. Personally I'd have preferred a piece limit to walls; players could be give 10 wall pieces to place and left to determine the optimal placing for them. Because of this flaw in the game, progression is severely limited in later levels.

Graphically the game features some pretty basic visuals for 1990, though they fit the RTS style well. It can be a little difficult to aim the cannons at the moving targets of the ships with just a small targeting reticle, but generally spamming the fire button works wonders, even if most damage can't be avoided on walls. The music in the game is fitting for battles and gives everything a feudal tinge.

Overall Rampart could have been a far better game without the arbitrary time limits which were forced upon it because of being an arcade game. With a little time to plan an expansion players would have been able to strategise further into their battle and perhaps progress where running out of time ended their game. Good concept, bad execution.

Rating: 61/100
Grade: D

Road Blasters

Game: Road Blasters
Console: Arcade
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1987

Road Blasters is a game similar to OutRun except that players have the ability to shoot traffic out of their way, and are attacked by various enemies on their route. There are also special weapons which can give players a big advantage and help them to finish the stage within the time limit; these include a machine gun for the top of their car and a mega-boost.

Players have control of the steering and acceleration of the car as well as the weapons attached to it, and must make use of these three elements to weave their way through levels with enough fuel to survive. Some enemies will drop fuel powerups when shot, and many levels feature sections with fuel powerups to pick up.

Graphically the game looks very similar to a simplified version of OutRun with exclusively green fields as the scenery and some occasional background changes in the distance. The cars too look similar to Sega's title, though once mounted with guns have a more distinct look. Although there's no musical accompaniment to gameplay there's some funky tunes once levels are finished.

Overall Road Blaster can be a fun title to play around with, but getting seriously far is fairly difficult. The quick reactions needed to dodge everything thrown at players in later levels are probably only present in a small percentage of the population, but there's enjoyment to be had before the pinnacle of difficulty is reached.

Rating: 64/100
Grade: C

Robotron 2084

Game: Robotron 2084
Console: Arcade
Developer: Williams Electronics
Release Date: 1982

Robotron 2084 is a twinstick shooter which seems to have laid the groundwork for the later release of Smash TV. Both games feature the player being mobbed by enemies and needing to move and shoot separately in order to get away. The aim of Robotron 2084 is to save humans and eliminate robots, whilst avoiding contact with the robots yourself; points are scored for each human saved.

As the levels progress, different types of robots are added and the play area gets far more crowded. There's always a sense of immediate danger, but unlike Gauntlet, players have room to manoeuvre thanks to the controls separating the shoot and movement directions. There's no real sense of progression besides the levels becoming more packed with enemies and the difficulty spikes very quickly.

Graphically the game is a bit of a mess of small sprites, flashing colours and movement. It can be hard to keep track of what's going on, especially in the later more packed levels. There's no music to accompany gameplay and it can get a little lonely with just the shooting sounds.

Overall Robotron 2084 seems like a tech test for later games, and it's lack of defining features and mood really detract from the amount of fun that can be had with it. It's hard to blame the game entirely as twinstick shooters were in their infancy and for 1982 there's a lot of good stuff on show.

Rating: 59/100
Grade: D

Satan's Hollow

Game: Satan's Hollow
Console: Arcade
Developer: Midway
Release Date: 1983

Midway's second game on this supposedly Midway filled arcade collection, and once again we're met with a lack of quality and originality from the company. This was the first game released under the Bally Midway brand, and it's somewhat of a clone of Galaga and Space Invaders. Players can move left and right to shoot formations of gargoyles, with each wave beaten gaining them a bridge piece. Once the bridge is complete, players then face Satan before gameplay loops back to the start. As the game progresses there are a few more enemies that appear, but overall it's very samey.

The controls are decent enough, but it plays just like the shooting from Space Invaders mixed with the gameplay of Galaga. Because of the lack of y axis movement, it's far easier to get hit than it should be, and with ever growing groups of gargoyles, later levels become almost impossible. There's little to no motivation to progress through the game, and even facing Satan himself is fairly boring.

Graphically the game looks basic and even slightly glitched thanks to the lack of detailing on the water and in the sky next to the castle. I don't expect much from games released in 1983, but this seem to just be laziness on the developer's part. An 8-bit rendition of Ride of the Valkyries precedes gameplay, but there's only shooting and explosion sound effects within the game itself.

Overall Satan's Hollow is aptly named, as there's very little beneath the surface as an arcade shooter. Progress is not only frustrating to make, there's hardly any incentive to do so, and players are constantly unfairly killed with multiple enemy divebombs and a lack of being able to avoid everything thrown at them.

Rating: 30/100
Grade: E

Sinistar

Game: Sinistar
Console: Arcade
Developer: Williams Electronics
Release Date: 1982

Sinistar initially appears to be a frenzied clone of Asteroids where enemy ships can outrun out but don't seem to be particularly concerned with crashing into you. Upon closer inspection however, it appears that players are intended to mine crystals from space rocks, collecting them before the worker enemies can. While the workers and other low level enemies can be shot at and destroyed, this is usually only done when completely necessary.

As crystals are mined and collected by the player, Sinibombs are created. As crystals are collected by the enemy workers, the Sinistar boss is built, consisting of 13 pieces including his face. As such, players will need 13 Sinibombs in order to defeat the Sinistar. This necessitates a balance between shooting the space rocks, mining, and ensuring enemy workers don't collect more crystals than have been collected by players.

Graphically the game is fairly basic, but the Sinistar still manages to have a somewhat scary face. It's usually the fast pace of the game which makes it difficult to tell what's going on, rather than any graphical issues. Interestingly there are voiced lines spoken by the Sinistar to indicate when it has been built, which add to the game's tension. There's nothing worse than hearing "Beware, I live!" with less than 13 Sinibombs.

Overall Sinistar is a fresh and interesting arcade space shooter concept, and even though it's slightly difficult to successfully play in the way it was intended, it's still refreshing to see a game which isn't simply based on shooting all the enemies, wave after wave. With a little more polish on the controls and a slower movement speed overall, this may have been a true classic.

Rating: 62/100
Grade: C

Smash TV

Game: Smash TV
Console: Arcade
Developer: Williams Electronics
Release Date: 1990

Perhaps the finest twinstick arcade shooter of all time, Smash TV is a fun and challenging run through a murderous gameshow which challenges players to fend off hordes of attackers as they progress through the rooms towards the bosses. As they go, players collect money and prizes which include VCR's, ride on lawnmowers, televisions and a year's supply of meat. The humour in the game is evident as the host announces "Total carnage! I love it!".

As shooting and movement are independent of each other players are able to outmanoeuvre the incoming enemies, and still keep their guns trained on them. There are four bosses overall, and although the game gets very difficult towards the end, it always feels as if it's worth playing. Power-ups are scattered throughout levels which give players access to grenade launchers, spray guns and rockets to cause even more damage.

Graphically the game presents the gameshow setting well, and clearly displays enemies for optimal decision making and fast paced gameplay. Power-ups are easy to identify and although the game is challenging, any player deaths tend to be from bad choices rather than being the fault of the game. Fittingly energetic music plays behind gameplay, although it can get somewhat lost behind the rumble of gunfire.

Overall Smash TV is a wonderfully executed concept for an arcade game with intuitive controls which allow players to plan and strategize within the fast paced shooting environment of the game. The presentation as a television show contributes to the overall humour and gives players incentive to go for a high score, with bonuses awarded at the end of each round for the prizes collected. With wonderfully violent gameplay, gory animations and overpowered bosses this is arcade gaming at its finest.

Rating: 90/100
Grade: A

Splat

Game: Splat!
Console: Arcade
Developer: Williams Electronics
Release Date: 1982

Around 1982, Williams Electronics must have had a real thing for twin stick shooters as Robotron 2084 was released in the same year with a similar concept. In Splat, players take on the role of an anthropomorphic foodstuff engaged in a food fight with other enemy foodstuffs. As movement and aiming are controlled separately players have a chance to defend themselves from incoming food whilst still attacking other enemies.

Gameplay can be a little chaotic, especially as more enemies appear in later levels. If players are hit by an opponent's throw their head comes off, and they have a chance to get their head back before they're shot at again. Players can only lose a life if they're hit whilst headless. Conceptually it's well themed but a little bit off-the wall in execution.

Graphically the game's anthropomorphic foods are kind of creepy, losing their heads as they're hit and juggling food around. There's a weird atmosphere to the game as a whole with a beat which plays behind gameplay and it's sound effects. The relative quietness could have been improved with a basic tune of any kind, and it wouldn't have been too hard to implement, even in 1982.

Overall Splat! has the feeling that it could be improved, and indeed it was likely contributing to Smash TV's release 8 years later with the parts of the game that worked well. Unfortunately as a stand alone it's not quite the full package, and there's some frustrating gameplay in places.

Rating: 56/100
Grade: D

Spy Hunter

Game: Spy Hunter
Console: Arcade
Developer: Midway
Release Date: 1983

Spy Hunter is part of a genre of video game which has players avoid traffic and attempt to make it to the end goal. Players also have the luxury of weapons to take out cars that are in the way, as well as some enemy cars. Unlike many of the games in this genre though, shifting into high gear almost guarantees an unavoidable crash, and staying in low gear allows indestructible grunt cars to knock you off the road. Both of these are annoying and will happen incessantly.

In 10 tries at the game, none of my turns lasted longer than a minute thanks to the horrible combination of controls and speed management by the game. Because there's hardly any chance to see what's coming up next, steering is a guessing game, and it's so easy to get knocked off the road by opponents, there's little chance bothering to do the same to them, especially when ganged up on.

Graphically the game is pretty average, much the same as any other driving game of its type. There's engine and shooting sounds, and even a range of weapons, but players hardly get to use any of them because of the short turn length. Attempting to gain new weapons by driving into the weapons van may as well also be impossible, as instead players will end up shoved into the bushes at the side of the screen.

Overall I'm not sure whether it's just this particular version of Spy Hunter that's broken or whether it's just another poor Midway game. Spy Hunter II sat just as badly with me when I played it in the second Midway Treasures collection, so I can only think that's just a poorly designed and executed arcade game.

Rating: 24/100
Grade: F

Super Sprint

Game: Super Sprint
Console: Arcade
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1986

I previously looked at Championship Sprint in an Atari arcade games review and concluded that whilst the concept was sound and similar to that of later Micro Machines games for the Mega Drive, that overall the control was too fidgety and caused players to have undue trouble making it around corners, leaving them too far behind to catch the AI on difficult circuits. Super Sprint is the game released before Championship Sprint and I see no indication of these issues being exclusive to the later game.

Turning is extreme, and done so that a left on the analog stick will turn the car to the left from the direction it's facing, leaving players to work out which way they need to turn at each corner of the looping circuits. The harder they get, the more impossible making it around any of the corners becomes yet the AI seems to win with ease.

Graphically the game looks okay though I distinctly remember Championship Sprint also looking very much like this, so it's possible that Atari didn't do much to the visuals between the games. As this is the earlier game of the two, I suppose it should get the credit for looking good in 1986. Soundwise there's high pitched engine noises as you'd expect.

Overall Super Sprint is fairly poor in terms of arcade racers, while based on a good concept. The turning is awkward and the game runs far too fast for players to react to the circuit. The first few tracks are bearable with wide turn radii, but as soon as obstacles and special features are placed on later tracks, the game becomes frustrating and almost impossible.

Rating: 29/100
Grade: F

Root Beet Tapper

Game: Root Beer Tapper
Console: Arcade
Developer: Midway
Release Date: 1984

Root Beer Tapper is a relatively simple multi-tasking game which has a few flaws stopping it from being as enjoyable as it could be. For a start the movement is clunky and it's hard to tell when beers are full or half full, especially with many customers. Secondly sometimes patrons leave a tip a long way down the bar, forcing players to risk losing a life for a point bonus, and lastly; collecting the empty beer glasses sometimes gets timed in such a way that there are two falling off the counter at once, literally guaranteeing a life lost for the player.

While some of these elements are a good idea within a multitasking concept, customers appear so quickly at the bar, and return within such a short space of time that pouring and collecting effectively is near impossible. The third or fourth level seems to be the absolute limit of the game, meaning most play sessions are under 2 minutes in length.

Graphically the game is pretty simple, even for 1984. The animations are incredibly basic and there's a feel of cheapness to gameplay which is difficult to explain. The music featured behind the game is nearly exclusively mangled versions of classical tunes which aren't too kind to the ears. It's nice to have some in game music, but when it's of this quality, I'd rather go without.

Overall Root Beer Tapper is not only too simple of a game to be even slightly replayable, the multitasking element is overcomplicated by a huge difficulty spike, and players are unfairly punished for slight judgement lapses under the game's fast paced pressure. Perhaps pouring an accidental drink in an empty lane should subtract points rather than taking a life, for instance.

Rating: 37/100
Grade: E

Toobin'

Game: Toobin'
Console: Arcade
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1988

Toobin' is a very original arcade game in that it features a race between 2 characters, riding inner tubes down a river. The controls require players to paddle as if with their hands to move their character, steering left and right down the river to avoid obstacles and pass through gates for points. Hitting too many obstacles will cause the player to sink and lose a life, and hitting the edge of gates causes them to go down in point value.

While there's another character onscreen to race against, they seem to work fairly independently of players, occasionally throwing things in your general direction. The main issue with the game is that when the opponent is too far back, players are kept from progressing forwards, in order to keep both characters on the screen. Once the opponent starts to move again, players can rocket forwards and hit anything without it being their fault.

Graphically the game looks pretty nice with almost Super Nintendo levels of visuals on display. The river layouts are varied though a little uninspired considering what can be done in other racing games. While the climate and obstacles change around players, it's mostly a straight path down to the finish line in every river. There's some almost funky music when the game begins, though the bass becomes slightly out of tune later on, which may well bug gamers as it did me.

Overall Toobin' is a good concept with some good gameplay ideas and even some enjoyably different controls. It's just a shame that once the novelty wears off the gameplay, there's no real long lasting fun to be had. The steering feels pretty spot on for movement in water, but any kind of water controls end up grating eventually. With the strangely out of tune soundtrack and other slight issues, it's just not quite up to scratch.

Rating: 61/100
Grade: D

Vindicators

Game: Vindicators
Console: Arcade
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1988

Vindicators is an ambitious tank shooter where players make their way to the end of a level through
waves of enemy tanks, turrets and other dangerous obstacles. Players have control of the tank tracks, acceleration and turret rotation as well as shooting, giving them a lot of control, but also a lot to potentially get wrong. Much of the time I found myself attempting to correct a wrong move and getting into further difficulty because of the multitude of controls.

I'm sure that with enough practice, manoeuvring the tank would be easy, and potentially far more precise with this control setup, but it's an arcade game which you'd expect to be instantly playable and provide more than a few seconds of awkwardly controlled gameplay. Perhaps the game would have functioned better as another twinstick shooter, allowing the tank to move and shoot independently, and keeping the track rotation automatic.

Graphically the game looks pretty groovy with a nice colour scheme and simple but contrasting tank designs. It's easy to see where is best to move, it's just not so easy to pull off the moves to get your tank there. Sound effects in the game are fairly average, but the soundtrack does a good job of keeping players invested in the game despite the tough controls.

Overall Vindicators is a good concept and an ambitious idea, giving players complete control of their tank's movement, rotation and turrets. With enough skill and practice the game becomes playable and likely enjoyable, but it's the difficulty threshold that prevents this from being an instantly accessible and enjoyable game.

Rating: 62/100
Grade: C

With the final game on the collection reviewed, we can finally take a look at the proportion of actual Midway games on this collection compared to Atari and Williams Electronics. Here are the final results arranged neatly for comparison.

                                                 

		Games		Average Rating
Midway		4 (17%)		33.75
Atari		10 (41%)		66.6
Williams		10 (41%)		62.7

As can be clearly seen, not only do games which had nothing to do with Midway outnumber the games Midway produced, on the compilation, they've of far better quality too. This shouldn't reflect on the compilation as a whole, other than to wonder why Midway are attempting to take credit for the entirety of the release when 82% of the games aren't even theirs.

Disregarding this, there's a fair amount of quality to be found on this arcade collection, bringing together some of the best Williams, Atari and Midway games from the 80s, and arguably the best twinstick arcade shooter ever. There's not too much in the way of extras or unlockables, but that's somewhat acceptable for the fact there's already 24 games included.

Collection Rating: 66/100
Collection Grade: C

Collection Review: Midway Arcade Treasures (Part 1)

Game: Midway Arcade Treasures
Console: Sony Playstation
Developer: Midway
Release Date: 8th November 2003

Midway had quite a few hit arcade games back in the day, and after acquiring Atari and Williams Entertainment, the owned the rights to even more. This game is the first in the a three part game series which looks at the best of Midway's arcade games and those which they own the rights to. My Review of Midway Arcade Treasures part two can be read by clicking the hyperlinks. There are 24 games on this collection, so I'll also be splitting this review into two parts.

720°

Game: 720°
Console: Arcade
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1986

Somewhere between Marble Madness and Sonic 3D, isometric 3D fell out of favour with the gaming public. 720 Degrees is a skateboarding game which uses the isometric viewpoint and seems to pull it off for the most part. Players start their time in the centre of a city, which contains 4 skateparks; Slalom, Ramp, Jump and Downhill. Players must earn enough points to enter each, claim a gold medal and continue on, with 4 levels of competition at each skatepark.

The directional controls of the game are handled well and it's easy to skate about, the trick controls however are a bit harder, as there's only kick to push the skateboard on, and jump which handles all of the jumping and trick moves. The best move seems to be to hold onto the jump button whilst in the air and spin as much as is possible, to score big points. Each of the skate parks has a different type of skating goal, and this is a nice show of variety for such an early game.

Graphically the game is colourful and it's pretty easy to see what everything is within the city setting. Tricks and other moves are harder to view, with the skateboard being so small onscreen. Although I wasn't expecting Tony Hawk's level of quality, it's still a little disappointing that there aren't more tricks on show. Soundwise there are some rocking tunes featured behind gameplay and this is a nice touch for the era.

Overall Skate or Die isn't a bad arcade game at all, it's just a shame that you're bound so harshly to its time limits, meaning that there's little chance of exploring or actually starting to enjoy the game organically. The equipment upgrades dotted about the map is a fun idea and definitely scales gameplay towards improving gradually, but thanks to the time limit I was never really allowed to get as far as I'd have liked.

Rating: 62/100
Grade: C

Blaster

Game: Blaster
Console: Arcade
Developer: Williams Electronics
Release Date: 1983

Blaster is a colourful adventure through space where players must constantly defend themselves from incoming obstacles including astronauts, rocks, ships, and robots. The gameplay is fast paced and though it's difficult to quite make out what's going on most of the time, due to the constant flashing and chaos onscreen, it does feel like a competently put together game.

Players get a choice of which stage they start from, of the game's first four stages though it doesn't make too much difference. It's hard to avoid everything thanks to the strange depth of the Mode 7-esque scaling. Objects also fly at the ship pretty quickly so good reactions are needed to make a decent run into the game.

Graphically the game is very basic, with Atari 2600 like block pixels and an incredible range of basic colours and flashing screens which are sure to make players eyes sore. The shooting sound effect is overpowering in terms of the game's sound design and there's no real music to be heard whilst playing.

Overall Blaster is an average space shooter from a time when there were far too many games in the genre being released by all arcade developers. It's not too bad, but it's certainly not great or particularly replayable. If it wasn't so harsh on the eyes, then I might have been a little more keen to continue through to the end.

Rating: 51/100
Grade: D

Bubbles

Game: Bubbles

Console: Arcade
Developer: Williams
Release Date: 1982

Bubbles has an unusual concept for an arcade game; players take on the role of a bubble who must clean the sink of various dirt based enemies whilst avoiding larger obstacles and enemies, until the bubble grows to such a size that it can go down the drain and progress to the next level. I like that Williams chose such a specific setting for the game as they could have easily gone down the space or animal routes which were chosen so often during this era.

While clearly the game involves bubbles, I found the movement controls to be a little slippery. While this may have been the developer's intention, there's a little too much momentum given by each directional press. Without any way to protect your bubble from colliding with enemies, the movement controls should have been a little tighter to allow for last minute direction changes.

Graphically the game is pretty basic with a lot of blue onscreen, but the colour contrasts well with that of most of the enemies and this makes movement decisions easier. The black ants which appear on screen as enemies are a little more difficult to spot and probably the only thing I'd change about the graphics. Musically the game features some awful short themes before levels and I'd recommend having the volume pretty low to avoid hearing these.

Overall Bubbles is a harmless arcade game with an original concept and simple controls. Player movement could be a little easier to handle, but with enough play it should be easily mastered. The overall concept of the game can wear thin after enough levels, and it really could have benefited from some sort of weapon/mini-bubble shooting command also.

Rating: 62/100
Grade: C

Defender

Game: Defender

Console: Arcade
Developer: Williams
Release Date: 1980

Defender is an early arcade game which was part of the space shooter craze started by games like Space Invaders. It features horizontal scrolling and wrap around so players never reach a border at the side of the screen. The aim is to shoot all of the aliens that appear in order to move onto the next level. There are different types of aliens which inhabit the game world and some can prove to be more trouble to kill than others.

Players must also look for aliens which are abducting the humans on the level and then shoot the alien to collect the human from them and deliver them to safety. While a later game, Dropzone (which borrowed many elements from Defender) is by far a better game with this same rescue concept. There's really not much to do in this space shooter that's worth doing.

Graphically the game is incredibly basic and the laser shoots on a very narrow plane, leading to many near misses which look like they should have counted as a hit. The aliens have fairly generic designs though there's a variety of species to encounter. Soundwise players who like shooting sounds over silence will be big fans of the game; if you're looking for music or any other kind of entertainment, think again.

Overall Defender is a fairly bland space shooter which gained popularity for being a very early game which was fairly playable. Looking back at the game after the wave of games released after 1980 it's clear to see that there's not much nuance or wow factor to the game itself, despite influencing other titles.

Rating: 57/100
Grade: D

Defender II

Game: Defender II (Stargate)

Console: Arcade
Developer: Williams
Release Date: 1981

Popular arcade games often get sequels and it's difficult for developers to decide between repeating the formula and going off wildly on a tangent. Ideally it's somewhere inbetween; a slicker, improved version of the game which takes all the best gameplay elements of the original game and adds to them to present a familiar yet challenging and new experience. Occasionally developers end up releasing something that is basically the same as its predecessor however.

I'll accept that there are a few new enemies in the game, but Defender II is so very similar to the first game in the series that there's hardly anything to talk about in reviewing it. Players shoot things, rescue humans and move on to shooting more things. The difficulty in hitting completely accurate shots is still present and it's just as easy to lose lives as the first game.

Graphically there's almost no changes from the first game; the info panels are a different colour, but that's pretty much all there is. The sound too is also the same, and this is the last straw. Clearly having made a successful game, Williams decided that they'd basically be able to re-release Defender and audiences would still lap it up. While I don't know if gamers back in the day were fooled, I certainly wasn't.

Rating: 57/100
Grade: C

Gauntlet

Game: Gauntlet

Console: Arcade
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1984

Gauntlet is a pretty classic arcade game; players choose a class of character which slightly influences the gameplay, and sets off through a maze filled with enemies, keys, and potions with exits to the next level dotted around for them to find. While there's a massive number of enemies in each level, just waiting to get their hands on the player, it's possible to destroy their spawn points and stop them from attacking eventually. Luckily players also have a huge amount of health and so can take quite a lot of punishment, despite the fact that it's also constantly ticking down.

Sometimes it can get a little hard to move around the maze with all the enemy crowding, and the further players get, the worse it gets in that respect. Powerups are plentiful and there's some nice gameplay mechanics with teleporters, keys, and other items that complicate the game, but also make it more fun. In terms of replayability there's not a lot going for the game outside of trying your best with each class of character.

Graphically the game is basic by modern standards, but fairly impressive for 1985. There are lots of varied enemies that appear in later levels, and many more on screen that would usually be seen in console games of the era. There are small musical clips as well as voice acting featured within the game, and these are generally good although a little music would have set the scene very nicely.

Overall Gauntlet is a fun and original arcade game which features a lot more content than many other arcade games of the 80s, with four playable characters, many different enemies and and a difficulty level which gradually increases rather than hitting players full force after the first level. There's also the option to continue from where you left off a few times for an extra credit which is nice.

Rating: 74/100
Grade: B

Joust

Game: Joust

Console: Arcade
Developer: Williams
Release Date: 1982

Joust is a game based on a very simple concept. Players take control of a man who is mounted on a bird, in a an arena where opponents are also mounted on birds. Hitting an opponent from above them will neutralise them and drop an egg, being hit from above will end your current turn and cost you a life. Eggs left for too long on the field of play will hatch into a new opponent, for which a new bird will fly in and come back into play, giving players incentive to collect them.

The controls for this version of joust consist merely of movement and a button to flap the bird's wings in order to gain height. The bird has momentum and so players must carefully judge their every move so as not to be hit from above by an opponent. There's not really much more strategy to the game, though parts of the playing area are removed as the game progresses.

Graphically the game is very simple and is reminiscent of an NES game (it was also later ported to NES and looked much the same). The birds running animation is quite amusing, and there's a smooth sense of flight. In the sound department, there's not much to amuse the ears, with the just odd sound effect and end of level tones.

Overall Joust is executed about as well as its simple concept will allow. The gameplay speaks for itself, the controls are simple and players can grasp what needs to be done from the outset. There's enough sense of fun in trying again to make it replayable for at least a little while, and there's no real issues with the game as a whole.

Rating: 73/100
Grade: C

Joust II

Game: Joust 2
Console: Arcade
Developer: Williams
Release Date: 1986

Four years after the original, Williams decided that it was worth another stab at the Joust model, releasing a sequel. Due to Joust's incredibly simple gameplay, the developers had to take other means to change the game enough to warrant a sequel. Firstly the gave the arcade machine a vertical screen, then they added the ability to change from an ostrich mount to a pegasus, the latter being far heavier and more difficult to control, but better for dropping down quickly.

The controls are much the same as the first game, with the addition of a transform button. The levels featured in Joust 2 are more varied than in the original, with a few nice touches in places. There are also some new and more varied enemies in this game, compared to the first, but this isn't quite enough to shake the feeling that it's not quite as good as the original.

Graphically the game looks like an NES title, which was acceptable in 1982 before the NES had been released, but in 1986 arcade games demanded better graphics and animation than the current systems of the time, and with it's tiny sprites, Joust 2 is technically unimpressive. Still without any music and with basically the same sound effects as before, there's no real improvement in audiovisual quality.

Overall Joust 2 isn't the best sequel it could have been; there were plenty of better ways that the formula could have been expanded upon. While it's not terrible, and probably would have been a decent game in its own right, players who have experience of playing Joust, and the 4 years of games which came after it will likely feel the same.

Rating: 60/100
Grade: D

Klax

Game: Klax

Console: Arcade
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1989

Klax is an arcade puzzle game which tasks players with sorting tiles into vertical, horizontal or diagonal lines of 3 or more, awarding points for successful lines. There's only a small play area, at the end of a conveyor belt which keeps sending tiles onto the sorting pad controlled by the player. This means that not only is there the placing of tiles to contend with but also the order in which they'll be redistributed from the sorting pad.

The levels can be points based, tile based, or klax based, each requiring different styles of play to see players through and onto the next level. I really like this as a concept, because it keeps players on their toes and keeps the game fresh as the difficulty increases. For a puzzle game it's surprisingly versatile, and there's also a two player option which is nice.

Graphically the game is simultaneously simple and visually pleasing. There's enough graphical fidelity to make the concept look interesting and new, whilst displaying all the relevant information to the player and not overdoing it in terms of colours and animation. There's no music to accompany gameplay which is a little disappointing for 1989, and the few sound effects that are featured can get a little annoying after a while.

Overall Klax is a fun and fast paced puzzle arcade game which has wide appeal and is easy to pick up. Its only weaknesses when compared to huge games like Tetris are that its small play area demands careful planning and play, and that there's very little to enjoy in the sound department.

Rating: 74/100
Grade: B

Marble Madness

Game: Marble Madness
Console: Arcade
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1984

Marble Madness is another conceptually simple puzzle game which puts all of its effort into the gameplay. Players guide a marble through 6 isometric obstacle courses which increase in difficulty, against the clock in an effort to make it to the very end. The controls are spot on in terms of momentum, and players have fast and slow buttons to control the marble's speed in tight spots. Time not used in one course carries over to the next, so speed is necessary.

Graphically the game is simple, but shows very well the positions of obstacles and what must be done to progress. While isometric 3D isn't my favourite, it works well with the style of the game and allows players to quickly assess the amount of speed and turning needed to make it to the goal. There's some great music behind each level and this very much adds to the fun of the game.

Overall Marble Madness has a universal appeal due to its simple nature and replayability. The courses are laid out in such a way that there are a few shortcuts, and strategy can be employed to get a faster time on each course. The real secret to the game is its almost perfect controls which give players the power to achieve their best input consistently.

Rating: 79/100
Grade: B

Paperboy

Game: Paperboy
Console: Arcade
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1984

Paperboy has never been a particular favourite of mine; perhaps because I first played a horrible version for the Commodore Plus/4. However having given the arcade version a go, with full control over the bike's steering and speed, as well as a far better graphical display I can see the appeal somewhat. Players take control of the titular paperboy who must deliver papers to the houses with green doormats. Any non-subscribers to the paper are likely to get a copy through their window.

There are some easter eggs in the game which can be found by throwing a paper at the correct time; a robbery can be stopped, amongst other things, and there's a training course at the end of each level which is almost like a BMX game in itself. Whilst delivering papers, players must avoid almost constant obstacles in their way; these take a while to get used to and are often pretty unfair in their execution.

Graphically the game looks the best I've ever seen it; neither the NES nor the Commodore version even come close to this. It's easy to tell whose house needs delivering to, and the vandalism is made all the sweeter when its effect can be seen. There's some voice acting to accompany gameplay, but many of the lines just aren't that funny.

Overall the arcade version of Paperboy is the one to go for if you want to play; there's good humour, gameplay and controls with the best graphics you'll find for the game. While the concept is simple, riding the bicycle successfully around obstacles can be difficult, but it's an original and enjoyable game for 1984.

Rating: 76/100
Grade: C

Rampage

Game: Rampage
Console: Arcade
Developer: Midway
Release Date: 1986

And so to the 12th and final game in this part of the review, and it's the first game actually produced by Midway on the entire collection. The rest of the games were simply by companies that have since been acquired by Midway, making this anything but "Midway Arcade Treasures". Rampage is a game where players take control of huge mutant animals and wreak havoc on major cities, knocking down buildings, eating people and plucking helicopters out of the air.

While that sounds pretty fun, it boils down to a two button mash-a-thon on the controls. The jump button is used to scale buildings, and the punch button is used to damage them. There's no option to crush buildings from on top as such, and there's little else to do other than keep pressing the punch button on different parts of each building until it falls down.

Graphically the game is dark and bland, the people that appear in windows hardly contrast with the buildings they inhabit and it's difficult to see when you're being shot at, not that there's much that can be done about it. The look of the buildings as they are destroyed is literally the best part of the game, so it's important to take a moment to enjoy it whilst playing.

Overall Rampage is a poor arcade game, and once the thrill of destroying cities and buildings wears off, there's no real reason to continue playing. Apparently there are 768 possible days of destruction featured in the game, but I doubt many people would bother with more than 5. It's a shame there's not more to do within the game, or it could have been a little fun.

Rating: 44/100
Grade: E

With half the collection reviewed, and a single Midway developed game under our belts, it's clear that the company were trying to make the most of the Atari Games and Williams Entertainment legacies which they purchased. While not every game is a stone cold classic, this collection is a bit of a tour through some often mentioned arcade games