Nostalgia can be a deadly thing. While many of you will want to play those games you loved as a kid, going back to them after fifteen years only goes to show you how far games have come in the meantime. With rose-tinted glasses in place, you may be disappointed with the 'retro' view: while some may indeed stand the test of time (Pac-Man, for instance), others fall flatly on their face - and by today's standards are barely playable. Midway Arcade Treasures 2 attempts to combine both; some of the games here are undoubtedly fun and bring back some wonderful memories, while others should've been left to whither.
The two featured games in the collection - and rightly bullet-pointed as such - are Mortal Kombat 2 & 3. The far superior sequels to the original are still great fun to play, and while they're not the best examples of 2D fighting (Street Fighter 2 undeniably takes that honour) will still evoke warm and familiar twitches as you pummel your opponents to death. Fighting fans are well-catered for with additional titles like the comical, yet limited, Primal Rage. A stop-motion fighter where you control various dinosaurs and primates, it may resemble an old '60s dinosaur flick, but is still satisfying to play. And finally, there is Pit Fighter - a game that wasn't even good at the time of release (circa 1990). Compared to the digitised actors of Mortal Kombat, it looks positively terrible... with slow moves, clunky animation, and nothing historically to redeem it.
Race lovers will find much to shout about with the simple yet addictive Championship Sprint, and APB still raises a smile (despite having horrendous controls not helped by the Xbox pad). Other racing games included are Spy Hunter 2 and Hard Drivin' - and these really aren't the best examples of the genre. Spy Hunter 2 is a dire sequel to the highly enjoyable original (which tries to add a number of graphical effects, but fails miserably), and Hard Drivin's flat-shaded polygons make the game look unsightly and play erratically (thanks to immense bouts of bugging and glitching).
For action fans, you'll be treated to the sequel to arcade favourite, Smash TV - Total Carnage. A game that obviously draws inspiration from any number of '80s action movies (Commando, Rambo et al), it's all about killing endless amounts of soldiers with endless amounts of weaponry (amid endless gallons of blood). It's definitely one of the most entertaining games in the compilation, even if it is a political 'hot potato' in the current climate. Less memorable is NARC (erm, it did keep Gamestyle amused for all of ten minutes), while the most up-to-date offering is Rampage World Tour - sequel to the original Rampage, and released on the Playstation in 1997. Again, hardly revolutionary to watch or play... but it fills a niche.
Other titles of interest are: Gauntlet 2, an impressive sequel to the innovative original; Wacko and Kozmik Krooz'r, both starring the same character and following the same path of Asteroids-like progression; Arch Rivals, a precursor to the NBA Jam titles, offering fun gameplay and not taking itself too seriously; Cyberball 2072, a futuristic American football game that is surprisingly quite good; Xenophobe, a split-screen space exploration affair which is ideally suited for more than one player to maximise enjoyment; Xybots, a very early third-person shooter that is technically quite impressive; Timber, an addictive wood-chopping game - and finally - Wizard of Wor, an incredibly boring maze game. That's your lot, and while some games are unquestionably fun in bursts, most are too easily forgotten (a sad indictment perhaps of good times already spent).
With all retro compilations extras are a must, and while each game comes with a gallery and introductory information, the special features aren't as 'special' as we had hoped. Aside from Mortal Kombat 3 - which features a great 'Making Of' section with behind-the-scenes footage - nothing is truly earth-shattering. Interviews with certain game designers are conducted in rooms adorned with arcade cabinets, and feature some of the worst sound you can imagine. Gamestyle supposes the 'rarity' of the footage counterbalances the poor audio tracking, but you'd have to be an optimist to persist with it.
Xbox Live is also supported, but instead of going head-to-head with Mortal Kombat 2 enthusiasts from around the world, you're merely restricted to posting your top scores. Probably for the best though, because how many people would actually be playing MK2 online as opposed to those actively partaking in Street Fighter Anniversary Collection? Summing up: the words 'a mixed bag' tell you everything you need to know about Midway Arcade Treasures 2. For every classic like Mortal Kombat there's a travesty like Pit Fighter - so this one can only be recommended for the purists (or those whose fashion sense is evidently dictated by rose-tinted 'spectacle'). Ahem.
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