Portable Gaming Revolution

Welcome to memory lane, where real gamers would stand hours on end at their favorite arcade game. Dropping quarter after quarter of happiness, trying to make their name last forever as the high score. For those who grew up with the Nintendo 64 or the Playstation, you wouldn’t have the slightest idea what I’m talking about. With twenty one retro games, Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play should have the goods to make any ol’ school gamer happy… or does it?

I remember back when some of the games on MAT:EP were first released. I say “some” because there are a few games like Joust, Defender, and Spy Hunter that came out a while ago. Making its comeback is the one trilogy that almost everyone knows, Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat I, II, and III for your violence inducing pleasure. Games like this have never left our memories… but maybe they should have.

MAT:EP has taken our favorite games and placed them in one pack. Yet I’m left with the feeling that they don’t want to be there. Many of the supplied games feel different, altered. It’s not the same gameplay that I was once so enthralled to compete in. For example, Mortal Kombat II and III have the feeling that the framerate was altered. Other games that were meant to be played vertically are now shoe-horned in on the horizontal PSP screen, giving you a very small view. Maybe they should have thought that over before picking some of the games. There are also noticeable load times in MK II and III, so much so that I found them a pain to play. Loadtimes combined with the noticeably shorter finishing time for the fatalities left the MK trilogy nearly unplayable. That is really a sad thing to see because MK was one of my favorite arcade franchise growing up.

These games were made a little while ago, so don’t expect spectacular sound. They are, for the most part, intact. Some game’s sounds come in at the wrong time or at the wrong pitch. It’s only really apparent if you really pay attention. Ol’ school sound on a new school hand held! As for the graphics… don’t say a word, these are old games, but it’s the gameplay that got us so addicted when they came out.

Replayablility comes to mind when I think of how many quarters I used at the arcade. There’s only so far that a game can go until its boring, even more so when we’re talking about these old classics. What Midway has done is incorporate two player using ad-hoc. The multiplayer is basically the only replayability this title offers, besides going back and trying to beat your high score.

Overall this title promised a pleasurable trip down memory lane on the go. What it actually did was kill them in subtle and quiet way that rivals the efficiency of team “Ghost.” The only advice I can give you is to rent it before you buy it otherwise don’t even look at it.