Midway Arcade Treasures

720
720 is an early skateboarding game where you compete in various events to earn fame and fortune. However, be careful of your very quick time limit here. Can you pull off the dangerous 720 move? The game has an interesting concept where you can upgrade your equipment if you earn enough points, but the controls feel very sluggish. Also, the graphics and sounds are disappointing -- even for a game originally done in the late eighties.

Blaster
This game is a colourful first person space shooter with over 20 difficult levels, plus everything is in 3D as well -- something that was very rare in the early 80's. It can be hard to see all the action going on here, and the game has no real background music, but Blaster is still an intense experience that will test anybody.

Bubbles
In this odd game you must clean up a dirty kitchen sink of scum to earn points, but be careful of the sponges, insects, and brushes that get in the way. Sure it sounds stupid but it's a fun, simple game with an original idea.

Defender and Defender II
OK, these two shooters don't differ much from one another, but these games are still very intense classics where you have to guard humans from an aggressive alien invasion. Defender II (a.k.a. Stargate) has more enemies, added graphical effects and new star gate portals.

Gauntlet
Gauntlet is one of the first real role playing games ever made and this version even supports 4 players at once. The game may be old, but it's still an amazing four-player action/RPG with different warrior classes and tons of levels to explore.

Joust and Joust 2
Joust is a unique and simple game where you do battle with rival bird riders in the dark ages. The real fun starts when a friend decides to join in, because they can either help take out the others for you or they can just get in your face instead. Joust 2 is a rare 1986 sequel with better graphics and sounds, plus you can even change the type of animal you ride on now.

Klax
Atari's famous puzzle game is another great edition to MAT. Line up coloured tiles in many different ways to score points, but space is limited and so is time. This game is filled with many levels, techniques and even secret warps, but don't expect an easy game since it only takes a few misses to end a session. Klax is simple and very addictive.

Marble Madness
Maybe you remember this game from the NES? The objective is easy: just guide you marble down an obstacle course to complete the level. The faster you do it, the more points you earn. The game is tough to control, but it's still solid.

Paperboy
Sure, being a real Paperboy may be a pain in the neck, but in this game there are no rules because you can throw papers at anyone or anything. If only it wasn't so hard.

Rampage
In this game you can forget about the traditional idea of a video game, because now you get to be one of three giant monsters that get to destroy multiple cities. You are the bad guy! Rampage may have a cool premise but the game is also hard to control, it has no background music, and the game play gets old rather quickly.

Robotron 2084
Earth has been over run by killer robots, and it's up to you to save what's left of mankind. Robotron is a shoot em up where you freely control your character, and the direction of your firepower, at the same time. The game isn't much to look at, but it's a very innovative and influential action title that spawned many spin offs (such as Smash TV -- listed below).

Root Beer Tapper
Believe it or not this game was originally a Beer game that was popular in the bars, but it got a new name for some of the other markets. Tapper is a tough but fun serving game where you have to throw drinks to your thirsty customers before things get out of hand. The game also comes with graphics that are very comical.

Satan's Hollow
If you ever played a game called Galaga before then just imagine that space shooter but with a devil theme instead. Certainly an odd name for a shooting game, eh?

Sinistar
This game is a wild and free roaming shooter originally from the early eighties. Sinistar kind of plays like a juiced up Atari Asteroids, but here you have to watch out for the giant destroyer: the evil Sinistar that can eat you alive.

Smash TV
Not only was Smash TV a popular arcade shooter but it was also a hit on the Super Nintendo. Smash TV plays a lot like the insane Robotron 2084, but this game takes place in a TV game show where the contestant fight for survival and big prizes. This title features a lot of blood and exploding body parts, so you now know why MAT got a СTeen' rating.

Splat!
Never heard of it, eh? Good for you! This is an overly difficult food fighting game with some very ugly graphics, and even worse game play. Splat is so confusing that's it easily my least favourite game in the collection.

Spy Hunter
I never like this game much either. Sure, the Peter Gunn music was cool and the action was fast, but this overhead driving game was always too hard, and I didn't like having to switch between Low and High gear just to adjust my speed.

Toobin
In Toobin you simply travel down the lake while avoiding the many hazards -- like rocks and fishermen. The game makes for an excellent two-player adventure because the both of you can play at the same time.

Vindicators
The final game here lets you control a futurist tank on a mission to save your planet from an invasion. Midway not only configured the controls to easily play this on the Xbox. The excellent 2D graphics may be old, but they still hold up well here.

All these games are ported well enough to the Xbox, but a lot of the controls don't feel like they used to. Games like Paperboy and Marble Madness originally had special controllers for their arcade cabinets, and now they just don't seem as responsive on the Xbox controller. It's not so bad with other titles like Robotron 2084 and Klax, but diehard arcade fans may not like the changes. Some games -- like Smash TV and Gauntlet -- also come with unlimited continues, which may not seem like a bad feature at first but what's the point of a game when you can just breeze through it, even if die a lot? It's not all bad though, because if you have the Xbox Live service then you can post your top scores online to spark up some competition. This is something that Namco Museum and Intellivision Lives were missing when they came to the Xbox.