I’ve been waiting for a while now to review this app on my iPad, waiting because I dearly wanted to review it on my iCade and sadly, it wasn’t compatible. Lo and behold a few days ago I got the news that with the latest update they had added iCade compatiblity so here we are at last…
What you get
Midway Arcade is a package of six Bally/Midway arcade games from the 80’s, namely: Defender, Spy Hunter, Root Beer Tapper, Rampage, Arch Rivals and Joust. All this for 0.69p? Oh yes, it really does sound like a bargain. In addition to this there are two further packages priced at 0.69p each containing the following games – Pack 1: NARC, APB and Total Carnage, Pack 2: Gauntlet, Gauntlet II and Wizard of Wor.
Note: Apparently the price of 0.69p is a ‘launch price’ and consequently may rise, although to my knowledge no mention of any other future pricing has been made so far.
The games are laid out in a 3D Amusement arcade where by clicking the ‘next’ or ‘previous’ arrows you get to choose your game and walk through (fully animated) the arcade whilst hearing all the ambient sound you would expect to hear. The background sound effects are excellent and took me back to my days in arcades as a youngster whilst the arcade cabinets themselves are rendered authentically.
There are even four extra games you would find in an arcade: Basketball, Pool, Air Hockey and Roll Ball all fully playable and adding even more value to your purchase.
How it plays
I will base my conclusion to this review on my experiences with the iCade controller but I will quickly run through my experiences with the on screen controls anyway, in case anyone is interested. I wont hide the fact that I’m no fan of on-screen controls that replicate a joystick and I would like to say that my experience with Midway Arcade is different but it isn’t. Most of the games are just about playable with the on-screen joystick although it must be pointed out that the position of the joystick can be altered to suit. The tilt controls that have been added for games like APB, Spy Hunter and Defender just don’t work very well at all.
Luckily with the iCade arcade controller connected via bluetooth it is all very different. Like the Atari app, portrait games lose their on-screen controls as soon as you move the iCade’s joystick leaving you with a full screen of uncluttered game to enjoy. Landscape games such as Defender are a bit on the small side when played with a vertical iPad (the marquee graphics and controls are displayed) so rotating to landscape is necessary to really get the most out of them. Again, once rotated all unnecessary graphics are gone and the game is in full-screen glory.
Unlike the Atari app, you can actually use the joystick and buttons to control the menu, so moving around the arcade and choosing a game is much more civilised.
Midway Arcade is also GameCenter compatible so you can upload and share your scores with friends.
On a slight downside, some of the games controls seemed slightly sluggish to me and some of the games even appeared to be running a tad slow, not enough to spoil them but definitely not quite right and something that will need addressing.
The biggest let down is the lack of multiplayer on games such as Gauntlet and Rampage, I know this would be hard to implement but why include a game that is so reliant on multiplayer action if there are no multiplayer controls?
In summary
The sheer a mount of arcade goodness for the money cannot be overlooked here. This is a bargain package for anyone interested in the nostalgia, interested in the history of gaming or just after a good game to play on lunch break. The games are varied and some are arguably the best arcade titles ever. I would have not blinked an eye at paying 0.69p for one of these games let alone six. All in all you would be mad not to get this for your iOS device, if you have an iCade or not.
Download from the iTunes store