Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits (Game Boy Advance, 2001)

First, if you're not into playing 100% authentic early 80's video arcade games on the tiny screen of a GBA system (I use a Micro), then there's the back button right there. (Don't let the mouse give you carpal tunnel syndrome on the way out.)

Now, for those of us whose mis-spent youth includes hundreds of quarters spent on these games in the video arcades of the 1980's and for those new fans of this historic art form, this cartridge is a real treat! Not only are these games exact copies of the originals, but you get four on this one cartridge: Defender, Joust, Robotron, and Sinistar. I'll desribe each below.

Defender
OMG! I can't believe it. I've got Defender in my pocket! This is the original. Everyone's here: helpless humans, landers, mutants, baiters, bombers, pods, swarmers, and you - Defender of the Universe. You've even got the hyperspace button (R button). This game is HARD. Same as the original, but now on a tiny screen. It is very playable though. It just takes LOTS of practice.

Joust
Just like I remember it. This is one of those games that isn't like any other. You flap your mount's wings (by pressing a button) to go up. Stop flapping and you go down until you land on one of the ledges. At higher levels you can sink in the lava or get caught by the Lava Troll. Yikes! You have to make sure you collide with the enemy just slightly above their position. And if you don't take out the top enemies early they will fly to the very top of the screen and it becomes almost impossible to take them out. You also need to destroy the eggs that result from your "wins" or a bird will soon come along and pick up the jouster that hatches from the egg. This is the real deal.

Robotron
Ever wonder where they got the idea for the Terminator? Imagine a screenful of them all converging on you and all you've got is a laser gun that only works in the direction you're walking. Scary. Save the humans, but save yourself first.

Sinistar
This game is from several years after the other three. It has better graphics and more substance than the others, but it is in my opinion also the hardest to play on a tiny screen. You need to "mine" asteroids for "pellets" that give you bombs to use against the Sinistar. All while shooting anything that moves basically. And all before the Sinistar has finished building itself. And those pellets are just way to small to really see on such a small screen. Not impossible, but just about.

Again, if you're looking for 100% authentic versions of these 80's arcade classics - here they are. If you want modern graphics and rich storylines just hold still the Sinistar is now in scanner range.

I purchased this item to add to the game library for my new DS Lite. Having multiple choices of games one chip was also a plus.

I remember going to the arcade as a kid, and playing these!
It is so nice to be able to play them again, and to share in the experience with my kids.

This is an excellent game for us ol' timers, those that were around before the cool games of today!! I love it, I used to love Joust and Defender on the big arcades and this is exactly like them. It will be fun for classic gamers, those that appreciate todays games beginnings. But it's probably not exciting enough for todays youth as they are too accustomed to the fancy graphics of todays gaming systems. My kids find it boring, but as an adult, it's one of my favorites.