''Arcade Party Pak'' is a

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

compilation of six

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...

and Midway games: ''

720° ''720°'' is a 1986 sports video game developed and published by Atari Games for arcades. Based on the action sport of skateboarding, the player controls a skateboarder as they compete in various skating competitions, such as ramp jumping and d ...

'', '' Klax'', ''

Rampage Rampage may refer to: People * Rampage (rapper) (born 1974) * Quinton Jackson (born 1978; nicknamed "Rampage"), American mixed martial artist and actor * Randy Rampage (1960-2018), Canadian musician Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional chara ...

'', ''

Smash TV ''Smash TV'' is a 1990 arcade video game created by Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell for Williams Electronics Games. It is a twin-stick shooter in the same vein as 1982's '' Robotron: 2084'', which was co-created by Jarvis. The Super Nintendo Ent ...

'', ''

Super Sprint ''Super Sprint'' (known as ''Sprint Master'' on the Atari 2600) is a racing video game released by Atari Games and Midway Games in 1986. Up to three players drive Formula One-like cars on a circuit that is viewed from above. The game is a succes ...

'', and ''

Toobin' ''Toobin'' is a 1988 action game developed and published by Atari Games for arcades. Based on the recreational activity of tubing, it sees players traveling down rivers, collecting items and avoiding obstacles on their way to an endpoint. Th ...

''. All games are presented in their original arcade formats as individually launchable games from the main menu.

Gameplay

The player is presented with a main menu where they can select from the 6 arcade titles. For each game they can select various settings such as skill level, number of lives and if they want high scores automatically saved to the

memory card A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices, such as digital cameras as well as in many early games conso ...

. In addition to the games themselves, there are also behind the scenes interviews on the making of the games presented as an FMV. The compilation features the following games:

''720°'' (1986)

A skateboarding game where the player must complete tricks to increase their score.

''Klax'' (1989)

puzzle video game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, Sequence, sequence solving, Spatial ability, spatial recognition, ...

where blocks roll towards the player who can catch them on a panel and drop them into the playing area below to get color matches to score points.

''Rampage'' (1986)

The player takes control of gigantic creatures with the main goal being to destroy the city and the military forces trying to stop you.

''Smash TV'' (1990)

The setting is a futuristic ultra violent

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

where the player must defeat hordes of oncoming enemies in each room to progress.

''Super Sprint'' (1986)

A quick paced overhead 3 player car racing game.

''Toobin'' (1988)

A river race in an inflatable tube while avoiding obstacles and crashing into competitors.

Faithfulness to the original games

Skill levels and number of lives can be set before starting the game, making it less harsh in terms of difficulty. On the negative side there are

frame rate Frame rate, most commonly expressed in frame/s, or FPS, is typically the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images (Film frame, frames) are captured or displayed. This definition applies to film and video cameras, computer animation, and moti ...

drops in ''Rampage'', and a darker colour palette in ''720°'' and ''Toobin.

Peripherals

Most games are either compatible with a certain peripheral or they're not, but due to ''Arcade Party Pak's'' multiple game set-up, compatibility is on a game by game basis. Rampage is compatible with the

multitap A multitap is a video game console peripheral that increases the number of controller ports available to the player, allowing additional controllers to be plugged in simultaneously in a manner similar to a power strip or a USB hub. A multitap of ...

, allowing up to 3 players, ''720°'' can take advantage of the

PlayStation Mouse The PlayStation Mouse is an input device for the PlayStation that allows the player to use a mouse as a method of control in compatible games. The mouse was released in Japan on December 3, 1994, the launch date of the PlayStation. The mouse it ...

but for player 2 only and ''Super Sprint'' is compatible with the mouse for any player. Although not mentioned in the game's manual, ''Super Sprint'' can be played with the PlayStation steering wheel. ''Smash TV'' benefits from analog stick compatibility, effectively turning it into a true

twin-stick shooter Twin-stick shooter is a subgenre of shoot 'em up video games. It defines a multidirectional shooter in which the player character is controlled using two joysticks: the first for movement on a flat plane and the second to shoot in the direction th ...

Compatibility

Whereas most PS1 games are compatible with the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

, ''Arcade Party Pak'' is a PlayStation game partially incompatible with PlayStation 2.

Reception

Digital Press magazine gave the game a 33/40,

PlayStation Official Magazine – UK ''PlayStation Official Magazine – UK'', generally abbreviated as ''OPM'', was a magazine based in the United Kingdom that covered PlayStation news created in 2006. Although the first issue was distributed in three-month intervals, from Issue 2 ...

gave the game a 5/10 and Gamers' Republic gave the game a B rating.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arcade Party Pak 1999 video games PlayStation (console) games PlayStation (console)-only games Midway video game compilations Video games developed in the United States Multiplayer and single-player video games Digital Eclipse games