Midway Presents Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1

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Midway Presents Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1
System(s): Sega Saturn
Publisher: Midway Home Entertainment (US), GT Interactive Software (Europe)
Developer: Digital Eclipse
Licensor: Atari Corporation
Original system(s): Arcade boards
Developer(s) of original games: Atari, Inc.
Game total: 6
Peripherals supported: Mission Stick, Saturn Backup Memory, Saturn Floppy Drive, Shuttle Mouse
Genre: Compilation
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code US 1997-06-11 T-9706H EU 1998-03 T-25413H-50 DE 1998-03 T-25413H-50 ES 1998-04-17 T-25413H-50 UK 1998-07-03 T-25413H-50 PL 1998
Non-Sega versions PlayStation Super NES

Midway Presents Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1 is a compilation of various classic arcade games created by Atari, Inc. It was brought to the Sega Saturn by Digital Eclipse and Midway Games.

Gameplay

From the game select menu, pressing loads the selected game, pressing opens its extras, and pressing opens its options. The game includes multiple videos about the history of Atari and about every game except Super Breakout.

After loading a game, pressing  START  at any point raises a menu allowing the players to exit back to the main menu, reset the emulator, switch to another game without returning to the menu, or save the high scores to the Saturn's internal memory.

The game has analog controls in Centipede, Missile Command, and Super Breakout when played with a Mission Stick. This analog mode does not work on the 3D Control Pad.

	Missile Command (1980)
	The player controls a targeting crosshair that aims friendly missiles from the ground, while enemy missiles continually rain from the sky. Friendly missiles are fired from three turrets at the bottom of the screen. The player can move the cursor using the D-Pad and fire missiles with for the leftmost turret, for the middle turret, or for the rightmost turret. Each turret has ten missiles. Targets must be lead somewhat to compensate for the travel time of the missiles, and missiles from the central battery fly to their targets significantly faster than the others. In addition to the enemy missiles, there are also enemy aliens that fly horizontally across the screen and can be destroyed normally or missed with no consequence to the player. The player has four cities that must be defended from the falling missiles. A level ends when all of the enemy's missiles are destroyed or hit their targets. At most three cities can be lost during a single level, and the player is given bonus cities every 10,000 points, which can be used to replace destroyed ones (or kept in reserve and automatically deployed as needed). The player is awarded points based on how many cities were successfully defended and how many enemy targets were shot down. There are options to change the number of starting cities (4, 5, 6, or 7) and how often bonus cities are awarded (8,000, 10,000, 12,000, 14,000, 15,000, 18,000, or 20,000 points or never).
	Tempest (1981)
	The game takes place staring down a three-dimensional surface (rendered with vector graphics), divided into multiple lanes. The player controls a blaster that can move along the surface on its edge by pressing or , which selects a different lane and highlights it in yellow. Enemies travel down the lanes, and the blaster can fire down the selected lane by pressing . The player can also use the "Superzapper" by pressing or , which destroys every enemy on the screen the first time it is used on a level or destroys a random enemy when used a second time. It can only be used twice in one level but recharges when the next level is started. A level ends when all of the enemy waves have been cleared, and there are sixteen unique level shapes that loop endlessly. The blaster is destroyed if it is hit by an enemy. The player starts the game with three lives, and extra lives are awarded at certain score intervals. The player can choose the starting level (1, 3, 5, 7, or 9). There are options to change the number of starting lives (2, 3, 4, or 5), how often extra lives are awarded (between 10,000 and 70,000 points in intervals of 10,000 points or never), the difficulty level (Easy, Medium, or Hard), and the minimum rating range (1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or variable and tied to high score).
	Asteroids (1979)
	The player controls a spaceship in an asteroid field. The object of the game is to shoot and destroy the asteroids and flying saucers that fly by while avoiding being hit by either. The spaceship starts the level fixed to the center of the screen but can rotate around with or . It can thrust forward by pressing or ; once it starts moving, it continues moving until the player thrusts it in a different direction or until it eventually slows to a stop. The screen edges wrap around for both the spaceship and other objects (so, for instance, an asteroid that flies through the right side of the screen reappears on the left side). The player can also send the ship into hyperspace by pressing , causing it to disappear and reappear in a random location on the screen, at the risk of self-destructing or appearing on top of an asteroid. The spaceship shoots by pressing . Large asteroids break into smaller asteroids after they are hit, which move faster and are more difficult to hit. Flying saucers also occasionally appear and shoot at the spaceship. The level ends once the screen has been cleared of asteroids and flying saucers. The spaceship is destroyed if it is hit by an asteroid or a flying saucer. The player starts the game with three ships, and extra ships are awarded every 10,000 points earned. There is an option to change the number of starting ships (3 or 4).
	Battlezone (1980)
	The player controls a tank in a 3D environment (rendered with vector graphics). The player can move the tank around the landscape to locate enemies, which include other tanks and missiles. The object of each level is to eliminate all enemies. A radar on the top of the screen scans the area and marks nearby enemies with dots. In the original arcade game, the left tread and the right tread are controlled separately with two levers, as in a real tank. In this port, there are two control schemes, one-handed and two-handed. The one-handed scheme (used by default) has simplified movement controls where the tank turns with or , moves forward by holding , or in reverse by holding . It can also replicate the two-lever system. The left tread moves forward by holding or in reverse by holding , and the right tread moves forward by holding or in reverse by holding . The tank fires by pressing or . In the two-handed scheme, the left tread moves forward by holding or in reverse by holding , and the right tread moves forward by holding , , or or in reverse by holding , , or . The tank fires by pressing or . The tank is destroyed if it is hit by an enemy. The player starts the game with three tanks, and extra tanks are awarded at 15,000 and 100,000 points earned. There are options to change the number of starting tanks (2, 3, 4, or 5), how often extra lives are awarded (5,000, 10,000, 20,000, or 30,000 points), and the difficulty level (Easy or Hard).
	Centipede (1981)
	The player controls a spaceship that must destroy a centipede made up of several ball-shaped pieces crawling down from the top of the screen. The spaceship can move anywhere horizontally but only within a limited area vertically. The player moves using the D-Pad and shoots with , , or , which can be held down for rapid-fire (but only one bullet can be on-screen at a time). Every time a piece of the centipede is destroyed, the centipede is broken at the destroyed piece, with each new piece moving independently. Mushrooms are scattered around the field as obstacles that impede the movement of the centipede as well as the player's fire. If they are shot, they become weaker and weaker until destroyed. The centipede changes direction if it runs into a mushroom or the border of the playfield. If the centipedes reach the bottom of the screen, they start climbing back up. Spiders occasionally appear. The player loses a life and the centipede reforms if the spaceship is hit by either a centipede or a spider. The spider can be destroyed for bonus points. There are options to change the number of starting lives (2, 3, 4, or 5), the score required for the first extra tank (15,000, 25,000, 50,000 points or never), and the score at which missiles first appear (10,000, 12,000, 15,000, or 20,000 points).
	Super Breakout (1978)
	The player controls a paddle that can move with or . The paddle moves faster by holding . The ball bounces around the playfield, and the player must use the paddle to intercept it and bounce it towards the bricks on the top of the screen. The ball destroys bricks by hitting them. Some bricks require multiple hits to destroy. The goal of each level is to clear the playfield of bricks. Failing to catch a ball costs a life. At the start of the game, the player can cycle between three different game modes by pressing : Double: The player controls two paddles, one on top of the other, simultaneously with two balls in play. Cavity: Two additional balls are contained in pockets inside the wall, which are freed and placed into play once the bricks around them have been destroyed. Progressive: The level scrolls downward continuously as it is cleared, increasing in speed the longer the ball is in play. There is an option to change the number of starting balls (3 or 5).

History

Even though this compilation was produced by Midway, who owned Atari Games at this point, the games were licensed from Atari Corporation which retained ownership of Atari, Inc.'s games after it had split into two companies in 1984. This was one of the few times the two Ataris associated with each other.

Production credits

• Developed by Digital Eclipse Software, Inc.
• Programming: Dan Filner
• Executive Producer: Andrew Ayre
• Arcade Hardware Gurus: Jeff Vavasour, Tod Frye
• Game Sound Processing: Doug Jefferys, John Kowalski, Dave Larson
• Cinematics and Animation: Midnight Design
• History and Video Interviews: Chris Charla
• Additional Artwork: Image Impressions, Sue Ayre
• Video Editing: Flying Rhino Productions
• Audio Editing: Earwax Productions
• History Narration: Sandy Mahoney
• Archivist: Sean Kelly
• Extra Special Thanks: Ed Logg, Dave Theurer, Ed Rotberg, George and Peter Phillips, Sue Urbanski, John Delaplaine, Boyd Burggrabe, Larry DeMar, Mike Albaugh, Keith Feinstein, Gregg Woodcock, David Borlo

Atari Games

• Vice President of Development: Bill Hindorff
• Produced by: Wallace Poulter
• Testing Manager: Mike Kruse
• Atari Games Testing Leads: Jesse Meza II, Jose Amparan, Randy Slafsky
• Atari Games Testers: Todd Papy, David Ortiz, Donald Gavino, Kevin Dines, Pablo Buitrago, Matt Gilbert, C.J. Perez, Rob Reininger, Joseph Magome
• Special Thanks to: Debra Heinz, Debbie Austin, Deborah Fulton, Ed Logg, Greg Allen, Brian Fritts

Original Game Credits

Asteroids

• Game Design and Programming: Ed Logg
• Game Design Contribution: Lyle Rains
• Engineer: Howie Delamn
• Technician: Paul Manucso

Battlezone

• Game Design and Programming: Ed Rotberg
• Project Leader: Morgan Hoff
• Hardware Engineer: Jed Margolin
• Technician: Doug Snyder

Centipede

• Game Design and Programming: Ed Logg, Donna Bailey
• Game Design Contribution: Dan Van Elderen
• Technician: Dave Wiebenson

Missile Command

• Game Designer and Lead Programmer: Dave Theurer
• Assistant Programmer: Rich Adam
• Project Leader: Steve Calfee
• Hardware Engineer: Dave Sherman
• Technician: Mary Pepper

Super Breakout

• Programming: Ed Logg
• Original Concept: Owen Rubin, Nolan Bushnell
• Technician: Steve Ehret

Tempest

• Game Designer and Programmer: Dave Theurer
• Project Leader: Morgan Hoff
• Hardware Engineer: Sam Lee
• Technician: Doug Snyder
• Mathbox Microcode: Jed Margolin

Midway is a registered trademark of Williams Electronics Games, Inc.

Arcade's Greatest Hits is a trademark of Midway Home Entertainment, Inc.

Asteroids Copyright © 1979, 1996, Battlezone Copyright © 1980, 1996, Centipede Copyright © 1980, 1996, Missile Command Copyright ©1980, 1996, Super Breakout Copyright © 1978, 1996, Tempest Copyright © 1980, 1996 Atari Games Inc. All rights reserved. Used under license.

Digital Arcade (tm) Emulation Software Copyright 1996 Digital Eclipse Software Inc.

Digital Eclipse and the Digital Eclipse Logo are trademarks of Digital Eclipse Software, Inc.

Source:

In-game credits

File:Midway Presents Arcade's Greatest Hits The Atari Collection 1 Saturn credits.pdf

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Digital Eclipse Software Team

• Andrew Ayre: Andrew served as Executive Producer of Arcade's Greatest Hits™: The Atari Collection 1 and is President of Digital Eclipse Software.
• Dan Fliner: Dan was the Lead Programmer on Arcade's Greatest Hits™: The Atari Collection 1. When Dan isn't programming, he's usually on inline skates!
• Doug Jefferys, John Kowalski & Dave Larson: These gentlemen were responsible for reproducing the original game sounds.
• Chris Charla: Chris conducted the interviews in the game history.
• Flying Rhino Productions: Flying Rhino Productions provided digital post-production on the video interviews.
• Earwax Productions: Earwax Productions provided production on the narrative.
• Sandy Mahoney: Narrator
• Midnight Design: Midnight Design provided original computer-generated animation.
• Sue Ayre & Image Impressions: Provided additional still artwork.

Atari Games Team

• V.P. of Product Development: Bill Hindorff
• Producer: Wallace Poulter
• Testing Manager: Mike Kruse
• Lead Testers: Jose Amparan, Jesse Meza I & Shubrian Butler
• Testers: Todd Papy, David Ortiz, Randy Slafsky, Alex Beran, Matt Gilbert, Pablo Buitrago, C.J. Perez, Donald Gavino, Kevin Dines & Rob Reininger
• Special Thanks: Howard Lehr, Debra Heinz, Greg Allen, Brian Fritts and Finn Jensen - Manager of the Scandia Family Center in Suisun, Ca.
• Special Thanks to the Original Atari Team Members: Ed Rotberg, Ed Logg & Dave Theurer

Midway Home Entertainment Team

• Print Design and Production: Debra Austin, Jon Mongelluzzo, Shawn Murphy, Robert Shepherd, Erin Shems & Dave Young
• Special Thanks: Deborah Fulton, Don Knapp & Bruce Adams

Source:

US manual

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Magazine articles

Main article: Midway Presents Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1/Magazine articles.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Game Informer (US) 70 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 49 Sega Magazin (DE) 39 Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) PAL 80 Video Games (DE) PAL 70

	62
Based on 5 reviews

Midway Presents Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1

Saturn, US
Cover
Manual

Saturn, EU
Cover

Technical information

Main article: Midway Presents Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1/Technical information.

External links

• Sega of America webpage: Saturn