To think that this compilation, Marvel MaXimum Collection, was announced just days ago, giving players the chance to play X-Men’s arcade form at home all over again. But here it is, released and ready for players to jump into the fray. But it’s more than just the game of “welcome to dieeee!”, as there are other offerings.
These include two Spider-Man beat-em-ups from the Acclaim days, as well as the side-scroller Arcade’s Revenge. You also have three Captain America and the Avengers games, the diabolically tough Silver Surfer game, and plenty of extras including manuals, box art and a music player.
There are missing titles, to be sure. It seems Spider-Man’s arcade variant will never get a fair shot at home release. Also conspicuously missing is Avengers: Galactic Storm, the weird partner-based fighting game that recently debuted in the X-Men Arcade1up machine. Also, online play is only reserved for the X-Men arcade game. At least, for now.
But the rest of the package is solid gold. The newly added rewind and save states actually make all the versions of Arcade’s Revenge tolerable, and Silver Surfer…gasp! Enjoyable? Yep. Plus they’re nicely emulated, and the X-Men online feature is excellent. For the price, you get plenty of Marvel goodness. Bring your friends.
Let’s Run Down the Games In Marvel MaXimum Collection
We’ll start with the big draw, obviously.
X-Men Arcade: yep, you can join others in various multiplayer sessions, as well as offline if you want to play with friends. What’s more, you can select from 2, 4 or 6 player arcade machines, as well as regions. That’s an awesome feature, but the main draw here is obviously the 6-player game, even without the split-screen. It’s as wonderful as you’d expect, nicely emulated with all those wild voice effects (“WENDIGO!”), and barely slowing down in the least. I’m also a fan of the included extras as well. I just wish this wasn’t the only game in the package that had online play.
Captain America and the Avengers: There are three versions here. The arcade edition is no doubt the huge draw. But there’s also the Genesis port, which is handled capably. The NES version isn’t bad either, though it’s more of a side-scrolling adventure game. The best news? The abysmal SNES game is nowhere in sight. Good. These three games are great fun, especially the arcade release. (“Thank you…WAHHHH!”)
Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage and Separation Anxiety: Honestly, I want Spider-Man the Arcade Game more than anything. But we’ll take these two beat-em-ups, which aren’t quite as good but are serviceable. You can select between Spidey and Venom and beat up all sorts of thugs while saving the city twice. You can tell this is Acclaim through and through, but there are touches of greatness. Especially with Carnage’s Green Jelly soundtrack, which is faithfully retained.
Spider-Man and the X-Men In Arcade’s Revenge: Another Acclaim “gem,” as it were, this one got overlooked long ago because of its wild difficulty. But since this package has rewind and save states, it’s a much better journey. That’s not to say that Arcade’s Revenge isn’t flawed, but it’s far more withstandable. And hey, comic book fans may like it. This is the most feature-laden game, as there are four (!) versions available, including Game Gear and Game Boy.
Silver Surfer: Talk about insane. Silver Surfer is one of the toughest NES games ever made, a shooter where the Surfer takes on a large group of foes. This version, however, also benefits from rewind and save states, so you can actually…wait, beat it?! You’re kidding. Once you adapt to certain things in the game, it’s not as horrible as you may recall. Yes, I said that.
Overall, I would’ve liked Galactic Storm and Spider-Man’s other games to be given consideration. But this package isn’t bad, with X-Men clearly leading the charge. As it should.
What Other Features Are In Marvel MaXimum Collection?
You get your money’s worth here.
X-Men has six player online play, which works beautifully and lets you drop into sessions as you would back in the arcade days. You can also play with two or four player types, if you prefer, as well as other regions. That changes the rules slightly, and somewhat for the better, depending on your perspective.
All of the games are built in with great features, and nicely emulated with the help of Limited Run Games’ retro tech. I was even impressed by the Game Gear and Game Boy versions of Arcade’s Revenge, as held back as they may be compared to their console brethren.
The extras are excellent too. You’ve got manuals, cover arts and even a music player that lets you enjoy X-Men tunes whenever you see fit. (Just play them in the background forever.) I would’ve liked more historical perspective (and dare I ask, interviews?), but you get enough to dig into here.
Welcome To Buyyyyyy Marvel MaXimum Collection
Could Marvel MaXimum Collection been more of an “ultimate” package? Sure. Limited Run could’ve worked with Sega to make all their Spidey games, including the arcade game and Web of Fire, part of the package. But that wasn’t in the plans – for at least this compilation, anyway. But what’s here is more than acceptable. X-Men is always a party, especially with online play. And Captain America never gets old, if only for its cheesy dialogue alone. And, hey, any package that can make Silver Surfer and Arcade’s Revenge enjoyable deserves applause.
Even with a slightly uneven entry or two, Marvel MaXimum Collection is well worth the rolls of quarters to add it to your collection. Let’s go, bub!
GAMERHUB RATING: 4 (out of 5) JOYSTICKS
Thanks to Overload PR for providing us with a review code! Marvel MaXimum Collection is available now for Xbox,PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC/Steam!
Need more retro goodness in a compilation? Check out our review of Riki 8Bit Game Collection!
