While the two previous Midway Arcade Treasures compilations have spanned a great variety of games released over long, long periods of time, the series focuses the scope of its efforts in Midway Arcade Treasures 3, which consists of eight arcade racing games released between 1989 and 2001. The games that represent the rather specific subgenre of arcade racing in this package show a surprising amount of variety, and from a technical standpoint, they're largely successful emulations of the arcade games. This technical competence, however, puts into sharp relief the elements of the arcade experience that you simply cannot emulate.
With just eight games (versus the 20 included in Midway Arcade Treasures 2) and some no-frills packaging, Midway Arcade Treasures 3 may seem a bit stripped-down. Many of the games that you get, however, are quite modern, as six of the eight use polygonal 3D graphics. Starting with the very oldest are Badlands and Super Off Road, the only 2D games in the package. Badlands is basically a postapocalyptic sequel to Super Sprint, with the most significant differences being the addition of vehicle-mounted weapons and a drab, somewhat depressing aesthetic. Super Off Road, which is (probably for some arcane legal reasons) missing the "Ironman Ivan Stewart" prefix it was originally released with, takes the same Super Sprint concept and sets the action on dirt tracks rife with potholes and moguls. Both run smoothly and feature responsive controls, but anyone who's played either game in an actual arcade setting will recall that most of the fun was in spinning hard on the arcade steering-wheel controllers to make your way around the many hairpin turns.
Also from around the same era are Race Drivin' and S.T.U.N. Runner, two fairly early polygonal racing games. Race Drivin' was almost a sequel to Hard Drivin', though it could more accurately be described as an expansion pack that featured some additional tracks and cars. The idea behind Race Drivin', like Hard Drivin' before it, was to simulate the real-life experience of driving. The crude 3D graphics were critical in putting you into the experience with a then-rare first-person perspective. But what really sold it was the arcade cockpit. With the help of a steering wheel and foot pedals, as well as a stick shift for manual transmissions and a key to start your car, Race Drivin' was incredibly successful in immersing you in the experience. But with all these mechanical pieces now transmuted to a modern console controller, Race Drivin' isn't nearly as riveting, and the game's rather outlandish physics are much more distracting.
S.T.U.N. Runner, on the other hand, went in the opposite direction, aiming instead for a high-speed, futuristic racing experience. With no control over your acceleration, all you could do is use your blasters to clear out some of the boxy, futuristic traffic and weave between the vehicles you couldn't destroy. A big part of the appeal of both S.T.U.N. Runner and Race Drivin' (at the time) was the novelty of the flat-shaded 3D graphics, which are certainly dated now, though their unique style lets them retain a certain charm even today. The emulation on S.T.U.N. Runner, unfortunately, isn't particularly consistent, and the speed of the game fluctuates drastically. Early levels that are short and feature minimal traffic run faster than they did originally in the arcade, but once you start putting other vehicles on the road, the game begins to crawl.
