Nostalgia is overrated. For years now, we've seen hastily-thrown-together compilations of alleged "classics" released for consoles, and usually the signal-to-noise ratio makes them almost worthless. The sad truth that Atari 2600 devotees don't want to acknowledge is that games just weren't very good in the early days. For every River Raid or Defender there were hundreds of other titles that were limp copycats at best, and unmitigated disasters at worst (the Atari E.T. game comes to mind). So I didn't pay much attention to Midway Arcade Treasures 2 at first.

My mistake. This collection is far more contemporary than most of the nostalgia releases we've seen, with games ranging from the late 1980s through the mid '90s. What that means is that MAT2 offers games with a little more sophistication, and not the endless, subtle variations of Space Invaders. That M for Mature rating isn't a joke. This comp is packed with many of the violent games that were responsible for Joe Lieberman's crusade against game makers for corrupting our nation's youth, and that's precisely what makes it worthwhile.

First and foremost, there is an arcade-perfect version of Mortal Kombat II in MAT2 – the first arcade-perfect version of the game ever released on a home console. If you still remember the button sequence to perform Liu Kang's dragon fatality (that's D+F+B+B+HK), then you've probably stopped reading this review and are heading to the store right now. Although there's some filler here, this game is the gem of all gems. No other nostalgia collection has ever had something as good as MKII.

There are also some curiosities, such as the barely-remembered Pit Fighter, the game that pioneered the use of digitized graphics. This is the technique Mortal Kombat would later use to springboard to dizzying heights. It's about the only redeeming value of Pit Fighter. And you may remember Primal Rage, the stop-motion fighting dinosaur game. This is in no way a good game, but the red monkey does have a finishing move where he urinates on his supine opponent.

It's not all fighting games, though Mortal Kombat 3 also makes an appearance. (Why leave out the original? Couldn't they have gone for the trifecta?) There are, oddly enough, a good number of sequels to be had here. There's Rampage World Tour, which isn't exactly better than the original Rampage, but it's still fun. And Spy Hunter 2 and Gauntlet 2, both of which I'd call worthy diversions.

What's most interesting about this collection is that it captures the video-game industry in an uncomfortable adolescent phase, where excess is embraced and violence celebrated. Games like N.A.R.C., a side-scrolling police shooter, were gritty and somehow serious where earlier action games had only been goofy. And with their fumbling attempts at storylines, games like Total Carnage presaged the 32-bit age's efforts to bring a little more complexity and shadow to what their games were all about.

Like all nostalgia collections, Midway Arcade Treasures 2 isn't perfect. I spent a fair bit of time at the arcade from 1989 on, and I can honestly say that I've never heard of Kozmik Kroozr' before. And as it turns out, I hadn't missed much. But for those of you whose memories don't go back as far as Yar's Revenge, this is the first such compilation you'll likely be interested in. Hell, it's only 20 dollars.

To recap: arcade-perfect version of Mortal Kombat II. Twenty bucks. Worth every penny.

Score: 7.0 (out of 10)