Midway racer comp skids into retail

With gas prices hovering near record highs around the country, Midway's hoping its new budget-priced collection of arcade racing games for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 will be an attractive alternative for gamers who can't afford to take their wheels out on joyrides any longer.

Now shipping to stores, Midway Arcade Treasures 3 includes eight of the company's arcade racing games for $19.99, which would buy about seven gallons of gas at the current nationwide average. Midway's hoping gamers will get more mileage than that out of its offering, which includes Badlands, Hydro Thunder, Off Road Thunder: Mud, Sweat 'N Gears, Race Drivin', San Francisco Rush the Rock: Alcatraz Edition, San Francisco Rush 2049, STUN Runner, and Super Off Road.

After handling the original compilation's development itself, Midway shopped out development of Arcade Treasures 2 to Backbone Entertainment. The company then brought development in-house once more for the third Arcade Treasures compilation.

Midway Arcade Treasures 3 is rated E for Everyone. A GameCube version is slated to ship in October with the same $19.99 price as its PlayStation 2 and Xbox counterparts. Check back later for GameSpot's full review.