I'll start this article off with two words that are usually considered "dirty": budget title. While they do publish some full priced titles, Midas Interactive's real claim to fame is the high quality it has brought to the budget title market. At least, that's what they say. To be perfectly honest, I'm not really all that familiar with Midas Interactive, and as I look at a list of some past games they've released I don't really recognize the names. All I can really tell you about are some of the games I saw that they are releasing this year, but that's what you're really interested in anyway now isn't it. I should also make it clear that it appears they're primarily an European publisher and all the dates I list below are for European releases. Additionally, each will cost less than 25 euros.
First up we have Crescent Suzuki Racing: Superbikes and Super Sidecars. As the name might suggest, you race two different types of motor bikes in this game, your normal one-seat bikes and a special kind of bike which includes a sidecar. These are pretty much like the little motorcycle sidecars you've seen before, except the second rider hardly ever sits in it. It seems he spends more time hanging on to the back of the bike to help steer it. This looks like it's gonna be a pretty basic, budget title, racing game. No fancy bells and whistles like customizing the parts inside your bike or other sim-like elements, just different tracks and different bikes. This game will be gracing the shores of Europe in September.
Next on our list we have Steel Dragon EX, and it looks like your basic overhead aerial shooter ala 1948, Aero Fighters, and Ergheiz. The gameplay for this genre hasn't really changed much over the years and still basically involves holding down the fire button while avoiding enemy fire and snagging powerups. The one big change is, of course, the quality of the graphics and animation. The game features two modes of play, Steel Dragon and Steel Dragon Evolution. They are pretty much identical except Steel Dragon is 2D and Steel Dragon Evolution is 3D.
Expect Steel Dragon EX in October.
The final Midas game I played extensively was Project Minerva: Professional. In this game you play a female squad commander who leads her forces against the Minerva Corporation's android army. This seems like it's going to be a pretty standard third-person shooter. It's pretty, and it does offer some interesting gameplay mechanics like squad members and hostage rescue. It doesn't really offer anything new to the table, but at less than 25 euros it may be well worth the cost. Project Minerva: Professional will debut in October.
Rounding out the list we have Rollercoaster World, which is a fully 3D roller coaster simulator coming May 21st, Football Generation, an international football (soccer) game hitting the streets in August, and Operation Air Assault, a military helicopter game coming in October.
While I wouldn't say Midas turns things gold at the touch, these high-quality budget titles may save you some of the gold you already have.