The Bottom Line
Namco Museum Battle Collection brings Ms. and Mr. Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Galaga and more to the PSP. These games were meant to be played in short quarter gulping sessions, so they are perfect bus stop gaming. The four new 3D arrangements of Dig Dug, Pac Man, Rally X and Galaga are surprisingly good. Throw in tons of options, and even the ability to transfer games to your friends and you have a fun, generous classic game collection.
Pros
- 21 classics and four new surprisingly good versions
- Tons of options, including stretching the screen
- Wireless co-op and versus modes
- Some great gems, like Rolling Thunder and Dragon Buster
- Ms. Pac-Man will convince your girlfriend the PSP is cool
Cons
- Some of the games, King & Balloon, should have stayed in the '80s
Description
- Graphics: 3 Gamers will have to choose between clarity and screen size on the classic games
- Sound: 3.5 The classic music is charming as ever, and the new tunes bring back the old themes
- Concept: 4 There's nothing new about classic collections, but the new wireless options clever
- Control: 3.5 The analog nub is probably the way to play, but there is no replacing the joy-stick
- Difficulty: 2 The 'Arrangements' are surprisingly easy, but the classics remain the same
- Replay: 5 Some of these games have been around for over 20 years, and we're still playing them
- Portability: 5 Perfect... these games are simple and quick, they are perfect for a quick game
- Rated: Everyone 10+, I'm pretty sure that most of the games would be fine for folks of all ages
Guide Review - Namco Museum Battle Collection - PSP Review
Collections are always a mixed bag when it comes to review. Obviously, I can't rate these games head to head against Lumines or Ridge Racer. So what I've done is ranked this collection against other game collections, and how well it fit with the PSP. All said and done, Namco Museum Battle Collection came up as a winner.
The games included are:
- Pac-Man
- Ms. Pac-Man
- Galaga
- Galaxian
- Rally-X
- New Rally-X
- Dig Dug
- Xevious
- Bosconian
- Motos
- Mappy
- Grobda
- Rolling Thunder
- Tower of Druaga
- Dig Dug II
- Dragon Buster
- King & Balloon
- Pac-Man Arrangement
- Galaga Arrangement
- Dig Dug Arrangement
- New Rally-X Arrangement
What really sets the collection apart is the PSP specific functions. You can stretch the screen, rotate it and play your PSP vertically, share games over WiFi even play co-op or head to head with other PSP owners. The collection looks and plays great on the system, and the ability to save your progress is a welcome addition.
Namco Museum Battle Collection certainly won't set the system on fire, but it's one of those titles that you want in your backpack, both to play on the subway, and to show off the system to your non-gamer friends. Nobody can resist the charms of Ms. Pac-Man, and Dig Dug Arrangement is the ultimate pick-up game. Who can resist someone playing with a cute little miner?
