In addition to the classic bitmapped "Pac-Man" of yesteryear, this collection of Namco’s classics has an updated dot-chomping ditty, one that gives the big-mouthed yellow hero some new powers (with some power-ups he can jump, dash and even clone himself) and gives gamers the ability to play against each other wirelessly on the PSP. Players guide Pac-Man through more than two dozen revamped mazes. To win, players will even have to topple new giant bosses.
"Galaga," "Dig Dug" and "Rally-X" have all been given similar visual updates and multiplayer gameplay options.
In addition to these updated titles, "Namco Museum Battle Collection"
features a hefty assortment of more than 20 unaltered classics. "Ms. Pac-Man,"
"Mappy" and "Xevious" are some of the highlights.
While everything looks authentic and sounds authentic, the PSP’s controls
just don’t lend themselves very well to these classics. Neither the directional
pad nor the joystick felt right, and that led to many unnecessary deaths at the
hands of feisty ghosts.
However, that’s the only issue; otherwise it does a great job of turning nostalgia into modern-day fun.
—Ryan Huschka
© 2005, Detroit Free Press.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.