A lot of value for money in an overall decent classic compilation
Things start off nicely, with an attractive front screen that makes picking a game very easy. In the museum tradition, I was expecting to see the option to look up some information about each game too, but it wasn't there. A missed opportunity?
Apart from true classics like Pacman, Galaga, Galaxians and Dig Dug, there is the odd stinker present in the compilation. Games like Mappy, Tower of Druaga and Dragon Buster can't hold a candle to their more famous counterparts. Other games, like Grobda and Motos aren't that bad, but they are rather hard to play because the psp's analog stick is too small and sensitive. I am also missing Ms Pacman in this package, but I guess we couldn't get them all.
It's not all bad though, as I also had the joy of discovering a couple of pleasant surprises. King & Balloons really turned out to be a highly enjoyable take on Galaxians with a couple of new gameplay elements that add to the overall experience. And I had almost forgotten about Rolling Thunder, which is one of the more advanced classics you'll find in the package, and still a great game to boot.
All of the classics offer you different screen positioning options: original, fit, or stretched so that the whole psp screen is put to use. Some of them also have an arranged lay-out, which mainly consists of your score being kept on the right side of the screen instead of on top (as was almost always the case with arcade classics), leaving more room for the action. And in some cases, mostly with the shooters, you'll also be able to play vertically. These screen modes are fun for awhile, but I found myself resorting to the arranged mode if available, and if not to the fit mode.
And how do the arranged versions of Galaga, Dig Dug, Rally X and Pacman fare? They certainly are looking very nice, but I do have a couple of gripes. For starters, they are way too easy. That can be solved by beefing up the difficulty rate though. Other problems are more inherent to the arranged versions themselves, so you'll have to live with them.
Pacman arrangement is fun to play for example, but with all of the gadgets (like doors, boost platforms and the like) the developers decided to include, it just isn't Pacman anymore. These additions also go a long way to breaking the game's pace. The Pacman reference set aside though, it is a good game to spend time with. The addition of bosses that are only vulnerable when split up in dozens of smaller ghosts is a neat idea. As for Galaga arrangement, I am wondering why Namco didn't stay faithful to Galaga 88. Galaga arrangement does look very similar, but it's not the same thing. I want the galactic dancing!
At the end of the day, I am pleased with what's one offer in Namco Museum Battle Collection. It's the perfect pack for those short bursts of gameplay.