 |
Maybe it's a result of my getting older but I recently felt a wave of nostalgia for the 80's and one of my fondest memories was playing arcade games. The arcades from my youth have all long since closed but I still have feelings for games like Crystal Castles, Pengo, Marble Madness and so on. A little while back I bought the DS version of Bubble Bobble containing a spot on translation of the classic game. Despite being over 20 years old Bubble Bobble is still loads of fun. After searching for some more classic games on the DS I discovered that two I have particularly warm memories of were being released in the new Namco collection. These included Xevious and Mappy. I wasn't sure why Namco was releasing Galaxian since it's almost exactly the same as Galaga except not nearly as good. So is it worth the investment? I must say that none of these games compare to Bubble Bobble but in their defense they were all released prior to Bobble. The first thing I noticed is how shallow these games are. The wonderful memories I held for Mappy were soon replaced by the boredom of the games repetitiveness. Xevious has more variety but I found the game bloody hard and difficult to see on the small screen. You can set up the game to play tilted at 90 degrees and it looks far better but then you're holding the DS at an extremely awkward angle. Most arcade games were built with a tall screen but the DS screens are built wide so either you play the games with black bars on either side or tilt the system. Neither is a great solution. Galaga is fun but it just doesn't feel the same without a big chunky joystick controlling your fighter. I only played Dig Dug II briefly because it's junk compared to the original Dig Dug. I have to give Namco credit for trying its best to recreate the arcade experience on a handheld system. Games have simulated mother boards with dip switches that can be set as if the player were an arcade owner. Players can even play with known bugs on or off. The kicker for me was the inclusion of a faux screen burn on Xevious. Now THAT is the sign of a loving crafted game. Some people have complained about the selection of games and although I would have swapped out Dig Dug II, Towers of Druaga and Galaxian others have complained about the inclusion of Mappy so for each his own. The main problem with the games is that the DS screen dimensions differ significantly from the original arcade games but there's not much Namco could do about that. Something that Namco COULD have done something about was the inclusion of continues. I mean if you're trying to recreate an arcade experience players should be able to simulate popping in another quarter. Unfortunately every game gives you a quarters worth of play and Xevious is damn hard. At 20 bucks it's a bargain game but I must confess that I lost interest faster than I expected. Still, it's fun to have many of these games available in portable form.Read full review
The Namco Museum DS game has a variety of classic arcade style games for all who like the simpler graphics and two-dimensional game play of yesteryear. You can imagine that fitting some of the full size screen games into the tiny screen size of the DS would lead to some compromises, but there are relatively few. The games play like the originals, for the most part with only a bit of simplification in the displays. The sound of the games is pretty well spot on. All the former adicts of the arcades will find their old obsessions returning, and there will certainly be some younger converts to these classics. For those revisiting the old addictions, just think of all the quarters you'll be saving this time! As to the newer multi player version of Pacman included, didn't use it and don't plan to, though the concept was rather interesting. I just don't have any friends who own DS systems that are also addicted to Pacman. For all I know, it could be the next cult craze...but I doubt it.Read full review
These 5 nostalgic old school games bring back a lot of old memories of my days spent at local arcades during my high school and college days. A lot of tuition in quarters were spent in those days to get up to speed on these games. The games are totally realistic and play exactly like the original NAMCO arcades' version in both visuals as well as sound effects; and the demo even prompt you to "INSERT COIN"! The only thing I didn't like is the small screen and small buttons of the DS which makes it a lot harder to see and navigate. I recommend changing the screen display preference setting to "SMOOTH" vs. "SHARP" for a smoother resolution. The game setting options flexibility are INCREDIBLE on this game. There are options to change the screen to display side ways horizontally or vertically on either screen of the DS as well as preference settings for up to 5 (versus 3) lives. Not to mention different settings for different range of high score points until you earn a new life; as well as HARD CORE settings for HARD CORE gamers in most games. The various combinations of DIP SWITCH settings (with a visual graphic display of an actual DIP SWITCH just like on a computer's motherboard on the physical Arcarde hardware is the coolest thing I have ever seen on a software simulation of a hardware game. All of these INCREDIBLE amount of game settings and preference flexibility will alow novice as well as experts alike much longer play time and many more unexpected challenges.Read full review
Great old classic games from 1979 on up the only thing it doesn't have is Poll Position. It has seven games.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The main menu of this game has four options to choose from: Pac-Man vs; Arcade; Demo; and Library. The arcade selection is where the action is. You can play the following games: -1979 version of Galaxian -1980 version of Pac-Man -1981 version of Galaga -1982 version of Xevious -1983 version of Mappy -1984 version of The Tower of Druaga -1985 version of Dig Dug II When you double tap on a game, you have a lot of options. You can give yourself more lives and choose when to receive extra lives based on your score from the game settings menu. When you are done, select confirm and then tap the unpause game button. In most cases, a green pop up screen will appear telling you to press the START button to begin the game. This portion of the menu is a little unusual. You have to mess with each game in the same way. Kids may find this confusing. Most of the games themselves are just like the atari 7800 games, except smaller. I rated this game as excellent for that reason alone and really enjoyed most of the games. I especially like the fact that you can get five lives on the games, which is a welcome option. Dig Dug II, Mappy, and The Tower of Druaga were my least favorite. Overall, I was very pleased with this game and felt spending up to $25 dollars (not including shipping) was worth it.Read full review
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Video Games
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Video Games
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- You may also like
