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Congratulations Namco...you're 50! As the game's title indicates, Namco is ready for AARP and Centrum Silver. To celebrate, they have released their second anthology of games, Namco Museum: 50th Anniversary. Sadly, the game doesn't differ from the 2001 release, Namco Museum. It adds a few shooters (mostly that should have been thrown away), but offers very little to entice gamers who bought the previous addition. Equally as disappointing, the games featured only cover a span of about 8 years.
That's right, the game's 16 titles range from the 1980 classic, Pac-Man, all the way up two 1987 titles, Pac-Mania and Galaga '88, which are the game's only unlockable titles. On a side note, I wonder if Galaga '88 was the first game to come out before the year mentioned in the title. EA must have thought this was a splendid idea!
What's really disappointing is that you don't really get any historical sense of why Namco is celebrating their 50th anniversary. We know it's not all about games, as Pong isn't even 40 years old, but the game fails to give any history of the company. Did Namco start in the waste management business or perhaps on the street selling puzzles? Who knows? The only history lesson learned in this title relates to the bad '80s music used in the game selection menu. At least you'll now realize why Fine Young Cannibals ended up a one-hit wonder. What's more, some of the most celebrated franchises that have come out in recent years, like Tekken, Soul Calibur, and Time Crisis, don't even get a mention here. I'm not saying the game should include some of their latest hits, but why not throw us a bone and offer the original Tekken or Soul Blade. The fact of the matter, plenty of gamers already have access to some version of Galaga, Pac-Man, and Galaga.
As far as what the game does offer, the only significant additions that I really enjoyed were Galaga '88 and Rolling Thunder. Most of the other titles that are new from the last Namco Museum aren't too good. That said, here is a quick rundown of the titles offered:
- Pac-Man – obviously a class and worth having if you don't have it already.
- Ms. Pac-Man – the wife is just as fun.
- Galaga – probably the best old-school Namco title.
- Galaxian – the bastard child of Galaga. It's not worth your time.
- Dig Dug – Definitely fun in quick stints.
- Pole Position – I still can't figure out why sometimes I qualify and sometimes I don't....an overrated classic.
- Pole Position II – pretty much the same crap.
- Rolling Thunder – one of my early arcade memories. I forgot how hard this game is.
- Rally X – pretty average racer.
- Bosconian – reminds me of the game in The Last Starfighter, and look ma, it's got voices!
- Dragon Spirit – overhead shooter that isn't worth your time.
- Sky Kid – next!
- Xevious – slightly more playable than Dragon Spirit
- Mappy – just as bad as the NES title, Mappy Land.
- Galaga '88 – fun sequel that changes up the formula a little bit, but stays just as fun.
- Pac-Mania – Pac-Man goes 3-D (sort of)... stick with the original.
You can see that I am thoroughly disappointed with the offerings on Namco Museum: 50th Anniversary. They really could have made this disc great, but left fans desiring more. Still, if you don't have these classics available, you might want to check it out or pick up the original Namco Museum for cheaper.
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