At the very least, the conversions from arcade to console have been pulled off almost perfectly, much better than the ports handled in the original Namco Museum. Many of these games are simply repeats from a Namco Museum package that's still available as a Greatest Hits/Platinum Hits/Player's Choice for the consoles, so their reappearance definitely deadens the impact of the new package. Both Pac-Mania and Galaga '88 are also in the collection, but are tucked away as unlockables, only becoming available after players set specific high scores in some of the available games. Pac-Man, Galaga, Galaxian, Dig Dug, Rally-X, Pole Position, Pole Position II, Xevious, Dragon Spirit, Bosconian, Rolling Thunder, Mappy, and Sky Kid. For 20 bucks you get conversions of Pac-Man, Ms.
The package says 14 classic arcade hits, but in reality there are 16 since two games in the package are unlockable. What could have been the Director's Cut DVD of videogames ends up as what could be considered one of those quickly-produced bargain discs you can find in the bin at Walgreens. Nor does it break down the history of Namco, its games and its properties, or even explain the success or failures of the titles in this package. Guh? What'd they do before Galaxian and Pac-Man? This package doesn't answer this question. First of all, Namco Museum: 50th Anniversary is a collection that spans 25 years of history. The company already offered a Namco Museum for the Xbox, GameCube, and PlayStation 2 back in 2001, so for its anniversary we were expecting a huge bang. In fact, one of the most sought after discs in the original PlayStation library was a collection of arcade games that spanned more than five discs covering nearly all the gems in the company's backlog.
Namco has always been big on re-releasing its classic games on current consoles. And for a commemorative package, that just doesn't cut it. No history, no cool development anecdotes, no creator notes. Many of the games included in this package are still as pick-up-and-play friendly and as fun as they have always been, but that's all you're getting.
This "celebratory" compilation is so tame and unenthusiastic that there's barely any pride inserted in its backlog of arcade games from more than two decades ago. If Namco Museum: 50th Anniversary is how Namco commemorates company milestones, I don't want to show up to any of its parties.
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