PSP World

Namco Museum Battle Collection

Namco has a legendary back catalog of arcade games, and this collection houses the cream of the crop from the 1980s. For $40, you'll get more than 20 beloved arcade classics and remakes. Among the extensive list are: Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaxian, King & Balloon, Galaga, Rally-X, New Rally-X, Bosconian, Dig Dug, Dig Dug II, Xevious, Mappy, The Tower of Druaga, Dragon Buster, Grobda, Motos, and Rolling Thunder. Whew.

Namco Museum Battle Collection includes four new editions of some of the old favorites in the form of “arranged” games that offer 3D graphics and other new features. You get enhanced versions of Pac-Man, New Rally-X, Galaga, and Dig Dug. These games are ok, but the classics are why you want to buy this collection.

Gameplay is super easy as expected, so we won’t say much else about it. You can use either the analog nub or the D-pad. The title also has options for customizing the use of the PSP’s screen. For instance, you can stretch the games across the device’s widescreen or rotate games and play them vertically on the PSP’s screen (though it’s very hard to hold your PSP in this manner).

Battle Collection is also the first game in the U.S. that supports game sharing, which allows you to wirelessly transfer games to a buddy’s PSP. Too bad it’s pretty much useless with this title. While you can share all of the classic games, you can only send over a one stage demo. When it comes to multiplayer, the arrangements all have either a co-op or vs. mode, with support for up to four players — but the classics are only multiplayer in the way of handing your PSP over to your opponent when your turn is over.

Unfortunately, there’s not much of a “museum” with the title — there’s no retro tidbits like old TV ads, interviews or photo galleries of some sort. We would have liked having any bonus content, but it’s nothing to really complain about.

We won’t even attempt to compare the graphics of the included games as that’s simply not the point of this title. The point is to have fun. In that regard, Namco succeeds very well. Nearly all of the games are perfect for when you just have a couple of minutes to play a game. You can pop your PSP out of your bag and start playing something within seconds, and stop playing equally as fast without worrying about where you are in the current game and whether or not you have saved recently.

We won’t get into the details of why this classic game is better than this classic game — they’ve all got their positives and negatives. You more than likely won’t even play the games you’ve never played or heard of before. You’ll probably stick with the ones you know by heart and that bring back fond memories of your childhood. In our eyes, the Namco Museum Battle Collection is one of the best classics compilation ever put together and one of the best titles available for the PSP.

Review Round-Up

GameSpy 8.0
“It may sound odd, but one of the best titles available for PSP is a collection of 20 to 25-year-old games. Hardcore retro fans will love how great the games look, and the casual player will enjoy playing Ms. Pac-Man for a few minutes on the bus. I just feel bad for the Japanese fans who will undoubtedly have to purchase Namco Museum Final U.S. Mix Plus Alpha at some point in the near future.”

1UP 8.0
“Everyone who enjoys portable gaming, old greats or any combination of the two owes it to themself to pick up a copy of Battle Collection. It would be a great purchase even if PSP software weren’t so hard to come by these days; as it stands, it’s one of the best titles available for the system. I know my copy will certainly be accompanying me wherever I go.”

IGN 7.5
“We wouldn’t say that Namco went all-out to make this a must-own for every PSP player (and as a full-priced PSP release, its value comes at a steep cost), but Namco Museum Battle Collection a good-sized collection of games and special features that’s handy to have in your portable collection.”

Gamespot 7.5
“If you’re a fan of the classics and you haven’t already burned yourself by purchasing the other 15 or so versions of Namco Museum that have been released over the years, or if you’re just looking to take an arcade-perfect version of Galaga around with you in your pocket, the PSP edition of Namco Museum’s a good choice. While you could ask for a few more frills here and there, it has a great list of games, and they’re presented just fine.”

Aggregate Rating: 8.0