Game Review: Namco Museum DS
Rate This Article
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that these are faithful recreations of
classic arcade games. They're old, kind of silly, and at times
kind of frustrating, but ultimately rewarding.
Families can talk about early days of video games. What makes a game a classic? Which games were parents' favorites? Is it more fun to play alone or against someone else?
Common Sense Media Review
One of the great truths in the video games is: if there's a
new console system on store shelves, a version of
Namco Museum will eventually make it onto that new
platform. Namco is always ready to haul out their wonderful
coin-operated classics for a new audience.
The idea for NAMCO MUSEUM DS is simple: Namco lets you play eight old but classic video games. Unfortunately these games were built to be played in a vertical coin-operated system and the DS screen is horizontally shaped. Even with this not ideal screen fit, the controls are terrific, and the game selection has a few bona fide hits in it.
This DS version includes Pac-Man, The Tomb of Druaga, Galaxian, Galaga, Dig Dug II!, Xevious, Mappy, and Pac-Man Vs. Of these, the two Pac-Man games standout as classics.
In Pac-Man, you control a little half-rounded figure who eats dots that appear in a changing maze. You dodge ever-faster ghosts in the pursuit of dots, power pellets, and fruit. But be warned, this game has been known to be addictive.
With Pac-Man Vs, you can play a multiplayer version of Pac-Man using only one game cartridge, but each player must own a DS. One player becomes Pac-Man while up to three other players become ghosts that chase him through the maze. Whichever ghost catches Pac-Man gets to become Pac-Man in the next round.
The remaining games in the collection are hit or miss. Galaga is a fun top-down shooter derived from the famous Space Invaders game. Galaxian is also a top-down shooter but it just isn't a good as Galaga. Xevious, another classic top-down shooting and bombing game looks and sounds great on the DS. Mappy is a nifty little cat and mouse game, and one of the very first 2D platforming games available. It's worth a look, but don't expect to keep playing Mappy months from now.
The two that don't work as well are The Tomb of Druaga, a simple role-playing game, and Dig Dug II.
For certain people, Pac-Man Vs. is reason enough to own this museum. You can't play it in single player, but if you have friends with DS units, this is a great game to play together.
Namco Museum DS is not a bad deal if you want a modern trip down memory lane but it becomes a definite purchase if you have friends who enjoy playing Pac-Man Vs together. It would have been a better compilation if it had included fan favorite Ms. Pac Man.
For more retro fun, check out store shelves because several companies offer compilations of old games. Your kids won't believe how simple and how primitive video games once were. But they'll be impressed -- or frustrated -- by how challenging they still are.
For other game compilations on the DS, check out Touchmaster . For a fabulous multiplayer game on the DS, turn to Mario Kart .
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
