Namco Museum 50th Anniversary

Judged on just the extras, menus & features, this title is far from special. Compared to what Capcom has delivered with their "Classics" series, a few extra features like save states and shorter load times would have been nice.

However, I bought this title for the Pac-Man, Ms Pac-Man and Galaga emulations, and on that note 50th Anniverary delivers. First off, the graphics & sound for Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man & Galaga are spot on, a vast improvement over the terrible distortions of the original Namco Museum (Xbox) title. Ghost behavior in the Pac-Man games is about as close to the arcade as you'll probably find in an emulation. Sit spots, passing through ghosts, and the little quirks of each monster from what I can tell are exploitable just as they were in the arcade. As far as grouping behavior goes, I'm not an expert in that arena, so your mileage may vary if your questing for a perfect game and want to test out your favorite arcade tricks.

I only wish I could praise the Galaga emulation as highly. Graphics & sound are as they should be, but an unfortunate input lag will cause some frustration when your pounding away on the fire button. Of course, having played the arcade quite a bit during the 90's, I became accustomed to creaky old stained cabinets with faded screens and half working controls.

As for the rest... I'll have to give the other games a try, but for the big 3 this disc does deliver the goods.

This is a good colection of some of the classics, the main reason I got this was for Rolling Thunder and Xevious (since I've never seen them on any other collection of games). I used to love those 2 games when I was a kid. Most of the other games are cool but a good bit of them are already on other classic games out there (like Pac-man, mrs pac-man, galaga, dig dug ect...). The only things I didn't like was the load times and that you couldn't continue on Xevious. Other than that it's $20 of my hard earned cash well spent.

There is so much to say with nostaligic video games these days. Yet, with so many different games that have been coming back and definitely remaining a constant in the industry. That has been the case with Namco and their brand of video games. We've seen classics from their main attraction, Pac Man revive the company over and over again to still stand as a popular favorite for every video game system. That also was shown with the Namco Museum reflection of the classic video game library. While the games have all been released for each of the ssytems, another edition was over the horizon, without a quarter to place into the slots.

Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Arcade collection for the Microsoft Xbox, is a collection of 14 games for everybody to love and enjoy. The collection of games is mostly nothing new for people who bought the previous edition. Neverthless, for anybody who hasn't played these classic gems, that is another story. The games here have all been restored and remastered nicely, with a main menu soundtrack that feaures classics from the 80's like the Fine Young Cannibals hit She Drives Me Crazy. The compilation includes so many greats that still stand including Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, Dig Dug, the original driving machine Pole Position, and Galaga. While the game doesn't showcase the arrangement editons of games like Pac Man, and Dig Dug, the classic editions still stand still, and just remain as good guilty pleasures. The control for these games is very simple and easy for all gamers alike old and new.

While so many people might not seem interested in the classics right now, and are just considering newer games like Need For Speed: Most Wanted, and Project Gotham Racing, Namco Museum's 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection for the Xbox is a great buy for any gamer who has a feeling for the arcade greats.

Graphics: B+

Sound: B

Control: B 1/2+

Fun & Enjoyment: B 1/2+

Overall: B+

Why, you ask?

1) Play your favorite classic NAMCO arcade games!

2) Go XBOX LIVE!

3) Includes PAC-MAN, RALLY X, DIG DUG, and 11 more games!

Buy it! You won't be dissapointed!

This is a great collection of Namco's classic games. If you bought the Namco Museum for XBox, then you know about the jerky movement of both Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man. Very distracting but they are gone in this set. Plus there are more games and they added the classic Galaga '88'. All you need is to score 40000 on Galaga and it's yours but why even bother because 40000 on Galage should be no problem for moderate to pro players. There's also Pacmania on the game and you need 15000 on Pac-Man and 20000 on Ms. Pac-Man to unlock. If you already have the Museum, this is still a must buy so you can get Rolling Thunder along with the bonus game of Galaga '88'. If you buy the Museum, 50th Anniversary and the Battle Collection for the PSP, you actually wind up having 4 different versions of Galaga. The Arrangement version on the PSP is different then the one on Museum and a whole lot more fun. At any rate, buy this game.