Essentially Awesome
Namco Museum Essentials turns just five games into hours of friendly competition.
Published: August 10, 2009
It'd be so easy to just barf out a hundred words on what Namco Museum Essentials offers -- five games; Xevious, Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Dragon Spirit and Galaga, only one of which (Xevious Resurrection) is a "proper" remake -- and be done with this review. In truth, some might take fault at the apparent lack of effort (at least on paper) in just throwing together a bunch of arcade classics, the majority of which don't even offer multiplayer support, and calling it a day, but that's missing what the product as a whole actually does.
Put simply, Namco has done something wonderful: they've bought back the friendly score-based rivalry of the glory days of arcades. Some of these games don't even technically have an "end" to them, so back in the day it was about skill, points, and claiming that rare spot on the high score table for a few days or weeks. For those curious, the game does support Trophies and what Namco calls "badges," little objectives that, when met, put a stamp on your publically viewable card (all the Trophies come from gaining a few or all of these per game -- the latter of which may prove impossible for guys like me who no longer sport the chops to throw out huge points totals). Every new badge earned gets you points, which in turn help your profile level-up, rank-wise. These little in-game accomplishments are then fed to a ticker that all your Friends List buddies will see when they fire up the game.
The real hook, though, is a per-game leaderboard that exists as part of a sub-mode for each of the games. You're free to change the baseline options (stuff like number of lives or when new ones are awarded) for your runs through the vanilla modes of each game, but the High Score Challenges have all the options set for the sake of fairness. Yeah, it's simple, but it works. I spent hours trying to be my Friends' scores in Pac-Man (never did, though I finally slid into second), and more than a few more just trying to beat others in the remaining games.
By turning simple emulations (some of which aren't rock-solid; I actually passed through ghosts a few times in Pac-Man -- not that I'm complaining, exactly, as it saved my life and let me get to second place on the leaderboards -- but it bears mentioning) into a social experience, Namco has breathed new life into games that are almost three decades old, which is saying something. The whole presentation is tied together with a slick, clean interface with full-screen button layout diagrams as well as the ability to easily look at the scores, card and accomplishments of anyone on your friends list that has played the game. The progressive rewards and friendly, easy peeks into the progress of friends keeps it a nice, tight little competitive package -- not bad for $10.
One thing I should point out, though, is that Xevious Resurrection is actually a fantastic little remake. For the most part, it's the same game -- still 2D but rendered with some slick looking 3D models -- and it won't go giving any of Treasure's last few shmups a run for their visual money, but the addition of a simple shield mechanic (you get three uses and the meter slowly but constantly recharges, though if you grab a specific power-up, you'll get a full chunk) makes the game much, much more strategic. See, the shield (and the new beam-firing enemies that have been added to necessitate it) won't stop bullets, so you still have to avoid those, all while juggling a devastatingly lethal extra threat that helps the game feel more... modern. It's a truly great little update, and if you're a nostalgic shooter fan, you'll absolutely eat up the remake. It's just a shame more of the games weren't given the same kind of love.
And there you have it. No, it's not a ground-breaking or all-encompassing collection of games, but what's here (with the exception of Dragon Spirit, which is nice but nowhere near as iconic as the other games) really does feel like an essential part of gaming history. Could more have been done with things? Of course, but the key addition of including online leaderboards and updates really does have a bigger impact than you'd think. If you consider yourself something of a high score chaser and can still fondly remember the opening Pac-Man ditty, you've gotta give this a shot. You can play trial versions of the games at Namco's arcade space in PlayStation Home if you're apprehensive, but for fogeys like me, this is a fantastic little update.
Put simply, Namco has done something wonderful: they've bought back the friendly score-based rivalry of the glory days of arcades. Some of these games don't even technically have an "end" to them, so back in the day it was about skill, points, and claiming that rare spot on the high score table for a few days or weeks. For those curious, the game does support Trophies and what Namco calls "badges," little objectives that, when met, put a stamp on your publically viewable card (all the Trophies come from gaining a few or all of these per game -- the latter of which may prove impossible for guys like me who no longer sport the chops to throw out huge points totals). Every new badge earned gets you points, which in turn help your profile level-up, rank-wise. These little in-game accomplishments are then fed to a ticker that all your Friends List buddies will see when they fire up the game.
The real hook, though, is a per-game leaderboard that exists as part of a sub-mode for each of the games. You're free to change the baseline options (stuff like number of lives or when new ones are awarded) for your runs through the vanilla modes of each game, but the High Score Challenges have all the options set for the sake of fairness. Yeah, it's simple, but it works. I spent hours trying to be my Friends' scores in Pac-Man (never did, though I finally slid into second), and more than a few more just trying to beat others in the remaining games.
By turning simple emulations (some of which aren't rock-solid; I actually passed through ghosts a few times in Pac-Man -- not that I'm complaining, exactly, as it saved my life and let me get to second place on the leaderboards -- but it bears mentioning) into a social experience, Namco has breathed new life into games that are almost three decades old, which is saying something. The whole presentation is tied together with a slick, clean interface with full-screen button layout diagrams as well as the ability to easily look at the scores, card and accomplishments of anyone on your friends list that has played the game. The progressive rewards and friendly, easy peeks into the progress of friends keeps it a nice, tight little competitive package -- not bad for $10.
One thing I should point out, though, is that Xevious Resurrection is actually a fantastic little remake. For the most part, it's the same game -- still 2D but rendered with some slick looking 3D models -- and it won't go giving any of Treasure's last few shmups a run for their visual money, but the addition of a simple shield mechanic (you get three uses and the meter slowly but constantly recharges, though if you grab a specific power-up, you'll get a full chunk) makes the game much, much more strategic. See, the shield (and the new beam-firing enemies that have been added to necessitate it) won't stop bullets, so you still have to avoid those, all while juggling a devastatingly lethal extra threat that helps the game feel more... modern. It's a truly great little update, and if you're a nostalgic shooter fan, you'll absolutely eat up the remake. It's just a shame more of the games weren't given the same kind of love.
And there you have it. No, it's not a ground-breaking or all-encompassing collection of games, but what's here (with the exception of Dragon Spirit, which is nice but nowhere near as iconic as the other games) really does feel like an essential part of gaming history. Could more have been done with things? Of course, but the key addition of including online leaderboards and updates really does have a bigger impact than you'd think. If you consider yourself something of a high score chaser and can still fondly remember the opening Pac-Man ditty, you've gotta give this a shot. You can play trial versions of the games at Namco's arcade space in PlayStation Home if you're apprehensive, but for fogeys like me, this is a fantastic little update.
