Namco Museum Remix

When you think of classic Namco arcade titles you probably think of Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Dig Dug and countless other treasures.   In the early days of video games the arcade was practically ruled by Namco and their almost endless arsenal of amazing games.  Now Namco has tweaked some of their beloved classics with the release of Namco Museum Remix.  Unfortunately the tweaking and the museum probably could have used some additional enhancements.

The premise behind Museum Remix is simple enough: take some classic Namco arcade titles, update them with Pac-Man as the central character with Wii motion sensing controls.   However what we end up with are enhanced games based upon older games that probably no one really cared about in the first place.  Pac’N Roll, Gator Panic and Motos are three games that I wouldn’t consider gems that need to be reworked for the Wii.  Rally-X was never a favorite of mine years ago and this new version didn’t change my mind.  The best reworked game included in the collection is the enhanced version of Galaga, which has now been changed to an on rail shooter. 

As I mentioned earlier you get to see Pac-Man in all of these remixed games since he is the main character.   Instead of driving a race car in Rally-X you now control Pac-Man in a cart driving around the maze.  The same floaty controls from the original arcade version unfortunately came over in the remix version.  In Gator Panic you see Pac-Man at the top of the screen as you try to whack away all of the gators on screen.  Think of Gator Panic as a whack-a-mole style game you’ve probably played at a carnival.  Pac-Motos is a strange type of board game where Pac-Man has to knock other characters off of the game board.  Since Pac’N Roll was already a Pac-Man game then we get to play as, surprise surprise, Pac-Man.   Think of Pac’N Roll as a Marble Madness style game where you control Pac-Man as he moves through out several stages gathering pellets to clear the stage. 

In my opinion the best game of the remixed games has to be Galaga Remix.  The simple gameplay of the original game has been replaced with the simple gameplay of an on rail shooter.  You have to protect Pac-Man as he rolls along a space chute making his way to the goal of the level.  Enemies will be flying and shooting at Pac-Man and it’s up to you to shoot them down.  You aim with the Wiimote and fire with the A or B button.  Visually the game is very impressive with some bright colorful characters, explosions and levels.  Sure it’s a on the rails shooter but Galaga Remix was still a blast to play. 

The majority of the original arcade games included in the museum are hardly what I would call “classics.”   The Carnival Arcade is where all of the vintage titles from yesteryear are located.  The titles included are Pac & Pal, Cutie-Q, Galaxian, Xevious, Super Pac-Man, Mappy, Gaplus, Dig Dug and Pac-Mania.  If I count the games that I would call classics I end up with only three out of the 9 total games.  Cutie-Q, Pac & Pal and Pac-Mania?  Gaplus?  Most gamers probably know nothing about Gaplus (which is a Galaga/Galaxian clone).  Where is the original Pac-Man or Ms. Pac-Man?  I’m sure some of you might think Mappy and Dig Dug are solid games but even those games aren’t enough to keep the Namco Museum Remix from sinking.  When you combine sub par enhanced or reworked games with an assortment of lackluster vintage arcade games you get a collection that fails to impress.  Besides Galaga Remix, Galaxian, Xevious and Dig Dug it’s hard to overlook all of the lackluster games included in this collection.  If you must have an assortment of classic arcade games for the Wii I would just stick with the Virtual Console. 

Gameplay:  5.5 

The majority of the games are controlled with the controlled stick and standard buttons. You do have the occasional special attacks that are unleashed by swinging the Wiimote.  The vintage arcade games played exactly the same as they did years ago which is both a blessing and a curse.  Some games age well, others not so well.

Graphics:  6.0 

Besides Galaga Remix the visuals in this collection are average at best. The rest of the enhanced remixed games don’t offer enough to make you notice them in the visual department as Galaga Remix did.  All of the classic arcade games look exactly like their original counterparts with the original side panels boards placed next to the game screen.

Sound:  6.0 

The new music and sound effects in the enhanced versions might not compare to the classics but they hold their own. Nothing too exciting and nothing that will make you turn the volume all the way down.

Difficulty:  Easy

No one should have a problem diving right into these games and playing them. For younger players just beware that old school games can be relentless compared to some new games.

Concept:  2.0

We’ve seen an almost countless assortment of compilation titles released for a variety of platforms over the last several years.  We’ve seen packages released with new enhancements or features for older games.  When you purchase a compilation title of 14 games you expect the majority of the games to be enjoyable.  Unfortunately this wasn’t the case with this collection.

Multiplayer:  6.5

All of the enhanced games, besides Pac’N Roll, offer multiplayer for you and three of your friends. Sadly no online multiplayer options were included or ranking system for the vintage arcade games. 

Overall:  5.2

Fourteen games included in one package is always a tempting offer.  This is especially true when you start thinking back to the number of impressive titles Namco has released over the years.  However with Namco Museum Remix you get an assortment of lackluster games with only a few shining stars.  Unfortunately the shining stars are just not enough to keep this collection above water.