This Museum Takes Weeks
Having this game in my grasp-and later in my wonderful console-I couldn’t help but get a little overjoyed. I’m a child of the old school genre and the idea of playing some of the greatest arcade games ever really built up the excitement.
As soon as the game was in, a little three dimensional Pac-man dropped from the sky and greeted us alongside a few of his ghostly pals. Shortly after we joined Pac in his world with 24 games to explore.
The world is broken into two sections. The open area contains the six remixes for you to roll up to and play. There is also another section called "Carnival Arcade" which contains eighteen classic arcade games including Pac-Man, Galaga, and two of my personal favorites Mappy and Xevious.
I wanted to start off by playing the new age remixes due to the fact that I was the most skeptical about these games. I am always on the questionable side when a developer takes classic games and remakes them.
It’s not as if one of these remade games snuck in my house and stole my puppy. It is simply that games that are remade seem to take away from the true essence that the original contained. Rather it undercuts the original and tells a different story. The Namco Mueseum Megamix remade six classic titles into modern age remixes.
Rally X Remix was the first game I tried. It starts off with Pac-man at the ready in his go cart with an opponent directly behind him. Players have to avoid the other driver while collecting flags, and can trigger smoke to help if opponents get too close. It’s basically the original Pac-man on a race course, but not nearly as fun. The steering is iffy when using the nunchuck and the game seems rather stiff at times.
Grobda Remix was my next stop during my exploration of the new world. In the remix you control a Grobda, which is basically a space age tank, and the player must fight multiple enemy lasers and arterial blasts. You can fire your lasers in a semi-automatic or continuous fashion. It was a cool rendition to the classic, although it seemed very easy to be destroyed if you were caught near the blast of any destroyed enemies. There is no life limit, just a time limit, so that offset some of the doubts about how easy it was to die.
Pac Motos was one of my two favorite remixed games. Players control Pacman on a floating plane and must bounce enemies off the edge in a very Pong-styled manner. As you travel from level to level, you can gain power ups to upgrade Pacman’s power, his ability to jump, and his ability to charge.
The Pac n Roll Remix was one of the least entertaining games. Players roll around collecting dots that allow access to the next section of the stage. Mastering the handling of Pacman as he rolled around took some time. The only real cool part was in the second stage, when players must avoid the ghosts while trying to gather blinking dots that allow you to destroy the enemies.
Another enjoyable remix was the Galaga Remix. Players roll down a rollercoaster-style contraption while shooting at flying enemies, and travel world to world destroying all of their inhabitants in a psychedelic fashion. The only issue during this game was the shooting. It pauses after a few seconds so you can’t simply hold the trigger down. You need to pick and shoot.
Saving the best remix for last, my experience with Gator Panic Remix tickled me to death. The idea was awesome and it was really well done. This game takes a "whack-a-mole" to a whole new level, as you must protect a small creature in front of four tunnels. Just move the nunchuck and slam the gators in the head. On my first run-through with the game, I achieved 90 points, which I thought was respectable. A gator then came out the upper most tunnel and informed me "That was pathetic!" So what? I just beat the crap out of these gators and then they mock my 90 points! I call that incentive for a replay.
If the new age games aren’t enough to make you want this game, then the old school arcade games should. You can play through the original Pac-man, Super Pac-man, Galaga, Mappy and Xevious, just to name a few. These games took me back to the day of rocking the arcade machines at the laundry mat or at our local department store. The nostalgia is enough to make me want this game for my private collection.
So whether you’re looking for a game that will entertain the kids or you want to turn a bit of that nostalgia on for yourself, this game is a winner.
I give it 4 gems.
Editor’s Note: Game reviewed on a Nintendo Wii.