TeamXbox writes: "
During the last console generation it was a nostalgic novelty to be able to get our favorite (and in many cases, not so favorite) arcade titles on one jam-packed compilation disc. Perfect translations of the games we grew up with, without the quarter-munching expense, seemed like a can't-miss proposition, and many publishers were happy to oblige. But with the advent of Xbox Live Arcade, the appeal has lost a bit of its luster; not only does Live offer many of our old joystick faves individually-not packaged with a bunch of crap we don't want-but it also offers tons of original content competing for our Microsoft points. I mean, what would you rather blow your points on, the awesome Bionic Commando: Rearmed or some half-assed version of a game you thought was rad in 1985?
Namco Bandai, one of the most prolific producers of these arcade compilations (Namco is Pac-Man's papa, after all), thinks there's still a void in gamer's nostalgia-loving hearts just waiting to be filled with another chock-full-of old school content offering. Their latest compilation release, Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade arrives later this fall with a new twist on the growing-stale formula. Rather than competing with the XBLA juggernaut, Namco is embracing it by nicely padding this package with some of their own successes, previously only available for download over Live. This means players get recent excellent entries Galaga Legions and Pac-Man: Championship Edition as well as older XBLA releases Dig Dug, Pac-Man, Galaga, Xevious, New Rally-X, Mr. Driller Online and Ms. Pac-Man. Not bad considering Legions and Championship Edition would set you back 800 points each if purchased over Live individually, when the whole Virtual Arcade collection will retail for just 30 bones."
Pac-Man is a fun game, yet that is just the beginning of why it is so fondly remembered by many, even 30 years later.
I love Pac man because I actually experienced the pac man craze as a kid. TV shows, cereal, T-shirts, all before Mario. it was the first mainstream merchandised game I think, and for that alone, Pac-man will always have a solid place in gaming history.
Happy 30th Pac-Man!
nice article btw.
Thanks for the compliment! I also grew up with Pac-Man back in the day and remember watching the cartoon and seeing all the merchandise, it was pretty crazy back then.
For a company like Namco, which has the morals of any alley cat, this compilation offers surprisingly good value. Unfortunately, that's the only surprise on offer as what we have here is what must be Namco's fifteenth anthology piece. Yep, stock up on ProPlus and energy drinks and get ready to play Pole Position yet again.
Be prepared for a shock in Namco Museum, though. The load times between the main menu and your chosen game is usually about 30 seconds long. The classics on display here, as well as the Xbox Live Arcade treasures, are generally of a high standard – it's great that non-Live gamers can play the awesome Pac-Man: Championship Edition – but a wait of that length will spoil the emulation. Any thieves that dabble in PC emulators will know any game they want from the past 20 years is just a click away and, especially for paying customers, waiting that long for a game of the dire Pac & Pal seems unjust.
