Platform: PSP

Genre: Retro

Number of Players: 1 - 2
 

Sony's new school toy is going old school. Some people think that retro gaming is the new, cool thing to be doing, but there are those of us that have fond memories of the older games that were very much a part of the culture of what has been classed as Generation X. Face it kids, without these old stand-by's, you wouldn't have your PlayStation 2, there would be no Xbox, and portable games would still be like Tiger Electronics handheld football. Companies are hip to what gamers wants, and since its widely recognized that most gamers are in fact from the 20 something and up crowd, the old classics still have a home.

The name Namco for most is associated with games like Tekken and Soulcalibur, and for others the addictive Katamari Damacy springs to mind, and while these are all great games, Namco has quite a history beyond that. The GameBoy Advanced previously saw a collection of some of Namco's greatest titles, but now it's the PSP's turn, and with over 20 different games, old school gamers are bound to find something that they remember spending their allowance on in an afternoon. So, let's take a look at what was cutting edge and state of the art years ago.

Pac-Man & Ms. Pac-Man; 1980 gave birth to a legend, and it wasn't Mario. Take a pizza and remove a single slice and there is one character that come into everyone's mind, and that is Pac-Man. Namco single handedly revolutionized the gaming industry with a simple concept: move Pac-Man through a maze, eat all of the pellets, and avoid the ghosts. It was a simple idea, but one that took quarters from everyone's pockets. We all know the game, and Pac-Man was so popular with women that two years later, Ms. Pac-Man hit the arcades. Let's not forget that there were cartoons, plenty of merchandise, and 25 years later, Pac-Man is still loved across the world. Come on, everyone has been in some sleazy diner in the middle of nowhere that we want to leave immediately, but that Pac-Man machine in the back keeps us from doing so.

Galaxian & Galaga: After Pong, the next big thing was Space Invaders, but in 1979 Namco took the vector graphics shooter to the next level. The debate has always been which came first, and it was Galaxian, a Space Invaders clone that had to shooting down enemy ships, but instead of simply launching missiles at you, these ships moved and tried to hit you with a kamikaze attack. Galaxian was a hit with arcade goers, and in 1981 the game returned at Galaga, the favorite among fans. It has the same idea, though the ships now fly into place, giving you the chance to shoot them down before they get into place and even today, this is still a classic bit of arcade history.

Rally X and the New Rally X: Pole Position is probably one of the first games mentioned if you talk old school racing, though I'll admit that Night Driving would be what I would mention. Games weren't always flashy with all-star soundtracks and licensed cars like you find in Gran Turismo, but Rally X gave us a different type of racing. You drive around a maze and collect flags before your fuel runs out. It sounds easy, but you also have roaming cars that will run into you that you either need to avoid or hit with your smokescreen. The New Rally X, released in 1981, is essentially the same game, but now with new dangers such as rocks and Special Flags that double the score. Rally X is Pac-Man more or less, but with some differences, and coincidentally, if you have Ridge Racer on the PSP, the New Rally X is included as a bonus game, and Rally X is also one of the first games to use the HUD display.

Bosconian: At first, this was a game that I didn't remember, but once I started playing, I recalled spending a lot of money on this game back in 1981. This is another of Namco's space shooters, but unlike Galaga, you have control to move where you'd like. The objective is to destroy the enemy bases, but like other games, this isn't an easy job. You have enemy fighter that will attack in formation to deal with as well as asteroids and floating mines. The nice thing though is that your enemies aren't the brightest, so you can easily lure them into smashing into them. Bosconian would also give gamers a ship with firepower on both ends of the ship, making the game a little simpler in some regards, but quite challenging in others.

Dig Dug and Dig Dug II: Gaming went underground in 1982, but figuratively speaking of course. Dig Dug put games into the garden trying to protect it from enemies armed only with a harpoon what could pump them full of air until they exploded. If all else failed, there was always the trusty rock though could be dropped on their heads, and with fire breathers are part of the set up, it wasn't an easy job for poor Dig Dug, but players loved popping Fygar and Poopa. It wouldn't be until 1985 when Dig Dug would surface again and while the enemies were the same, the mission was different and Dig was trying to protect islands from his foes, this time armed with a jackhammer as well as the harpoon and able to drop parts of the islands into the ocean. I'm not quite sure how destroying good land helps the problem, but it worked for old Dig Dug, though gamers really seemed to love the original.

Xevious: In 1982. a game that would become legendary hit the arcades, and it was Xevious, one of the first in a long string of scrolling shooters. With an alien threat in the skies and on the ground, your goal was simple: shoot down spacecraft and drop bombs and bases and other viable targets on the ground. It all amounted to a steady addiction for arcade goers, and it still means the same thing on the PSP.

Mappy: You are a police mouse named Mappy and your job is to stop, what else, cat burglars who have tried to pull of a home invasion, but Mappy is on the case. You need to use trampolines to reach other areas of the house, collect the valuables, and even use doors to stop them or hit them with a special microwave beam. Back in the day, I was terrible at this game, and while I'm a little better, Mappy is still quite a challenge.

The Tower of Druaga: Gil must navigate through a maze-like tower in hopes of saving Kei, but danger is around every corner. Armed with only a sword, Gil must heroic triumph or perish while searching for the key to make it to the next level. Honestly, 1984 didn't need a game like this in the arcade, and Druaga is a terrible title and surprisingly, it resurfaced recently in a new version on the PS2, but even that wasn't enough to make the name memorable.

King & Balloon: It's one title, not two, but King & Balloon is another Space Invaders clone, but instead of just shooting enemies, you need to prote4ct the king at the bottom of the screen. Enemies will pick him up and carry him away. You can shoot him back down to safety (the king does have an umbrella to assist them) but should you loose all the kings, it's game over. This is another game I don't recall playing in the arcades, but taking into consideration it was released in 1980, I can understand why. Everyone was playing Pac-Man, but even still, it's an interesting twists on a familiar theme.

Dragon Buster: Yet another fantasy adventure game, but this time you are Clovis, a brave warrior out to rescue a princess from a dragon. Clovis though has not just a sword, but he can shoot fireballs as well. It's not a bad game, but still a bit annoying only because it's so incredibly difficult. I think that the game cheats, but at any rate, you will find a number of different enemies in this side scrolling action game from 1984 that is going to take a bit of time to master.

Motos: If you hadn't picked up an NES yet in 1985, then a visit to the arcade may have found you playing Motos. This is yet another game with a simple concept; you maneuver your ship to bump others off the playing field. The fields themselves will become more complex as the level increases and more and more hazards will make your job quite difficult. It's not a bad game, but it doesn't quite have a addictive quality that some of Namco's other titles have.

Grobda: This is yet another game that didn't sound familiar by title alone, but as soon as I started playing it, I remembered it quite well. Grodda's in some ways is much like a cross between Motos and the old Atari Combat. You have a number of enemies that you just need to blow up, but there are obstacles in your way and luckily, you also have the luxury of a shield to make things a little easier. It can be tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's not a bad game at all.

Rolling Thunder: This is a classic game. You take on the roll of a secret agent out to stop the forces of evil. The game is simply about shooting, rearming yourself by entering other doors, jumping onto balconies, and that's really about it. While it's quite a simple idea, the game saw arcade goers huddle around constantly waiting their turn at the action.

Besides being identical to what was seen in the arcade, you will find a number of features included. Some of the games will have a sound test included so you can go back and listen to isolated 8-bit sounds. There is also an autosave feature in a number of the games and this will let you start the game at a later time from the highest point you had reached and will also save your scores. You can adjust the size of the screen and even the arrangement, thus going either horizontal or vertical. As many of the games are multi-player you can also link up with a friend for some wireless gameplay.

This isn't just about old school games though. Well, okay, it is, but Namco has also revamped some of their classic games. Pac-Man, Galaga, Dig Dug and The New Rally X all have enhanced versions with new features. It's the same gameplay just with changes. Dig Dug has new special items and boss battles. Pac-Man initially seemed to be the same as the arranged version from the GBA, but there are even more new features and again, boss battles. Galaga is simply beautiful as is Rally X. You can't have the old without having reinventions, and there are plenty of them.

I really have no complaints about anything with this title. There are more than enough games included on the UMD and they all look, sound, and play just like their arcade counterparts. The older generation of gamers are going to love having this title and are going to be playing it for quite some time to come, though I can just hear younger children say, "You actually PLAYED this?" It's like comparing an 8 track to a CD, but in this case, retro is a very cool thing and it never left style, it's just been sitting in a dingy corner waiting to come out and play once again. The Namco Museum Battle Collection is a must have addition to your PSP library and I'm certainly glad that Namco was the first company to get a title like this out.
 

-mike-