Namco Museum Vol. 1 (PlayStation)

Pac-Man: Still the best character on this side of the planet.

Galaga: The best damn shoot-'em-up game in the known universe.

Pole Position: Um, Hello? Where's the prepare to qualify voice sounder?

Bosconian: Sinistar on a killing spree (Just without the Sinistar) And it features great voicing and classy music.

Rally-X: Great game, but the music is somewhat stuck in your head and it's a two-note wonder.

New Rally-X: better music, better gameplay

Toypop: Very quirky music and very weird animation.

Now on the rest, the room to the game's music is a new rendition that gives birth to the phrase: "remix." Plus, the game rooms are eye-popping and the museum space is rendering and excellent! I love this game!!!


Not quite like the old....   February 27, 2002
 11 out of 14 found this review helpful

These games are great, but the playability is not quite like the arcade standup models. For some reason, there seems to be a slight hesitation when making some of the quick corners in Ms Pac-man and Dig Dug. Also, Pole Position plays differently without the wheel. Still, the games are exactly as they were years ago. The sames tendencies I remember on Galaga come alive in the Playstation version. These are exact replicas of the originals that helped start it all.


The first in the 5 CD Playstation series!   January 17, 2002
 12 out of 13 found this review helpful

Namco brings the actual classic arcade experience home starting with this CD. Pac-Man, the star of the disc, plays differently than the one Midway had or the one Namco put on its Classic Collection Vol. 2 arcade game...I think this one might be the same one the Japanese imported for show in 1979 or 1980. (Different patterns; glitch with Inky near the top of the maze, etc.) Both Rally-X and New Rally-X are also maze games; you try to collect all the flags before your fuel runs out, whilst avoiding other cars and rocks. Pole Position is basically a timed race game against other cars. (Be careful around sharp curves.) Galaga deals with a swarm of insects in space; your job is to shoot them down. (The "no bullets" code also works...only in less time.) In Bosconian, you have a free-flying ship in space with dual front and back shooting, dealing with alien ships and enemy space stations. Toypop, the obscurity, can be played with 2 players...you control a toy and open packages to reveal hearts (for your level exit) and various different weapons for different enemies. This CD is much easier to maintain than the arcade versions of these games. I highly recommend this one.


Pros and Cons   December 16, 2001
 15 out of 16 found this review helpful

The games on this disc are literally the same games that were on the old arcade games. When you start a game it goes through the entire start-up sequence similar to turning on your home computer, which is exactly what happens when you plug in an arcade game and turn it on. The graphics, sound, levels, etc., are all exactly the same as the original arcade versions. Better yet, you even have access to all the difficulty controls that the arcade owners had: setting the difficulty, speed, number of lives, and when you get free lives. You can even save your high score list, just like in the arcade.

However, this disc does not support the analog joystick controllers, which makes it a lot more difficult to play some of the games, such as Pole Position. Because of the way the games load, it is very slow to go from one game to another one.

The games on the disc: Galaga, Pac Man, Pole Position, Bosconian, Rally-X, New Rally-X, and Toy Pop.

Overall, this disc is what you would expect if you remember the originals. It provides some entertainment, but most of these games just seem too simplistic and boring when compared to present-day video games.


Shoot Lit Bosconian   July 19, 2001
 12 out of 15 found this review helpful

Namco Museum 1 (first in a series of five collections) is one of the better selections in the series. Pac-Man is probably the most well remembered, and an excellent translation from the Arcade version. Galaga is another title that makes the transition well. But the best is Bosconian. Every level - every ship - even the bonus levels and the weird levels beyond the 9th are all there in glorious color, faithfully rendered. The rest are a mixed lot, including Rally-X and Pole Position. A great ride for those who remember the classic arcade consoles.