Namco Museum Battle Collection (PSP)

Retro gaming has become quite a niche market in recent years, with gamers of all ages keen to revisit their youth by bashing out a few rounds of classic games like Super Mario Brothers, Space Invaders, Zelda and so on. There are plenty of magazines and websites dedicated to the subject and a large variety of emulator software is widely available, allowing gamers to play vintage arcade and console ROMs on the current crop of consoles. The Sony PSP is no exception to this, with a core group of PSP users purchasing their Sony handhelds exclusively for the purpose of retro gaming.

With this trend in mind, Namco have released a steady stream of titles on various platforms featuring collections of some of their more well-known classic titles. The Namco Museum Battle Collection is the latest in this series and gives Sony PSP gamers the chance to try and beat their old high scores in over 20 classic arcade games including Pac-Man, Galaga, Dig Dug, Ms Pac-Man, Galaxian, Rally X, Rolling Thunder, Motos, Xevious and Dragon Buster.

The collection is well-implemented with a functional menu system, plenty of configuration options (including a nice sideways feature which allows for authentic long-screen arcade gaming) and excellent emulation. The graphics and sounds in each of the games included are identical to the original 8-bit versions and multiplayer functionality is good overall. One of the most interesting features is the inclusion of ‘Arrangement’ versions of four of the titles: Rally X, Galaga, Pac Man and Dig Dug. There are essentially remixed updates which include different levels, bosses, power-ups and multiplayer wireless play which help give the collection a little more longevity.

Overall, Namco Museum Battle Collection is a worthy title to consider checking out if you are into classic gaming – those who aren’t excited by the idea of chasing their own high scores in vintage games may want to look elsewhere though.

(3/5 stars)