Review for NAMCO MUSEUM. Game for Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 28/07/2017
The baby girl Nintendo Switch certainly could not be excluded from the frenetic retrogame race that has invaded the videogame market for some time. Bandai Namco, veteran in re-proposing her old titles to young audiences, took the opportunity and adapted a collection for Switch ad hoc, hoping to bring back the glorious historical titles of the family videogame dawn. Here is his proposal: Namco Museum, a collection that includes titles such as PAC-MAN, Dig Dug, Galaga, Splatterhouse, Tank Force and the "new" PAC-MAN VS.
The charm of retrogames certainly cannot be denied: the first video games created for family entertainment have in fact that hypnotic charm that is not easy to explain. Losing count of the hours spent in a "quick" game in Pac-Man is simple, but we must also admit that we cannot continue to use the same trend over and over again, otherwise we risk exhausting all that is precious.
Bandai Namco, however, does not stop and decides to present its collection of retro workhorses here too in the hope of doing something pleasing to those who do not have the opportunity to play these titles in another way, titles that have really made the history of video games. To be precise, inside the Namco Museum for Nintendo Switch you will find:
- PAC-MAN;
- Dig Dug;
- Galaga and Galaga '88;
- The Tower of Druaga;
- Rolling Thunder and Rolling Thunder ™ 2;
- Sky Kid;
- Splatterhouse;
- Tank Force.
This collection also includes PAC-MAN VS., a four-player title based on the PAC-MAN series developed in 2003 to offer a competitive interlude in multiplayer.
Talking about games like Pac-Man is superfluous to say the least, over the years the ghosts and the yellow ball devourer have peeped out in so many reinterpretations that no one on the planet can say they have never seen or played one. This makes this title a must to include in a collection like this umpteenth Namco Museum.
But Bandai Namco Studios has done more, including the multiplayer version in which three players work together as the famous ghosts to hunt down the fourth player, who instead controls PAC-MAN. Two Switches are required, with up to three ghosts playing on one console and PAC-MAN on the other. Bandai Namco, however, has announced that a free app will soon be available on Nintendo eShop, which will allow you to join a multiplayer session using two consoles and a single copy of the game.
The other titles are a retrogaming pearl for all lovers of the genre, starting with Dig Dig, example of basic programming and first attempts at home games. This is the classic "dig and drop", but don't take it lightly, because it's not as easy as it sounds.
Then we find two entertainment pearls such as Galaga e Galaga'88. Titles exploited until death and resumed in indifferent times and ways both present the classic gameplay to which time has now accustomed us: a spaceship at the bottom with limited movements and endless fire against the walls created by the opponents that at an incessant and cadenced rhythm from a hypnotic sound, they proceed inexorably against us.
If you have never tried these titles, you certainly cannot fail to do so. I am convinced that of all these two titles will focus your time the most.
For the dinosaurs of the arcade, a treat is given by Sky Kid, in which we will take on the role of an aviator at war and we will have to face a series of enemies in a side scrolling shooter that will set the stage for future R-Types and so on.
Always in the shoes of devastating and unpleasant warmongers we find again Tank Force, which will put us at the helm of a tank ready to do battle with his fellow men in the defense of a military garrison.
For those who do not have a videogame culture with extremely solid foundations, titles like Rolling Thunder e Rolling Thunder 2 they will say something. These are side scrolling Spy Stories and with similar settings in which we will play the role of spies infiltrated in the lair of the enemies. Armed with a pistol, limited shots and some power ups to find along the way, we will have to cool down any opponent that gets in front of us.
Both titles offer '80s settings and enemies in full James Bond and Miami Vice style. To understand this, our protagonists will always wear a holster to store the gun, high-necked sweaters and classic trousers rather than fluffy painted hair and stiletto heels. The enemies, on the other hand, will always be hooded: after all, the villain must have a certain style and be clearly recognized.
The Tower of Druaga is a title unknown to most but with a strong story, a futuristic gameplay for the era in which it came out and which has the merit of having influenced the titles of future generations in the field of RPG and dungeon crawling in general. Certainly could not miss this umpteenth Namco Museum.
Last but not least we find Splatterhouse, a title that at the time caused a sensation, a sensation and was immediately surrounded by a large group of admirers. It is one of the first examples of horror games with cinematic references to Friday the 13th and The House with successful and scary atmospheres. Wearing the hockey mask still gives the creeps today!
A word still goes to the customization menus set by Bandai Namco on Nintendo Switch in order to improve the gaming experience. These menus allow you to set the view that best suits your needs and to customize many aspects of the games in question, including commands. The sound is the original one from the development era of the games themselves, an extra treat for lovers of the retro arcade genre.
Namco Museum for Nintendo Switch is yet another attempt by the giant Bandai Namco to re-propose an interesting product with potential with minimal effort. This does not diminish the value of a collection that boasts pearls that we should all play in life: the problem is that we have all already played with it and many already own a copy of these same titles, often on their smartphone; the price of € 29,90 moreover is perhaps a little too high for what the title offers. That said, if you don't have these titles in your collection, you should definitely take the opportunity to buy them.
► NAMCO MUSEUM is an Arcade type game developed and published by Bandai Namco for Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 28/07/2017
