Namco Museum Virtual Arcade
A 34-game compilation of Namco arcade and Xbox Live Arcade titles.
Namco Museum Virtual Arcade is a video game compilation developed and published by Namco Bandai Games for the Xbox 360. Released in North America in 2008 and in Europe and Japan in 2009, it is part of the Namco Museum series and includes 34 titles. Nine of these are Namco Bandai-published Xbox Live Arcade games, while the rest are arcade games accessible only through the disc.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Namco Bandai Games
- Director
- Todd Thorson
- Platform
- Xbox Live Arcade
- Released
- August 31, 2008 (NA)
- May 15, 2009 (EU)
- May 21, 2009 (AU)
- September 5, 2009 (JP)
- Series
- Namco Museum
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
Facts from the source article.
Games
Namco Museum Virtual Arcade contains 34 games spanning genres such as maze chasers, shoot 'em ups, and platformers. The collection is divided into two sets. The first set includes nine Namco Bandai-published Xbox Live Arcade games, which can be selected from the in-game menu or accessed through the Xbox 360's dashboard when the disc is in the console. These include ports of arcade games like Pac-Man (1980) and Xevious (1983), as well as new sequels such as Pac-Man Championship Edition (2007). The Xbox Live Arcade games feature achievements and online leaderboards. The second set, available only on the disc, comprises 22 Namco arcade games from the 1970s and 1980s plus three Arrangement remakes of Pac-Man, Galaga (1981), and Dig Dug (1982). Players can adjust settings like controller inputs, difficulty, and starting lives. This compilation marked the last inclusion of Ms. Pac-Man (1982) in a Namco Museum release.
Development and release
Namco Bandai Games, through its North American division, put together Namco Museum Virtual Arcade for the Xbox 360. Todd Thorson, the marketing director, acted as project director. The goal was to create the biggest and most complete collection in the Namco Museum series, giving players an easy and cheap way to access older titles. It was the first Namco Museum to feature Sky Kid Deluxe, which had only come out in Japan before on a Windows disc called Namco Collection Vol. 1. The three Arrangement games were lifted from the PSP release Namco Museum Battle Collection, then scaled up and tweaked for high-definition visuals and better audio. To show the company could make solid sequels to its classic arcade games, the compilation also included Pac-Man Championship Edition, Galaga Legions, and Mr. Driller Online. The game was announced at E3 in 2008, hit North America on November 4 that year, and arrived in Europe on May 15, 2009, Australia on May 21, 2009, and Japan on November 5, 2009. In Europe, Metro-Cross was called Retro-Cross instead.
Reception
Namco Museum Virtual Arcade received mixed or average reviews, holding a 63/100 on Metacritic. It sold 5,912 copies in Japan by the end of 2009, making it one of the worst-selling Namco Museum games in the country. Critics generally approved of the game selection. Steve Hannley of GamesRadar+ called it a gleaming golden treasure with bits of tarnish. Pac-Man Championship Edition and Galaga Legions were considered highlights; Pixelpirate of Jeuxvideo.com recommended the collection for those games alone. The inclusion of the Xbox Live Arcade library was praised as helping make the purchase worthwhile. Among the Museum games, Dragon Spirit, Pole Position, and Metro-Cross were standouts. Don Francis of GameSpot felt the library relied too heavily on Pac-Man games but still offered a good selection. Ryan Geddes of IGN noted that most games appeared in past Namco Museum collections and suggested those might be preferable. The presentation drew largely negative responses. The menu layout was criticized as needlessly complicated and difficult to navigate, with Francis and a Retro Gamer reviewer expressing frustration. Pixelpirate found the menu difficult to use but praised its minimalist art style and background music. The lack of extras like developer interviews or artwork scans was criticized by Geddes, who compared it unfavorably to collections such as Activision Anthology. Some disliked the controls for certain games, though this was attributed to the Xbox 360's directional pad rather than the compilation itself.
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