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| Namco TV Games Jakks Pacific $24.95 Imagine you could play some of your favourite old arcade games without having to buy an expensive PC or games console. Sounds great? Well, today you can do just that, with Jakks Pacific's Namco TV Games. |  |
 | So, how does this work, then? Well, you buy this unit, which comes with the necessary leads for you to plug it into your TV. Then, you put four 'AA' batteries into the unit, and switch it on. If you've got the TV tuned correctly, then Robert's your father's brother. It's as simple as that. But does simple, in this case, mean good? Let's find out. |
| Once you've got everything turned on and hooked up correctly, you'll be faced with a simple menu screen. The title logo of each game will be displayed on a 'spacey' background, which looks pretty nice and effective. From there, you move the joystick up or down to select the game you wish to play, and press the fire button to start. It's so easy that even the biggest technophobic could manage it. Now, let's go through the games, one at a time. |  |
 | The first game on the menu is PacMan, which means that dots and ghosts are on the menu! Undoubtedly one of the most famous video games of all time, it's great to see this on the TV. The first thing you notice is the screen layout - Jakks Pacific have changed the screens so that the scores are on the side of the screen. This enables the actual game screen to fit better on the TV. Not a bad idea, and not one that interferes with the game at all. PacMan plays pretty well with the four-way joystick, although I'm not sure if the original patterns have been retained. The graphics are good, being similar if not identical to the arcade version. The sound, though, is a huge disappointment. When you think of classic arcade sounds, you think of PacMan chomping his way around mazes, and although these sounds are in the spirit of the original, they are NOT the original, and that detracts a lot from the enjoyment of the experience. I'm not sure how much this will upset someone that hasn't played the game for years, but it's truly disappointing to a video game afficionado. |
| Next up is another bona-fide classic, Galaxian. It's the classic shooter where you move your ship from side to side, repelling the swarms of enemy ships for as long as you are able. Almost 25 years old, the arcade game hasn't lost any appeal in all that time. Unfortunately, the translation here is the most disappointing of the five. The graphics are fairly similar, so things look OK, but as soon as the intro tune starts the disappointment sets in. It just doesn't sound anything like Galaxian. This is another game that is synonymous with arcade sounds, and here they are just poorly replicated. The classic shooting sound is gone, replaced by a poor white noise effect, and the alien destruction sounds are nothing like the originals either. Even the gameplay is different, with enemies peeling off differently than they did in the arcades, actually turning inside from the top of the screen where in the arcade version they always turned out. Galaxian, arguably the best arcade game of the five here, turns out to be the worst translation and most disappointing for me. |  |
 | The third game in this package is Rally X. This one looks a lot like the original game, and it plays very well. The object of the game is to collect all of the flags in the maze, whilst avoiding the attentions of the other rally cars and also the rocks that are littered about the maze. Yet again, this is a real classic, and a great addition to this unit. The four-way stick again adds to the fun, giving fairly precise controls, and this version has a similar difficulty level to the arcade game. One big difference is wiith the map. Here, it is transparent, on the main screen, instead of at the side. Odd, considering the width of a TV screen. It doesn't affect play too much though. Again, the sound is nowhere near accurate, but despite this Rally X probably comes out the best of all the games here. |
| Well, after that, we move on to Dig Dug. Again, we have one of the more well respected games of yesteryear. Dig your way through levels of dirt, avoiding Pooka and Fygar. Use your air pump to blow them up, or lure them under rocks then drop them on their head. Squish! Dig Dug translates reasonably well, the game again benefitting playability-wise from the four-way joystick. It does seem a little more difficult than it should be. The characters all look almost as cute as the arcade originals, which is nice. The sound is the low point again, although it is fairly reminiscent of the arcade original. If you can stick at it and get to be good at the game, it's pretty good fun. |  |
 | Finally, we come to Bosconian. Blast your way through rocks, mines and enemy ships to blow up the space stations. Now this is an interesting choice. Not only is it far less well known than the other games, but it also requires an eight-way joystick to play it properly. The fact that this stick only moves in four directions makes you wonder why they would even consider it for inclusion. However, after a couple of games you realise that it's actually good fun, even with that limitation. One thing that's not good fun is the incredibly irritating sound in this game. Obviously, going by the other games, they couldn't have had the original Bosconian speech in there, but just to REALLY irritate you, they've got the "Condition Red" alert sound playing ALL THE TIME! Believe me, that doesn't make the game feel more frantic! |
 As far as the unit itself is concerned, it's quite nice. It looks really good, like a mini arcade cabinet with this big arcade stick standing proud. It does feel as though it might break easily, although mine remains intact even after a 3 year old has played with it, but it does make some disconcerting noises at times. Also, it's not the most accurate stick you'll ever use. The length of travel is a bit long and it occasionally doesn't register.It does seem like I'm being overly harsh on this. I feel that hardcore retro gamers will be disappointed by it, but it's a really good idea, and for those that aren't so picky about the level of detail in the games, this will be brilliant fun. It's also extremely portable, and you can play it in almost any house that's got a TV. I do recommend it somewhat, as it would go down really well as a family Christmas present, but hardened gamers will probably only be interested for novelty reasons. MOZ |
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