I love retro games. Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection is an amzing game even though there are a few stinkers on there. Can Namco Bandai pull of the same trick here with all their classics? Of course they have.

You're getting 25 and more Namco's 1980s releases. 5 of them have been on an Xbox release before but some of the others have been on the PS2. Seen as this is a compilation game I'll give a mini review of each of the games.

Baraduke is a side scrolling shooter that puts you in different rooms with lots of enemies. When you've killed all the enemies you go to the next room. This one isn't that bad but it's incredibly challenging as you only have 2 hit points and the controls are quite floaty so it's quite hard to aim to shoot. Probably won't play it again though.

Bosconian is like Asteroids, an arcade shooter basically. You pilot a small ship along 8 different directions and you must destroy multipart space stations. You can fire from both front and rear which was quite innovative for the time. The only way you can destroy a space station is a direct shot in the centre which is pretty tough. Once you've got used to the controls this is great fun.

It's time for the first well known title, Dig Dug 2. It's a departure from the original because the levels take place above ground and not underground. This sequel isn't as challenging as the original but not as fun. Give it a go for nostalgia reasons.

Another Dig Dug game, Dig Dug Arrangement. This is a remake of the original and it's just horrible. The graphics are horrible, the music terrible and the sprites are horrible. In fact all the Arrangement games on here, including Pac Man and Galaga, can be avoided.

It's hard to compare Dragon Buster to anything but I've found something. Think Zelda 2, the sidescrolling one, and you're there even though Dragon Buster predates it. It's got a hub world, lots of dungeons which all of the bosses are dragons hence the name. It's a bit dated but still good fun.

And now I have one of the stars of the package. Dragon Spirit is a top down shooter. The music is fantastic, the gameplay is fun but challenging and the difficulty is perfectly balanced. It's a retro game that I'd never heard of before this.

Here comes a classic. Galaga 88 doesn't need many words. It's a shooter. It's the update to an already great shooter and now it's even better. I keep drawing myself to it.



Galaxian isn't really needed with Galaga 88 on the list so you won't play this much.

Grobda is a decent tank fighter game. Each map has it's own quirks to keep things challenging. There's a unique thing that happens though. When you destroy a tank there's a blast radius and anything in that radius gets destroyed. A standard now but back then amazing. It won't hold your attention for long.

King and Balloon is an odd take on Galaga. There's a king below you and the enemies will try and pick him up. If he does you will lose a life. It's good fun and you soon forget it's quite like Galaga.

Mappy is a very unique game. You play as a police officer mouse trying to retrive some stolen goods from some cats in a mansion. It's a maze based game and if you touch the cat it's instant death. This is one of our favourite games in the package.

I really don't want to mention Tower of Druaga but I have to. Simply put it's bland and boring and I never want to see that name again.

Metro Cross is great fun. You control a runner who goes over a side scrolling corridor hopping over barrels, slime pits collecting skateboards and cans. Time trial enthusiasts will lap this one up.

If you've played The World Ends With You (And I highly recommend you do) and played the Ten Pin Slammer mini game then you have played Motos. For anyone who hasn't here's what you do. You control a ball knocking off enemies off a platform. This is great fun.

I don't need to explain Pac Man. You go around a maze eating stuff avoiding the ghosts. It's brilliant.

Pole Position hasn't aged very well sadly. It was one of the first arcade racers and was good fun but it isn't that fun now.

Rally X may sound like a rally version of Pole Position but it's more like Pac Man. It lacks the charm of Pac Man but it's just as fun.

Rolling Thunder is in my opinion the best game on the compilation. The graphics are impressive for the time and it's great fun. You play as an agent going through levels. Enemies will come out of doors and try to gun you to death but hopefully you'll kill them first. Amazing.

Sky Kid is anice twist on side scrolling shooters. As well as trying to destroy everything there is you have to land safely at the end of each level. It's not that hard to pull off but it adds more depth. It's a side scrolling shooter so it's an amazing challenge.

There's some heavy presentation issues that are hard to ignore. Having to go off the game to get to the special XBLA titles included is annoying and the menu is bare bones

Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade is a great compilation. It lacks the star quality and top notch presentation of Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection but any 1980s arcade lovers will lap this one up. Recommended.