The Bottom Line: Fair collection, seeing as two of the games are downright essential, but price tag seems steep given how cheap they can otherwise be obtained *cough*MAME*cough*
dopple's Full Review: Namco Museum Vol 3 for PlayStation 1
Namco has decided to be very stingy in dealing out it's classic arcade games for the Playstation, which would be frustrating if it weren't so easy to play all these games for free on your computer...
Not only is Namco using the tiniest bit of CD space on each collection - only dishing out a few games per package; but they are spreading the worthwhile titles out among forgetable names nobody really remembers or would care to play in this day & age.
Anyway, vol. 3 is one of the most extreme - it's got 3 of their finest, and 2 of their most worthless.
The three classics are Ms. Pac-Man, Dig Dug & Galaxian.
Ms. Pac-Man was the first sequel in the Pac series and also the most popular of them all, including the original. Whereas the original was fairly easy to master and hasn't stood up as well over time, Ms. Pac-Man is always a challenge and much more varied than it's predocessor. Although I prefer Jr. Pac-Man, which is far larger and harder, it was the last classic Pac-Man title to be released and the least popular due to it's timing so theres little chance that'll see the light of day again. Ms. Pac-Man will do nicely though.
Dig Dug is another classic, although a little more odd - you dig your own mazes in a layered underground environment, while two breeds of monster (pookahs and fygars) chase after you. You can use an air pump to stun or pop them, or lead them under falling rocks for more points. You just gotta get rid of them. It's strange, but another timeless & addictive Namco treasure.
And finally Galaxian. This was the space-shooter that took Space Invaders to a whole new level. Unfortunately for Galaxian, it's sequels (Galaga and Gaplus) kicked it's @ss and have made it rather irrelevant (especially since they appeared over the first two Namco collections). It's a tad monotonous in comparison, but it's still fun, and as the parent game in the series deserves it's classic status.
Rounding off the collection is Phozon and Tower of Druaga, and you probably don't remember them - their not forgotten treasures either. You probably won't spend much time with them now. We needn't talk about them, they're what you might call "padding", so that they could get away with releasing five volumes when they only really had 1 volume of games worth re-releasing.
In fact, one collection like this could have worked fine:
Pac-Man
Ms. Pac-Man
Super Pac-Man
Galaga
Dig Dug
Xevious
Pole Position
Mappy
Rally X
That would have been $20+, filled up a decent portion of the disc, and made it all so simple. Instead, these hits are strewn across the first three Namco Museum CDs, and the last 2 in the series are just depressing volumes made up ONLY of filler.
Anyway, Dig Dug and Ms. Pac-Man make this one worthwhile, while Galaxian is alright but won't get much play if you own either Galaga or Gaplus as well. And maybe if your really bored, you'll try and master the other two...
Namco Museum NamcoMusem 3 Playstation (PS1) New Sealed Great game! Pop Culture Past! I accept Paypal, please pay promptly. We offer multiple shipping ...More at eBay
ALL TIME CLASSIC VOUME 3 VERSION SEVERAL GAMES INSIDE GREAT FOR ALL AGES ALL-TIME FAVORITE HARD GAME TO FIND, Platforms: PlayStation, ESRB Rating: Eve...More at Amazon Marketplace
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.