June2009

  • Review The Munchables (Wii)

    Who would have thought eating your fruits and vegetables would be so much fun?

    We've already seen some strange stuff from Namco-Bandai in the past with their Katamari Damacy releases, but they appear to have outdone even themselves with their latest oddball outing for the Nintendo Wii console. The Munchables carefully weaves a zany world full of...

March2009

  • Review The Tower of Druaga (Arcade)

    Scale a skyscraper to rescue your lost love in The Tower of Druaga.

    The Tower of Druaga is a moderately infamous arcade game. As the knight Gil (Who is really Gilgamesh) you must work your way up a gigantic 60-floor tower to rescue your beloved princess Ki from the clutches of the evil Druaga. Each floor is quite literally a maze - Your objective on...

  • Review Gaplus (Arcade)

    Remember the timeless classic, Galaga? Say hello to its successor, as the arcade version of Gaplus hits Virtual Console!

    When Galaga first burst onto the scene back in 1981, it garnered almost instant popularity due to its intense shooting action and almost endless level of variety and challenge. Gone were the days where a fixed group of aliens...

  • Review Mappy (Arcade)

    It's a cat-and-mouse game like no other as you take control of Mappy, a brave police-mouse.

    Arguably the most popular game in the first batch of arcade releases, Mappy follows the formula of other succesful titles of the time, including Namco's own Pac-Man - Your job is to collect objects while avoiding all enemies. The premise is that a gang of...

  • Review We Ski & Snowboard (Wii)

    Looks like We Ski & Snowboard hit a tree before it managed to reach the bottom of the slope

    Back in May 2008, Namco Bandai released the first third-party game to incorporate Nintendo’s Wii Balance Board. Though the game was a huge hit for Namco Bandai when it came to sales, it was received rather poorly by many game critics. Many cited the game as...

August2008

  • Review Splatterhouse 2 (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)

    Rick, once again encounters the Terror Mask and must use its powers to rescue his beloved Jennifer.

    Rick is back! After the Terror Mask from the first Splatterhouse comes back and tells him his girlfriend (Who seemingly meets an unpleasant fate in the first game) can still be saved, Rick puts on the mask again, and goes back to the remains of the...

June2008

  • Review Dig Dug (Wii Virtual Console / NES)

    Do we dig it?

    Pac-Man wasn't the only popular arcade game Namco made. Aside from Galaga, Mappy, and others, there was also Dig Dug. In Dig Dug, your objective is to dig through the earth's soil and eliminate the monsters lurking within it. You can move through the soil (Thus creating tunnels) by simply moving around, but defeating the monsters is...

May2008

  • Review Sky Kid (Wii Virtual Console / NES)

    We're not kidding

    Sky Kid is a NES port of the arcade game with the same name. You play as the Red Baron or Blue Max, both famous World War I pilots. Your mission is to fly through hordes of enemy formations, pick up a bomb, and drop it on the enemy's headquarters or main weapon. It is noteworthy that in this game, unlike most shoot 'em ups, you go...

March2008

  • Review Powerball (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)

    Who will be the powerball champ?

    This forgotten futuristic sports game by Namco undoubtedly takes some inspiration from Speedball 2, which was really popular at the time. The basic premise is that Powerball is a futuristic sport that takes the brutal elements of rugby or American football and mixes them with soccer. You can play as eight different...

December2007

  • Review Rolling Thunder 2 (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)

    Bring the thunder!

    Rolling Thunder 2 is a conversion of Namco’s 1990 sequel to its original James Bond themed Shinobi-like game. The Megadrive home version is faithful to the arcade original in terms of gameplay and features a few improvements, including cut scenes between levels that feature some lovely artwork, 3 additional stages and some new...

October2007

  • Review Samurai Ghost (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)

    This action platformer features a samurai ghost from the depths of the underworld.

    The ghost of a samurai? Surely this must be awesome! Unfortunately, the truth is far from it. You play the ghost of a samurai who has returned to avenge himself. Thankfully the game information tells us this, as the main character looks nothing like a samurai. Your...

August2007

  • Review Galaga '90 (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)

    Galaga in the 90s

    This game started out life as Galaga ’88 in the arcades and saw a conversion to the Japanese PC Engine under the same name. Understandably in the two years it took to get released in North America the name needed incrementing so it didn't appear too out-dated but the excellent gameplay remains intact. Sequels to classic games...

July2007

  • Review Dragon Spirit (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)

    A fantastic world of adventure unfolds in this vertical-scrolling shooter.

    Throughout the history of shooting games we've faced a hell of a lot of alien rebels and futuristic baddies. The 2D shooter seems to lend itself to these situations - but it's always nice to see a company try something fresh and new. The PC Engine/TG-16 blast-a-thon Dragon...

April2007

  • Review Pac-Man (Wii Virtual Console / NES)

    Gobble gobble

    He may be as old as the hills but Pac-Man still manages to entertain after all these years. We've been relying on one of those Namco 'plug in' TV games for my pill-popping fix, but thanks to the Virtual Console that battery-hungry gadget can be retired. For those not acquainted with the premise of the game — what cave have you been...

  • Review Gunpey DS (DS)

    The Wonderswan puzzler is reborn on the DS - but has Mizuguchi's Q Entertainment done enough to elevate it to truly classic status?

    When Gameboy creator Gunpei Yokoi was tragically killed in a car accident in 1997 he was working on what he saw as the successor to Nintendo’s machine – the bizarrely named ‘Wonderswan’. When the handheld was...

March2007

  • Review Splatterhouse (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)

    Ah Splatter J!

    Heavily inspired by the Jason Voorhees character from the Friday the 13th films so popular in the 80's this game is a hockey mask wearing, butcher knife wielding gorefest! For those who aren't familiar with the game it is basically a 2D scrolling fighter. Unlike it's contemporaries like Double Dragon (and it's Megadrive sequels) the...

  • Review Galaga (Wii Virtual Console / NES)

    Classic blasting action

    The NES version of Galaga is a almost perfect port of the timeless arcade classic. Like space invaders you control a ship at the bottom of the screen and blast away at oncoming enemies. The enemies in Galaga first fly in and line up in formation and then dive-bomb at you while firing sometimes in predictable patterns and...

January2007

  • Review Xevious (Wii Virtual Console / NES)

    Golden oldie

    Following its success with Pac-Man and Galaga in the arcades, it seemed that Namco was unstoppable. The release of Xevious only helped to cement this idea: it was first one of the earliest examples of a vertical scrolling shooter and innovative for its time. The action in Xevious takes place on two parallel plains; your spacecraft gets...

July2006

  • Review Point Blank DS (DS)

    Dr. Don & Dr. Dan return to our screens, breaking free from the PlayStation universe and emerging on the DS.

    For those that don't know, Namco's Point Blank series originated as an arcade title back in 1994 along with its partner in crime, Time Crisis. Both games were ported over to the PlayStation using the fashionable G-Con 45 light gun. Point...

May2006

  • Review Pac N Roll (DS)

    Pac's on a roll, with no self-control

    Everyone knows Pac-man from his highly addictive debut arcade game, but for a while now Pac-man has been taking a walk on the wild side and venturing into the world of 3D. So it came as no surprise to see that the yellow gobbler has made it onto another DS game, this time 3D. And Thus starts the Pac 'n Roll...

January2006

  • Review Pac-Pix (DS)

    Draw Pac-Man, move him and gobble as many ghoulies as possible in this DS adventure.

    We all remember Pac-Man as being one of those highly addictive early games that you still play to this day. Recently he has been going through some changes, there are now several 3D adventures and a Mrs Pac-Man ;). Pac-Pix sees Pac-Man back on a 2D plain but this...

December2005

  • Review Tales of Symphonia (GameCube)

    Ever wondered what would happen if the core of an RPG was merged with a fluent combat system? Namco did.

    If there is one genre of games that has been weak on the GameCube it is most defiantly RPG’s. Many gamers are deterred by the Final Fantasy style turn based systems and plentiful random battles -- there is just not enough action. Back in early...