In my review for Atari 50’s ‘The First Console War’ DLC, I said that Digital Eclipse had “seemingly completed its mission to present the most comprehensive interactive documentary on Atari possible”. Note the word “seemingly”! Yes, we’re back with another expansion – The Namco Legendary Pack – which adds a further 12 playable games to the mix along with a new documentary timeline observing the formation of Namco and its rapid ascent in Japan.

Once again, we have a selection of interviews, archival footage, documents, and 3D models to peruse in a timeline covering events from 1955 all the way to 1986. We get to see photos of a 29-year-old Masaya Nakamura as he founded the company that would later become Namco, while Atari founder Nolan Bushnell provides key anecdotal context as to why his company wound up selling its Atari Japan subsidiary to Namco a little over a year after its formation.

Tod Frye, the designer of Pac-Man on Atari VCS, provides a few key interviews and gives a glimpse into the game’s development process, including why the ghosts ‘flicker’. Galaxian designer Mark Ackerman also crops up to give wonderful context behind the creation of the game alongside Glenn Parker. That’s pretty much it in terms of interviews, but there’s a ton of commercials, posters, photos, and artwork for every game included.

I especially enjoyed looking at some of the unused artwork, particularly the original box art for Pac-Man on the VCS. Designed by Hiro Kimura, it depicts our hero as a shiny robot wearing a green vest top, while the ghosts are instead giant, slobbering monsters. It’s a shame this wasn’t utilised in some way, to be honest. Similarly, we’re treated to a stunning look at the original Galaxian artwork for the 5200 from artist Jim Kelly, and I mourn the fact that we just don’t get covers like this anymore.

In terms of playable titles, there's Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Galaxian, Galaga, and Xevious across various Atari platforms. This is perhaps a first for Atari 50, but this DLC doesn’t include any duds – every game is well worth playing. Dig Dug would go on influence the enduring Mr. Driller series, while Xevious is responsible for laying the groundwork for countless shmups to come, including RayForce and TwinBee.

Pac-Man is the star of the expansion, mind you, with variants available on 8-Bit, 2600, and 5200. It’s fascinating to see what kind of compromises Atari had to make to bring the arcade original to the VCS, while the 8Bit and 5200 versions amped up the quality in terms of visual presentation and audio. Plus, y’know… it’s Pac-Man. I could play Pac-Man all day.

I’d like to say that this is a perfect way to cap off the numerous expansions for Atari 50, but who knows if this is the end. There’s still so much history that hasn’t been touched, and while license restrictions will no doubt prove a huge barrier for Atari and Digital Eclipse, I sincerely hope there’s more to come.