Namco Museum 

MANUFACTURER WARRANTY: 90 DAYS

Nothing lends itself better to portable gaming than the arcade classics. They're addictive, replayable, and fun--plus it's nice not to have to pump endless streams of quarters into them. That's what makes Namco Museum such a must-have title for the Game Boy Advance system. People too young, or too impatient, to enjoy a good coin-op had better stop reading now.

Like the PlayStation and N64 versions, Namco has packed a few of its best games onto the cartridge. For the GBA we get only five titles (four are listed on the front of the box, but Galaxian is also included). We have two versions of Ms. Pac-Man (one that shows the whole maze but is dreadfully small, and another that scrolls), Galaga, Pole Position, and Dig Dug. They are lovingly ported, complete with all the music and sound effects intact. What we don't get is the amusing Museum portion and trivia found on other versions.

Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga are the real winners here. Both are perfect renditions complete with all the extras (music, colors, sound effects, and bonus stages/cartoons). The controls on these two are also perfect. Pole Position is amusing, but features twitchy controls and pales in comparison to other GBA racing games. Galaxian, on the surface, seems the same as its sequel, Galaga, but it isn't. The fire rate is much slower, so the pace of the game is different. Galaga is certainly better, but Galaxian is a nice addition regardless. Dig Dug is a classic, pure and simple, and it still plays well. It rounds out the collection nicely.

Arcade fans, especially those who used to line up (or line their quarters on the machine) to play these games, will be very pleased with Namco Museum. Those unimpressed with retro gaming probably won't be converted. However, here's hoping we see more arcade classics in the future, because I can't think of a better platform for these than the Game Boy Advance. --Andrew S. Bub

Pros:

• Perfect recreations of arcade classics
• A nice, diverse slate of games
• Nice of them to include two versions of Ms. Pac-Man

Cons:

• Pole Position isn't so hot anymore
• No Museum features, such as trivia questions