Series Review: Ridge Racer

Ridge Racer is an arcade racing game which focuses on drifting around corners to win races. There are other elements introduced in other games in the series, but this is the main idea of the series. I don't own the original Ridge Racer for Playstation and there are a few other gaps in the chronology but I'll be exploring all the instalments that I own. While most of the early series was exclusive to Playstation there have been games for the Nintendo 64, Xbox 360, and 3DS.

Game: Ridge Racer Revolution
Console: Sony Playstation
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 3rd December 1995

While games in 1995 weren't as complex and replayable as they are today, Ridge Racer Revolution immediately presents an issue in terms of the amount there is to do. Players can choose from 3 tracks, in 3 modes, with a selection of 4 cars initially. While there are reversed versions of each track, and some more cars can be unlocked later, one race on each track in Race Mode is the entirety of the main gameplay. After winning a race, the Game Over screen appears and the game starts again, expecting players to clear each of the races and time trial mode, before it's literally 100% complete.

This is a shockingly small amount of content to offer players, and coming from later games like Ridge Racer Type 4 (which was still on the original Playstation), it's very disappointing. The racing action too is less enjoyable with horrible collision physics causing players to lose a lot of speed from hitting other cars or barriers even slightly. Drifting also seems to be less effective with very few points where it doesn't slow players down more than cornering normally.

Graphically the game could be a lot better though it's not bad for its time; cars and environments look very blocky and in faster sections there can be quite a lot of flicker. The sounds of the game are one of its worst points; while the music is reminiscent of the Prodigy's first album with a lot of dance style tunes, the voice over is far too present in giving feedback like "Ha ha, you're too slow" or "Come on, you've got to speed up!" when players are doing just fine in catching their opponents.

Even as a fan of the Ridge Racer series, Revolution is especially weak in terms of content, gameplay, sound and appearance. There's no area in which it excels and it can only really be excused in terms of being an early Playstation title. Other than this it offers literally minutes of fun for players, very little replayability and a yearning for the series to move on to a later format like that of Type 4.

Rating: 46/100
Grade: D

Game: Rage Racer
Console: Sony Playstation
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 30th April 1997

Rage Racer is perhaps the strangest instalment in the entire Ridge Racer series. For a start it's name is different to that of the rest of the series, and gave me the impression that it was some sort of parody/budget rip off for a while. Secondly the driving style is far more series and drifts are almost useless except for on the sharpest of turns, and lastly despite a complete change of handling, the game expected players to be as fast as ever on fairly difficult and technical tracks. While the cars in the game feel far more weighty and grip heavy than in Ridge Racer Revolution, the collision engine still hasn't been fixed, and hitboxes seem larger than ever, meaning that there are plenty of collisions with other cars, and the scenery which feel odd, and result in players losing a ton of speed. A consequence of this is that the races are near impossible to win, and even when passing a car from 2nd place, the counter doesn't hit 1st (it's possible it's just a lapped car, but it happened to me more than once).

The career mode finally features more than just an arcade run through a couple of races as players earn credits for finishing in the top 3 with which they can upgrade their cars and enter higher classes of race. While this is an exciting system, it does rather assume that the game isn't massively difficult to win at even in the easiest races. Between the heavier steering and the collision physics races are more than challenging and this can be frustrating enough to put players off entirely.

Graphically the game is the best in the series yet and features far more detail in its locations and cars than previous games. There's even night/day changes as players go around tracks which are more distracting than nice, but still a remarkable feature. Musically there's the same sort of music as in Ridge Racer Revolution, with dance and techno overtones but for some reason it's more bearable alongside the less abrasive female announcer.

Overall Rage Racer doesn't fix many of the glaring issues with the games but instead adds a heap of difficulty, and a more replayable Grand Prix mode. With better visuals and sound come more potential enjoyment, but anyone who's played the final instalment of the series on the Playstation knows that Ridge Racer Type 4 is even better.

Rating: 62/100
Grade: C

I've already reviewed Ridge Racer: Type 4, find my review here!

Game: Ridge Racer V
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 24th November 2000

Ridge Racer V was a release game for the PS2 and from the outset seems like an updated and improved version of the Ridge Racer formula. There are 5 Grand Prix, featuring different variations of 7 tracks, and 21 vehicles to drive. the vehicles are separated into Drift and Grip categories which handle differently to eachother. Personally I find the Drift cars in this instalment far too easy to spin, so Grip is the obvious choice. In terms of the main mode (and that's all there really is to do, in game except for Time Trials and Free Runs, until players have unlocked everything), players compete in Grand Prix which consist of 4 races each. Players must place at least  4th in the 1st race, 3rd in the 2nd race and so on, until they have to win the final race to pass the Grand Prix. There are some interesting tracks and scenery, but nothing like the story featured in the main mode of Type 4.

The worst thing about the game seems to be the fact that the d-pad is the only method of controlling the car's direction. The analog sticks aren't supported, which forces players to drive a little differently than normal, making the game harder to beat. The collision physics also haven't been updated too much and still can ruin a good run with the slightest collision with a car or a wall. The AI are fairly competent and usually require a good run to beat, which means the racing action featured in the game is at least competitive and interesting.

Graphically the game is the best Ridge Racer so far; unsurprising given the leap in console technology for this game. There are far worse looking launch games for the Playstation 2, and there are impressive little details featured in the game like the shadows in the glass building in the picture above. The soundtrack is a strange mix of rock music and a departure from the music featured in the series so far. A DJ talks inbetween, and over tracks whilst players are racing, but this is less distracting that some of the voice overs featured in earlier games.

Overall Ridge Racer V is a fairly shallow game, with only 5 Grand Prix, though there are some fun special races which can be unlocked. The racing action is bearable, and though it's not perfect, players should be able to have at least some fun with the game. For the first "modern" Ridge Racer game, there's some good ideas, and if there'd been another main series instalment on the Playstation 2, I'm sure it'd have cemented these ideas into a much better experience.

Rating: 63/100
Grade: C

Game: R:Racing
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 9th December 2003

Instead of releasing another main series instalment in the Ridge Racer series, Namco decided that a spin-off game, featuring  Rena Hayami, a new character, in a story based career mode was the best way forwards. In 14 chapters of racing action, players guide Rena through many different types of racing; apparently her skills as an ambulance driver impressed a race team owner enough to give her a spot in a professional race series. The game features licensed tracks and vehicles (which is new for the series), and spans rally racing, drag racing and the Japan Grand Touring Car Championship.

The game's handling can be described as simcade; a mix between the styles featured in arcade and simulation gaming. Unlike previous Ridge Racer games, braking is necessary before corners and drifting is ineffectual, but it's still very easy to lose control with late braking, especially in some cars. There's a huge difference between the handling of cars in the game, and besides a Fiat 500, Bentley Speed 8 and Audi LMP car, most of them are fairly frustrating to drive around tracks to some degree.

Graphically the game is reminiscent of Gran Turismo, albeit at a slightly lower quality level. There are a few circuits which feature in both games, so it's an easy comparison between the two. The cars themselves look a little too featureless and shiny for what they're supposed to be, There's an interesting selection of electronic music on the soundtrack and it's more fitting for the series than the music featured in Ridge Racer V.

Overall R:Racing doesn't really know what it wants to be; spanning the line between Toca and Gran Turismo in its concept, and yet providing very fiddly and frustrating handling. For fans of the Ridge Racer series, this game features too many elements of simulation games, and much less drift-based handling, yet fans of simulation games already had Gran Turismo 3 to keep them satisfied, so I'm not quite sure what Namco were going for.

Rating: 58/100
Grade: D

Game: Ridge Racer
Console: Sony Playstation Portable
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 1st September 2005

Ridge Racer for the PSP is an example of a handheld game done right; the game features 12 tracks, with forward and reverse variants, 2 of which are from each of the original Playstation Ridge Racer titles, with a further 2 from Rave Racer, an arcade title, and the final 2 loosely based on Rave Raver tracks. This means that fans of the series should at least be familiar with some of the tracks featured in game.

The World Tour mode has 40 tours, made up of different combinations of tracks with between 2 and 6 courses per tour. with a different car classes and requirements in each tour. There's a good selection of original cars to be found and unlocked, but the real draw of the game is that the handling and drifting finally works perfectly, just like in Ridge Racer Type 4, if not even better. Drifting around corners fills the 3 nitrous bars onscreen which can be used to great effect during races to gain first place.

Graphically the game looks good on the small screen on the PSP but perhaps a little worse when it's shown in a larger resolution. While the cars are a little blocky, the tracks and other details are generally good. The collision physics of the other games remain, if a little toned down, but the improved handling makes up for it. There's a large amount of music from previous Ridge Racer games as well as some new tracks, most of which are great for racing to.

Overall Ridge Racer for PSP was undoubtedly the best game in the series at its time of release. While it lacked the story mode interest of Ridge Racer Type 4, the improvements and upgrades as well as the retrospective mood put the game in a league of it's own. If anything there's a bit too much to do, with 40 tours to clear, but dedicated players will get their money's worth.

Rating: 81/100
Grade: B

Game: Ridge Racer 2
Console: Sony Playstation Portable
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 13th October 2006

Perhaps one of the laziest sequels ever released, Ridge Racer 2 on the PSP is almost identical to the game released the previous year. Sure, there are a few more cars, and a few more tracks, perhaps even a couple more modes to play, but the career mode progression, game engine and graphics engine are exactly the same as Ridge Racer. There's literally no point owning the first game if you don't already, just skip to this one.

The handling is predictably good, just like that of the first game; drifting is easily achieved and the nitrous bars are easy to fill. The AI gets fairly tough in later Grand Prix, and the more powerful cars are more difficult to handle and drive. There's very little in terms of differences from how career mode played out in the first game, if the cars and tracks could have been released as DLC, that'd have been a far better decision.

Graphically there's no difference from the first handheld instalment on the PSP, in fact many of the cars and tracks are the same, so it's easy to tell that little to no effort has been put into improving the look of the game. The soundtrack features a mix of songs from other instalments and new songs, and is probably the most changed aspect of the entire sequel.

Overall although Ridge Racer 2 as a standalone is a perfectly good game, and probably the better of the two PSP games, it's almost offensive to gamers how little was changed between releases. For those who bought both games on release, there must have been a moment of sheer disappointment upon realising they essentially already owned the content of Ridge Racer 2. For gamers who have yet to buy either game, this is the one to go for, though.

Rating: 81/100
Grade: B

Game: Ridge Racer 3D
Console: Nintendo 3DS
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 22nd March 2011

Ridge Racer 3D was a launch title for the 3DS, mirroring the fact that Ridge Racer games had been launch titles for Playstation, Playstation 2, and 3. The only previous instalment of the series on a Nintendo console had been Ridge Racer 64. In terms of gameplay advancements, there's really not a lot of new features in the game, but the added 3D effect which the console makes use of is an interesting addition.

The handling of the game is much the same as the previous 3 instalments of the series, with good drifting and general handling featured. Grand Prix mode features a tree of possible race options, meaning that players don't have to complete every Grand Prix to get through a level. With 4 races per Grand Prix and a ton of choice though, things can get a little too repetitive with long play sessions. A new feature of this game is avatars for each racer, above their head, based on classic Namco characters.

Graphically the game isn't as sharp as the PS3 instalment, but does well with it's 3D mode as well as with the 3D turned off. The overall sense of speed is good, and the heads up display is somewhat clearer than in other games, though the avatars of other players can get in the way sometimes. Musically there's a huge selection of new and previous in-game music, which is good, though it's often overshadowed by the 'encouragement' of the in-game announcer who pipes up far too often.

Overall Ridge Racer 3D is a nice addition to the 3DS launch line up and not a bad game per se, though there's no real innovation in terms of the series gameplay. While different nitrous modes can be used, and there are advantages which can be bought before races to help players get a headstart, I'd have much preferred a different race type, tournaments or a storyline of some kind.

Rating: 76/100
Grade: B

Game: Ridge Racer 7
Console: Sony Playstation 3
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 23rd March 2007

As the seventh main series instalment in the series, Ridge Racer 7 almost had to change up its career mode a little from the frankly lacklustre Ridge Racer V on PS2. Since I don't own Ridge Racer 6 on the Xbox 360, it's hard to tell when the switch occurred, but career mode on Ridge Racer 7 is much different to anything reviewed thus far. As a launch title for the PS3, the graphics are a good showcase of what could be done with the system at launch, and the racing engine feels easy to control.

In career mode players have the choice of 3 event types; Grand Prix series which have been the mainstay of the Ridge Racer series for a long time, Manufacturer Races in order to earn cars and parts for use in races and UFRA races which have special conditions and types and earn players money and fame. Whilst the AI difficulty cranks up to almost cheating levels pretty quickly, the racing action is fun and there's a great deal more choice in terms of race types and things to do than many other games from the series.

Graphically the game looks very nice with impressive lighting and location effects combining with the HD graphics to provide a truly visually pleasing experience. Unfortunately the sense of speed given by the game lets it down a little, as 200mph can feel the equivalent of 50mph on some stretches of road. The nitrous boosts give a much faster feel, but don't last particularly long as they use the same system as the PSP games. Ridge Racer 7's soundtrack is a little disappointing; though there are some good tracks, they're outweighed by the mediocre and a couple of truly unbearable tracks.

Overall the game feels like a fresh HD kickstart for the series, building on previous instalments to provide a deeper career mode and visually exciting tracks and cars. The racing action is very much enjoyable though the AI rubberbanding can ruin races at times. It's definitely worth giving a go, even if you're not a racing fan, since the easy handling and fun of drifting are pretty much universally enjoyable, even if the formula still wears thin after lengthy playsessions.

Rating: 83/100
Grade: B

Game: Ridge Racer Unbounded
Console: Microsoft Xbox 360
Developer: Bugbear Entertainment
Release Date: 30th March 2012

The latest game in the Ridge Racer series, Unbounded's main theme seems to be that of indecisiveness. Firstly it can't decide whether it wants to be Need for Speed or Burnout more, featuring street racing with "fragging" which is basically a codeword for takedowns, secondly it can't decide whether to fully part ways with the old Ridge Racer formula, still leaving drifting in the game, but making it feel awful in terms of the handling model and not letting players corner without it. Lastly many of the Burnout-esque options such as the takedown cam can be switched off in the menu, as if they weren't sure whether players would like the new tone of the game.

With destructible environments, city based street racing and a star rating system for dominating events, you'd be forgiven for wondering what series this game came from if you didn't already know. Existing fans of the Ridge Racer series are presented with a game more foreign to them than an imported RPG. For the first main series game not developed by Namco themselves, this is a pretty huge departure from the happy and relaxed mood of the rest of the games.

Being the open minded gamer that I am however, I was willing to give the game a chance; the career mode is based around many city districts which unlock as events are dominated by finishing first. There are many different types of events in the game such as Dominator Races, Drift Races, Shindo races (more on these later), Time Trials and Frag Challenges. All events are based on a 3 star rating system where usually finishing 1st gains 3 stars and so on, until finishing 4th counts as failing the event.

The driving and racing itself feels pretty horrible, the car's handling is almost straight line based, and any preconceived ideas of cornering players may have had before playing the game are shattered as the cars will literally refuse to corner without a drift being initiated. This is Ridge Racer though, so players should be used to this. Except the drift system has changed massively and is far less arcade based now.

Winning events seems to be basically random; in any events which aren't Shindo or Drift racing, there are destructible parts of the environment like car dealerships, city halls and railway stations which can be used as shortcuts if the player's power meter is full. Additionally destroying girders and other parts of the track also add power to the player's meter. Not everything is destructible though, and this is a problem because crashing once can be the difference between winning a losing a race, like in Burnout. So it's up to the player to guess which parts of the track are meant to be destroyed and which are solid.

 
Shindo events completely ignore the destruction part of the game, and don't allow you to frag your opponents. This is partly useful as it stops the player from being fragged too, but shows yet more indecision from the developers; either make it a part of the game or don't, it's pretty weak to force players to race both ways and pretend it's a choice. These races usually feature many AI cars getting in your way as there's no fragging, the drifting is a much bigger feature of the shindo racing but still feels pretty awful.

I had a hard time caring about unlocking any of the cars, locations or star ratings in the game because it seemed like a real mash of playstyles and ideas from other games. There was hardly any Ridge Racer left in the game, and what was left was an indecisive grey mess. There's no real story as such, and so no compelling reason to continue with the races presented to the player, and there's not even a need to finish 1st, players could easily finish 3rd in all race events and still get pretty far into the game, which is a little ridiculous in a racing title.

Graphically the game looks pretty great; the destructible environment parts all crumble rather too easily into predictably sized pieces, but the rest of the game looks very sharp, and I particularly enjoyed the information displays along the sides of the track. The music featured behind gameplay is all licensed and as such not quite as interesting as an original soundtrack. There's a decent mix of electronic stuff, but the soul of the Ridge Racer series is definitely gone from the game.

Overall Ridge Racer Unbounded might as well be any other large budget racing title from the past few years; there's city street racing, there's licensed tunes, takedowns, and a star rating system for how well you've done in each race. Without anything to invest players in it's brand of racing, there's very little to keep them hooked, and I'd personally rather play literally any other instalment of the series thanks to the poor handling and soulless presentation.

Rating: 61/100
Grade: D

12 Days of NESmas: Balloon Fight, Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Jr. and Pac-man (#11)

Game: Balloon Fight
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1984

Balloon Fight is a classic NES title which is almost instantly recognisable, and is incredibly easy to pick up thanks to its concept. In the main game, players face-off against opponents with their own balloons, in an attempt to collide with them from above in order to pop their balloons and eliminate them. Once popped, enemies parachute down to the nearest platform and if they're not intercepted begin to take off once again with another balloon. In this respect, the gameplay is somewhat similar to Joust, but it feels far easier to control.

Balloon Trip mode is also very interesting, presenting a one hit game over journey through obstacles in the same vein as the main game. This mode has been featured as a Warioware microgame and is at least as fun, if not a little more than the main game, even if it gets pretty tricky very quickly. One of the best things about playing Balloon Fight is that each time I lost a life, it felt like it was truly my error, rather than bad game programming or design.

Graphically the game looks nice in both modes, despite its simple character sprites and black background. The music of the game however is almost unbearable in the main mode, between the almost random sounding bleeps and bloops and sound effects there's no semblance of a tune, and it'd be better off without most of the distracting sound. The music for Balloon Trip mode suffers no such issue, and has great music with balloon pop sound effects which are maybe just a little too loud.

Overall Balloon Fight is a solid and enjoyable NES game which deserves much of the praise and recognition it has had over the years. With two equally enjoyable game modes, great controls and classic music in the balloon trip mode it's certainly one of the best games of its type.

Rating: 75/100
Grade: B

Game: Mario Bros.
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1983

Mario Bros. marks one of the earliest appearances of Mario in video games. It's a simple title where he faces off against various enemies and defeats them by bumping the ground underneath them, to flip them upside down before kicking them off screen. Some of the elements in the game influenced parts of Super Mario Bros, the classic platformer released just 2 years later.

The game is very much in an arcade style and presents its levels and bonus levels as such. There's a few different types of enemies which appear throughout the game levels, and can become enraged if not dealt with quickly. Mario also collects coins for defeated enemies; yet another snippet of game which was later turned into a Warioware microgame.

Graphically the game is very much in the style which we recognise today as "Super Mario"-esque, but obviously was yet to be coined and ingrained into the public conciousness at its time of release. The music is generally pretty good, and with the big deal that Mario went on to become, it's not hard to see why Mario Bros. is considered a classic NES game.

Overall while simple, the game does play very well with only a slight bit of refinement needed on Mario's jumping, so that his momentum carries over properly. Other than this though, it's one of the better arcade style platforming games, and is definitely easy to pick up and fairly addictive.

Rating: 68/100
Grade: C

Game: Donkey Kong Jr.
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1983

The original Donkey Kong was a fun, albeit short platformer which saw players controlling Jumpman, later known as Mario across three levels in order to rescue his girlfriend. Donkey Kong Jr. turned this concept on it's head as players control the titular character in a bid to rescue Donkey Kong himself from Mario's grasp. There are a total of four levels in Donkey Kong Jr., each of them featuring a single screen with vines to climb and platforms to jump across.

The main issue with the game is that the climbing and overall moving speed of Donkey Kong Jr. is so slow that three enemy attacks can be launched by Mario whilst climbing a single vine. His small crocodile minions are at least twice as fast as the player controlled character. The levels aren't particularly hard to figure out, but putting your plans into practice with the control as it is isn't so easy.

Graphically the game is simple as can be, and eschews the early NES style of a black background with simple shapes and sprites. There's simple mono style music behind gameplay, with the first level's soundtrack being bearable, the second and third levels not so much, and the final actually resembling better music, despite being super repetitive.

Overall Donkey Kong Jr. is somewhat of a disappointment compared both to its prequel and the masses of better games that it was succeeded by. In the NES era, it wasn't long before this sort of game had an unacceptably low level of content and so represents the earliest period of NES gaming.

Rating: 45/100
Grade: D

Game: Pac-man
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 1984

Pac-man on the Atari 2600 was a hugely destructive blow to the game industry in America, with such a poor resemblance to the arcade original that millions of copies went unsold. Pac-man on the NES however is almost an arcade perfect port of the game, and plays really well. Everything from the way the game feels to how it sounds and looks is impressively similar to the original game.

Players make their way around the maze, collecting all of the power pellets and attempting to get a high score. There's a cutscene after every few levels which shows a plot of sorts, but really it's the arcade gameplay that players are after. Personally I've always found Pac-man somewhat repetitive after a while, but that's more of an issue with the game itself.

Graphically the game is almost identical to the simple but iconic stylings of the arcade version, with the instantly recognisable blue maze, coloured ghosts and fruit power-ups. There's not a lot in the way of music, but once again the sound effects are pretty classic and are reproduced well.

Overall if you're looking to play Pac-man on console, the NES version is as good a choice as any, since earlier versions didn't quite have the power to play like the arcades and later versions tend to overcomplicate what is a simple and enjoyable, if somewhat repetitive formula.

Rating: 72/100
Grade: C

The 12 Days of NESmas: Life Force, Galaxian, Galaga and Exerion (#1)

There's no end of shoot 'em ups on the NES; relatively easy to program and without too much to draw or display in most sections, these games dominated arcades and home consoles for a while, alongside other titles. So its only fair to take a look at a few of the shoot 'em ups that made their way to NES for the beginning of my 12 Days of NESmas feature. One thing to note is that despite the misconception, the 12 days of Christmas begin on the 25th of December and carry through to January; this is not late, it's right on time!

Game: Life Force
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Konami
Release Date: 1988

Life Force is a fairly by-the-book shoot 'em up that sees players make their way through 6 levels, alternating between side-scrolling and vertical. Every now and then there's sections that result in dead ends, which can be frustrating on the first time around. For every red-powerup collected, players can cash in their progression up the weapons tree and use a more powerful weapon until losing a life. There's a laser, a pulse weapon and a double shot, but they're all about as effective as eachother in the end.

The game's not particularly easy, and I did find myself using the Konami code to progress through it. This is a staple feature of NES games though, and since a full run of the game could take around 30 minutes, it's only natural for the developers to try and push some more distance out via difficulty. There's no real issue with the amount of enemies or bullets that come at players however; its mainly the landscape that causes the loss of lives, and bosses at the end of each level.

Graphically the game can be hard to make out at times, especially in section with repeating backgrounds, but once players are used to things, there's an interesting game world, filled with menacing if a little repetitive enemies, and inventive bosses. Musically there's some fun tracks featured in the game as a whole, and it's definitely in the top half of NES games in the sound department.

Overall Life Force can initially seem daunting, repetitive an unfair but with the Konami Code entered, a little practice and some perseverance the music, bosses and game world are unique enough to provide fun and a good experience for players. It's still a pretty generic shoot 'em up in terms of gameplay, but unless you're Ikaruga there's not much you can do about that.

Rating: 56/100
Grade: D

Game: Galaxian
Console: Nintendo Famicom
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 7th September 1984

Having recently reviewed the arcade version of Galaxian, the Japan only Famicom port seemed like it might be interesting as to what was changed from the original game. Players still attempt to shoot an invading fleet, some of whom break off from the pack and fire back at you. That's about it though; shoot your way through all of them, and you'll get another lot to go through. Repeat 68 more times and the game loops back to the beginning.

It seems also that the difficulty has been lessened somewhat as it's easy to keep playing through the game. The problem is that it isn't fun to keep playing through the game; after 5 stages or so I was really hoping there'd be some sort of interlude, but it kept going, and going until I finally made enough mistakes to lose all my lives.

Graphically the game is fine; it looks good for an NES game and the invading fleet look fairly menacing. There's no real music and with the repetitive nature of the game, there's really not a lot to do for a piece of software released in 1984. Obviously developers were still getting the hang on what people wanted to see from video games, but it probably wasn't 69 incrementally harder versions of the same task.

 Overall Galaxian is disappointing as a concept, and while better as an arcade game since there's high scores to chase; not even fairly tight controls and good hit detection can save the game from being entirely too easy and boring.

Rating: 33/100
Grade: E

Game: Galaga
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 1988

Galaga is a slightly more exciting Space Invaders based game; enemies enter with a twirl and then line up in the usual formation to be shot at, periodically coming down to try and kill players. After every 2nd stage there's a Challenging Stage where enemies fly in much faster, twirl around a bit and then exit. Shooting every enemy in one of these stages earns an extra life. The sequence then repeats at a higher difficulty level.

Though subtle, the changes in gameplay from Galaxian to Galaga are crucial as they give players a far more challenging and enjoyable experience. Instead of being instantly replaced with another unit, the enemies fly in a few at a time and allow for greater strategic planning. The challenging stages give players a nice break to try and earn a reward for accuracy, and this makes the game ultimately far more replayable.

Graphically the game outdoes Galaxian with larger sprites and a little more detail. The animations are far better and there's more fanfare to the explosions featured. There's a nice little tune on startup but after this there's only sound effects, which are pretty standard. Overall it's a nice little arcade style title, but console games definitely had more in them at the time. 

Rating: 45/100

Grade: D

Game: Exerion
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Jaleco
Release Date: 11th February 1985

When Exerion hit arcades, it had something new and interesting up its sleeve; the game featured parallax scrolling and inertia effects, which were pretty much unused in other games of the time. Two years later when the game came out for NES, there were more competitors who featured these in their games. Upon starting the game, players will notice that the combination of parallax scrolling and realistic inertia make it fairly difficult to play without a fair bit of practice.

Players have a choice of two shot types; a slow double shot which never runs out or a faster single shot which is limited in ammo. There are a few different levels with changing backgrounds and enemy designs, but past a certain point the game loops, giving less than 10 minutes of unique gameplay. For any players that can get past the weird feeling of parallax inertia, boredom isn't too far away.

Graphically the game looks very nice and the parallax scrolling effect definitely doing something, even if its simply making players feel slightly sick. The sound effects are pretty annoying after a while and there's no real music featured in the game. Overall save for its 'unique' features, the rest of Exerion is pretty bland and basic.

Rating: 39/100

Grade: E

Collection Review: Namco Museum Battle Collection

Game: Namco Museum Battle Collection
Console: Sony Playstation Portable
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 9th December 2005

As yet I haven't reviewed any Namco arcade games in my arcade reviews, despite them being a major force in the arcades. To remedy this, here's a collection of 16 Namco arcade greats, with a few updated versions included. I'll be going through the games one by one and giving them a rating and grade before reflecting on the collection as a whole.

Pac-man

Game: Pac-man
Console: Arcade
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 1980

Pac-man is one of the, if not the most recognisible video game characters ever created. At the time it was released, Pac-man was one of the most inventive and interesting arcade games on the market, and since its release there have been many clones, inferior versions and imitators. It's not a game I've ever been particularly keen to finish (there are 255 levels after all) and after a while it can get a little repetitive, but there's no denying its effect on the video game market as a whole.

The version included on this collection controls very nicely, and everything seems to be very much like the original arcade game. A nice additional touch is the option to continue from the last level you got to, and settings to increase the number of lives given at the start of the game. Overall if you're looking to play Pac-man this isn't a bad way to do it, but it's never anything more than a yellow dude being chased around a maze.

Rating: 72/100
Grade: C

Galaxian

Game: Galaxian
Console: Arcade
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 1979

There were many games derived from the concept of Space Invaders, after its release but few of them were of the quality of Galaxian. Adding a twist where ships broke from the main formation to attack the player directly brought far more movement and strategy to the game, and without any bases to hide behind players were forced to dodge attacks and enemy ships whilst reducing the number of enemies onscreen.

Other than that though, the two games are pretty much the same; once all the enemies have been shot off the screen, the main formation is refreshed and play starts again. Just like Pac-man though there's not enough variation between levels to keep players interested for very long. It's a good idea but overall a very average space themed shooter game.

Rating: 66/100
Grade: C

King And Balloon

Game: King and Balloon
Console: Arcade
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 1981

After success with Galaxian, I assume Namco were asking themselves how they could make another game that was as good. It would appear that they chose to make the same game, essentially, replacing the enemy ships with balloons, and adding a king that needs to be protected from abduction by the aforementioned balloons. Players aren't penalised for being hit with enemy fire by a balloon, but will lose a life if the King ends up drifting to the top of screen attached to a balloon.

King and Balloon plays very similarly to Galaxian and while there are slight differences between the two games, they're not enough to distinguish it as a separate entity in my mind. If anything King and Balloon is slightly more frustrating to play thanks to the game mechanics involved with protecting something other than your own ship.

Rating: 60/100
Grade: D

Galaga

Game: Galaga
Console: Arcade
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 1981

Another Space Invaders-esque game, Galaga takes Galaxian to its obvious conclusion; groups of enemies swarm in on-screen and add themselves to the group of invaders once they've shot at players a little. This is by far the most exciting and active version of this type of game, and provides more challenge than both the original Space Invaders and Galaxian.

With its bright colours and a nice explosion effect when players are hit by enemy fire or ships, Galaga is visually impressive for its time. Soundwise things are still rather basic, but that's to be expected for an arcade game released in 1981. One of the best changes is the addition of a challenging level which tasks players with shooting all 40 enemy ships in a bonus round for extra points.

Rating: 79/100
Grade: B

Rally-X

Game: Rally-X
Console: Arcade
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 1980

Much like a motorised version of Pac-man, Rally-X sees players driving their car around a maze in order to collect items (flags in this case). Unlike Pac-man though, players must navigate through the maze themselves, with the aid of a map, and there are no power pills to help them overcome the cars chasing them. The controls are fairly difficult to master and getting your car to go where you want and pick up all the flags is a challenge in itself without considering the pursuing cars. Players are able to leave a smoke screen behind to confuse the enemy cars, but it's hardly ever an effective tactic.

Graphically the game is fairly bland with a Beige and Green colour scheme for its maze and simple blue/red cars for the player and enemies. Soundwise there's a little jingle for completing a level, but other than that it's pretty unimpressive. Interestingly Rally-X features as the load screen game for one of Namco's later games, so I'd played it before a little.

Rating: 46/100
Grade: D

New Rally-X

Game: New Rally-X
Console: Arcade
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 1981

New Rally-X is much like Rally-X; there are some new features but essentially it's the same game. The colours change a little from level to level, and there's some challenging stages as in Galaga, inbetween the main levels. The controls are just as fiddly as before, and really there's no difference in the horrible handling of the game.

Rating: 47/100
Grade: D

Bosconian

Game: Bosconian
Console: Arcade
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 1981

Bosconian is an interesting space shooter where players fly freely around space, attempting to destroy the green bases shown across the map by either shooting all 6 of their circular protrusions or their weak point in the center. In addition to these enemies, there are regular enemies and co-ordinated attacks from ships which are sent to interrupt player progress. Once all of the green bases are destroyed, the game moves onto the next round.

Interestingly there are synthesised voice samples which warn players of attacks and imminent time limit expiration, but they're very low quality, owing to the age of the game and aren't of much help to players. As ships shoot both in front and behind the direction they are facing, it's difficult to get used to shooting enemy bases in Bosconian, and on the whole it's pretty underwhelming, though a good original idea for a space shooter.

Rating: 62/100
Grade: C

Dig Dug

Game: Dig Dug
Console: Arcade
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 1982

Dig Dug is an interesting arcade game based on digging to drop stones onto or inflate enemies before they can move through the earth and catch you, or escape without allowing you to score any points from them. The game is fairly fun but a little easy if you're not looking to score the maximum amount of points possible, since dropping stones on enemies scores more points than inflating them, or letting them escape. Whichever way you choose to finish enemies off, the round ends when there are none left onscreen.

The characters and visuals are cute and contribute to the feel of the game, with colourful backgrounds which change every couple of levels. As Dig Dug moves across the screen, some music plays which is impressive for 1982, even if it does stop and start suddenly with the character's movements. On the whole it's an interestingly different take on arcade games for the time as space shooters were the norm.

Rating: 65/100
Grade: C

Dig Dug II

Game: Dig Dug II
Console: Arcade
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 1985

Dig Dug II takes place above ground, in more of a ToeJam and Earl looking environment. where players effectively play the same game as in Dig Dug, but without any digging or rocks falling on enemies. This simplification of the game actually improves the experience, as there's no messing around with trying to score the maximum amount of points by digging the entire cave out before dropping a rock on every enemy. Perhaps though, the game could have used some new powerups of some sort to spice things up.

The sound and graphics aren't as appealing as the original game, and this makes the overall experience less memorable. Of the two games, it's a toss up between nostalgia, characters and visuals and gameplay and level progression. Personally I preferred playing Dig Dug II as it took far longer for me to get bored. I think perhaps if there had been a Dig Dug III marrying all of the best elements of both games, then that'd be the perfect version of this type of game.

Rating: 70/100
Grade: C

Xevious

Game: Xevious
Console: Arcade
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 1982

A fairly straight forward shoot 'em up, Xevious plays very well for the era it was released, and indeed even today. Players have bullets for shooting enemy ships and bombs to shoot enemy bases, but there are some obstacles in the game which neither are effective against and so must be dodged. The continue feature on the collection is handy as there are some difficult moments where players must defend themselves from air and ground attacks whilst dodging obstacles.

Graphically the game is well detailed, though its use of grey can be somewhat excessive when all obstacles, enemies and the player's ship are onscreen and all coloured grey. There's some nice music both on the title screen and behind gameplay, though it's not particularly complex. Overall this is a shoot 'em up ahead of its time, which could easily have been (and was) expanded upon to make a true classic.

Rating: 78/100
Grade: B

Mappy

Game: Mappy
Console: Arcade
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 1983

Players control Mappy, a micro policeman mouse who is retrieving presumably stolen goods from the house of a criminal cat. The lines of defence for the cat are 5 small pink mice and the big red cat himself. Players use trampolines to boost themselves up onto higher levels and collect items. There are also doors which can be opened to stun the chasing mice, allowing Mappy to put some distance between them and himself.

With bright colours, interesting items to retrieve, 15 levels, and multiple house layouts, Mappy is far less likely to get boring than other Namco titles. While the concept is simple it's a pretty fun title, and the fact that Mappy can't be harmed whilst bouncing on a trampoline makes for some interesting strategy descisions in complex house layouts. Overall for 1983 it's a nice little arcade title, and something that I'm glad to own on Famicom.

Rating: 73/100
Grade: C

The Tower of Druaga

Game: The Tower Of Druaga
Console: Arcade
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 1984

Another maze style game, The Tower Of Druaga sees players controlling a Knight around a complex network of passageways in order to find a key and the a door, to let themselves down onto a lower level of the dungeon. Armed with a trusty sword, players are able to stab anything that gets in their way, but it's not always effective, so its usually best to mash the buttons a little for more complex enemies, like a bit of a swordfight.

While there's not much else to this game, and the graphics are pretty boring, the music is top notch and saves the experience from being simply average. With a good run of luck, players can make it down quite a few floors before being thwarted by enemies. It can be slightly frustrating to go down a long pathway only to find that it's a dead end, but I suppose such is the nature of mazes.

Rating: 68/100
Grade: C

Dragon Buster

Game: Dragon Buster

Console: Arcade

Developer: Namco

Release Date: 1984

An early hack n' slash arcade title, Dragon Buster lets players quest through short dungeons with various nasties and mini bosses, accumulating fireballs, spells and other powerups in order to defeat the big dragon at the end of each level. As the rounds continue, there are more and more locations and dungeons to go through, and things get tougher since players only have one life bar and no continues. 

While the hit detection can be a little iffy, generally the controls and features of the game are pretty tight. Graphically the game features more detail than many arcade games of the time, and the progression through the game, and battle system are well ahead of their time. With good music and some intense boss battles, Dragon Buster is reminiscent of Golden Axe and similar games which came later. 

Rating: 76/100

Grade: B

Grobda

Game: Grobda

Console: Arcade

Developer: Namco

Release Date: 1984

Grobda is a fairly difficult tank shooter deathmatch where players compete with a number of other vehicles to be the last man standing. With a laser shot and a shield, competitors must strategize their movements around the play area to best defend themselves and give opportunities for attack. Often rounds are fast paced and there's little time to react as lasers fly everywhere, but with 99 rounds of increasing difficulty it'd be very hard to complete fully. Luckily there's a level select on the menu in this collection version.

Graphically there's not much to look at; there's a different background every 5 rounds or so and a few different enemy vehicles but the gameplay is the main draw of the game. There's some nice musical accompaniment to gameplay but unfortunately very little time to actually enjoy it with the short and frantic battling that tends to occur. Ultimately it might have been a little more fun to have less damage done by each hit, resulting in more strategy an a slower overall game pace, but Grobda is fun nonetheless.

Rating: 71/100

Grade: C

Motos

Game: Motos

Console: Arcade

Developer: Namco

Release Date: 1985

Yet another fairly unique arcade concept from Namco, Motos is best described as "that game where you try to push other people off stuff". Players control a small ship which can be powered up by collecting force or jump powerups, and attempt to force all enemy shapes off the playing grid. Different enemies will react differently; some are active in trying to force players off and others are far more passive; opting instead to circle the player in the hopes that they'll confuse themselves. 

This is certainly one of the more enjoyable games on the collection, and there's good replay value as the levels increase in difficulty and different strategies are applied. While the chequered grid isn't much to look at, there's some nice music which accompanies gameplay, and I was all too busy trying to force my enemies out of bounds to notice any graphical shortcomings.

Rating: 78/100

Grade: B

Rolling Thunder

Game: Rolling Thunder

Console: Arcade
Developer: Namco

Release Date: 1986

Rolling Thunder is a classic Run and Gun game where players attempt to make their way through an enemy base, populated by maskers who are all different colours, representing the way in which they attack, and the amount of hits they can take. Initially players only have a standard issue pistol with which to defend themselves, for which more ammo can be obtained from behind marked doors. With an upper and lower path to choose from and swap between on most bits of each level players can also strategise their movements. 

While playing, more enemies are likely to come out of the doors placed along the route, so it takes a little getting used to not standing right in front of doors initially, as contact with an enemy will drain the life bar by half, and getting shot will drain it fully, leaving very little room for error. In later levels players can aquire different guns, and switching between upper and lower levels becomes more important. 

While it may seem very simple in concept, with just one button to shoot and another to jump in addition to basic movement, the game is far easier to pick up this way, and the difficulty and challenge level can be raised far faster as there's not much to get one's head around. Graphically the game looks pretty great for the era, and there's some nice music to accompany play.

Overall Rolling Thunder is my favourite inclusion on this collection, and a great arcade game. It can get a little difficult after a while, but with enough practice any level and challenge can be overcome. There was a sequel to Rolling Thunder which was also pretty good, and versions of the two games have been released on the NES and Mega Drive respectively.

Rating: 88/100
Grade: A

In addition to all of the above arcade games, Namco Museum Battle Collection features updated arrange versions of Pac-man, Rally-X, Dig Dug and Galaga. These vary in quality from simple graphical updates for Rally-X and Dig Dug to better, more fleshed out games for Pac-man and Galaga. They're a nice addition to the collection even if they're essentially the same thing as their arcade counterparts. 

As there's no other goodies included on the collection, all that remains is to say that the overall user interface is pretty good, and easy to navigate at the option to continue on most if not all of the games is appreciated, since arcade versions of some of these games tend to be a little harder than their console counterparts.

The range and variety of games included is pretty good, even if a couple felt like they were thrown into the mix to bulk up the number of games included. All in all it's an interesting trek through Namco's Arcade history and a good counterpart to the Capcom, Taito, Midway and SNK collections all released around this time also. 

Collection Rating: 74/100

Collection Grade: B