But this time around it's not just the same ol' same ol'. NM mainstays Pac-Man and his old lady Ms. Pac-Man are nowhere to be seen. Sure there are Pac-titles aplenty -- but this time Namco didn't rely on ol' faithful to cash in on the same crap with another console. Check out the list;

 

• Pac & Pal

 

• CutieQ

 

• Galaxian

 

• Xevious

 

• Super Pac-Man

 

• Mappy

 

• Gaplus

 

• Dig Dug

 

• Pac-Mania

 

This is the first Namco Museum appearance for a number of these games (CutieQ, Pac & Pal, Super Pac-Man and Gaplus -- the oft-forgotten third game in the Galaxian/Galaga series). Surprisingly, most of these titles are pretty solid. Pac & Pal and Super Pac-Man leave a lot to be desired, but the other seven titles offer the quality type of gameplay that put Namco on the map in the first place. My only complaint (and it's one I'll keep making until someone listens) is the absence of Mr. Driller. The original may not date back as far as the 80's, but it's a perfect fit for the kind of quarter-munching gameplay featured in the Namco Museum series.

Regardless of what ballsy choices they may have made in game selection, the vintage classics aren't what Remix is about. Remix offers five reimagined and updated versions of Namco classics. And yes -- this is a hell of a lot more than just a fresh coat of paint.

Galaga Remix, instead of offering the 2D upwards shooting action we've come to expect, is played in the style of a light gun game. Pac-Man is attempting to roll his way along a roller-coastery space path and being attacked in every direction by Galaga ships. It's your job to blast those little bastards out of the sky before they get the little yellow war amp with an eating disorder -- and it's not half bad. Pac-Motos is pretty much a straight up prettified version of Motos, which replaces the original sprite with a big bad Pac-pig rolling around and knocking the bad guys right off the grid. Good times to be had.

Rally-X Remix is the only one really worth a skip. It's basically Rally-X with a tilted camera and busted controls. But who comes to a collection looking for Rally-X anyways?

The true highlights of this collection -- pretty much making this a must buy for any fan of Namco gaming -- are the remixes of Pac'n'Roll and Gator Panic. Pac'n'Roll Remix really doesn't seem all that different from the original Pac'n'Roll, nor does it have to. Pac'n'Roll made it's debut on the DS back in 2005, and although the concept was solid, the gameplay needed some tweaking. Moving it over the the Wii and changing the controls from stylus to nunchuk has made all the difference in the world. In my opinion, Pac'n'Roll is the essential 3D Pac-Man experience. Definitely worth a once through if you didn't play the original.

Gator Panic Remix may leave some of you a little puzzled. After all - who in the hell has heard of Gator Panic? Change the name to Wacky Gator and then see what bells start ringing. Gator Panic (Wacky Gator in North America) was Namco's answer to the Whack-a-Mole craze of years gone by -- and the Remix is fantastic. 2 minutes on the clock, and you need to get whacking as hard as you can (that's right, I said it, and now you have to live with it.) There are four caves the gators will pop out of, and you select which one you want to bop at with a simple directional push on the nunchuk. And to whack? Get whacking with your Wii-mote!! I can seriously see myself sitting down for a 2 minute session of Gator Panic every time I want to channel some restless energy.

Combine the well put together remixes with the fresh faces in the classics department and you've got the first Namco Museum compilation worth owning in a long time. A must have for Pac-maniacs and gator beaters alike.

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