galaga
Latest
Home virtual arcade now includes Dig Dug, Galaga, Pac-Man, echochrome
If you're one of the few that's already in the Home beta, you may have already experienced the underwhelming virtual arcade, located in the Games Space within Home. The new version being released for Japan will expand the arcade offerings, and the new choices look yummy. Namco Bandai is offering seven games within Home, with four revealed already: Dig Dug, Galaga, Pac-Man and Xevious. Three more "secret" games will be revealed later. More intriguing, a 2D Home-exclusive version of echochrome can also be accessed from within Home. With more and more game offerings being added to the online service, we're confident that everyone will want to access the virtual world at least once -- if only to play these games. [Via Joystiq & Siliconera]
Japanese Home beta opens, adds Namco classics
Sony has begun accepting applications for the next beta phase of Home ... in Japan. PS3 users can put their names in the hat (from which 10,000 will be chosen) directly from a new option in the Japanese PlayStation Store. Successful applicants will be notified via email before the beta officially kicks off at the end of August.In related news, classic arcade games from Namco are showing up as virtual coin-ops in the Japanese Home client. Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Galaga, and Xevious have been rolled out so far, with three "secret" titles still on the way. It's interesting to note that Home users – at least in the beta – can play these games for free, whereas they are paid downloads on Xbox Live Arcade. We'll have to wait and see if this holds true for Home games from Namco and other publishers in the open beta (which is supposed to hit by year's end).Source – EngadgetSource – Siliconera
Castle Crashers, Galaga Legions, more on XBLA in 4-6 weeks
During our guided demo of Microsoft's upcoming stable of XBLA games, Microsoft's Scott Austin informed us that all the games on display would be available in the next four to six weeks on Xbox Live Arcade. All of 'em. If you've been reading the impressions on Joystiq, you'll know that this a reason to be excited. For the record, the XBLA games being shown by Microsoft are: Bionic Commando Rearmed Castle Crashers Galaga Legions Braid Geometry Wars 2 We expected Microsoft to show off some cool XBLA games at E3, but we weren't expecting four to six weeks of win.
E308 hands-on: Galaga Legions
click to embiggen There's really no way to get around this, so here it is: Galaga Legions might as well be called Galaga Championship Edition. It's made by the same Namco team that made Pac-Man Championship Edition and it achieves the same success: reinventing an arcade classic and making it relevant again. At the same time, it is definitely still Galaga in much the same way that Pac-Man CE is still Pac-Man. It's new, it's classic, it's pretty. Period.
E308: DS Fanboy enters the Retro Game Challenge
Holy crap is this the most awesome DS game! Seriously, when JC was talking up the title, I trusted the man's judgment, but he couldn't possibly prepare me for how utterly great the DS game is. And when I met up with the folks at Marvelous here at E3 to try out their titles, I had no idea that they were going to have to physically pull me away from Retro Game Challenge.Lucky for me, I have a good grip. So I get plenty of play time with what is sure to be one of my favorite DS games this year.%Gallery-27519%
Galaga: Legions goes to XBLA, from Pac-Man CE team
Who knew Pac-Man: Championship Edition would be so good? The surprise XBLA hit has inspired yet another modern Namco remake, Galaga: Legions. Legions will arrive exclusively on XBLA, and will come from the same team that brought us Pac-Man: CE. Expect the same kind of visual redesign and addictive retro gameplay. With this and Space Invaders Extreme (DS/PSP), the retro shooter is back in full force.
Portal: Still Alive, Lips, Uno Rush, Galaga Legions to be announced at Microsoft Press Conference
Gamerscore Blog has leaked Microsoft's announcements in their video RSS feed -- below is a list of games we'll see at the press conference today: Fable 2 Gears of War 2 Guitar Hero World Tour Rockband 2 Lips Uno Rush Galaga Legions Portal: Still Alive So looks like a sequel/sidequel to Portal is in the works for Xbox 360, as is another Uno game, and a Galaga sequel. More news to come, including what we can get out of the video that accompanies the leaked post.Thanks, William D.!
USK lists 'Galaga Legions' for Xbox 360
If you're like us, the arcade shooter Galaga is probably sitting on your Xbox 360's hard drive gathering virtual dust. Even so, that doesn't mean Namco-Bandai won't jump at the chance to try squeeze a few more Microsoft Points out of the old girl. Now, according to a posting by the Unterhaltungssoftware Selbskontrolle (USK), the German version of the ESRB, it looks like the publisher could be doing just that with a new title called Galaga Legions. We know next to nothing about the game beyond the fact that it's a shooter, but that hasn't stopped speculation that Namco-Bandai, the publisher behind cherished arcade re-imagining Pac-Man: CE, could be giving the same treatment to another classic quarter muncher. The notion makes us giddy -- our hard drives can always use more quality games. It's the fodder for future delisting that we can do without. [Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Coming to XBLA: Galaga Legions
The classic top-down shooter Galaga is already on the Live Arcade is one form, and as this news attests, we'll definitely be seeing it again in another form. Published by Namco-Bandai (who also did Pac-Man: CE for XBLA), it has been speculated that this new Galaga Legions will be a well-done revamp in the vein of Namco-Bandai's previous effort. Given all the news surrounding the relevancy of titles for the Live Arcade, is a possible revamp of a 1981 old-school arcade title that is already on XBLA in another form a good decision for MS? While it is true that the XBLA version of the original isn't up for delisting, it isn't exactly the star of the service. What do you think readers? Does Galaga Legions sound interesting? [Via xblah]
Yet more great apps coming for the iPhone
Yesterday we posted about the Apple press release announcing that the SDK had been downloaded more than 100,000 times in four days. It's also worth noting, however, that Apple basically confirmed that several well-known developers are officially supporting the iPhone and bringing some exciting applications to everyone's favorite handheld. In addition to the developers represented on stage at the SDK event, of particular interest are: Intuit (of Quicken fame) which wants "to create powerful iPhone applications." Namco, specifically mentioning Pac Man and, my favorite, Galaga. NetSuite, developer of SuitePhone (CRM software similar to salesforce.com). PopCap games, working on the extremely addicting Peggle as well as classics Bejeweled and Zuma. Six Apart, which is developing an iPhone native TypePad blogging client. In short, it's obvious that the App Store is going to be chock full 'o goodness once June rolls around. Personally, I'm slightly worried that with Peggle and Galaga on my iPhone I'll never get anything done.
iPhone SDK downloads exceed 100,000, upcoming games get outed
Just four days after Apple announced that the beta version of the iPhone SDK would be available to developers, some 100,000 downloads have taken place. 'Course, it's not like we're shocked by Cupertino's latest horn tooting, but we've all ideas that number pales in comparison to the amount of requests for unlocks. Nevertheless, the real news from the Apple camp is that companies such as Namco and PopCap are apparently on board to bring titles such as Pac-man, Galaga, Bejeweled, Zuma and Peggle to the iPod touch / iPhone via App Store. Furthermore, Six Apart's CEO admitted that it's already developing a "native iPhone application for TypePad," and the VP of THQ Wireless implied that we'd be seeing some of its wares surface here as well. As for release dates? Your guess is as good as ours.
Namco Museum Remix mixes in Miis
NamcoBandai hit us up with a press release, chock full of new screens (see them in the gallery below) as well as a new trailer for Namco Museum Remix. The trailer even shows some of the Mii integration the game offers. And, as you can imagine, we're dying to get this game in our hands and into our Wii.%Gallery-3280%[Via press release]
A video reminder of Namco Museum DS
This trailer for Namco Museum DS highlights exactly what Bandai Namco should be highlighting: Pac-Man Vs. After a quick run-through of all the titles on the card, the trailer gets into the business of extolling the new version of Vs.Even gamers who are all Galaga'd out or tired of Druaga can see the interest in a DS version of Toru Iwatani and Shigeru Miyamoto's multiplayer Pac-Man, especially since it makes so much more sense without a home console involved.With only one demo station set up at PAX, we didn't get to play Pac-Man Vs. We hope we get the chance when the game comes out on the 18th.
PAX 07: Namco Museum Remix is still weird, but also fun
I checked out Namco Museum Remix at PAX (there was not a line at any point for this game), hoping to play the weirdo Galaga interpretation and all the other new games on the disc. I expected to be either put off or unimpressed by everything but the real classic arcade games, but ... well, I have a confession to make, and I'm not sure how you guys are going to take it. I really enjoyed Gator Panic Remix, for reasons I can't fully explain. I shouldn't have enjoyed it as much as I did. It's a simple Whack-a-Mole style game, which is an obvious fit for the Wiimote. However, instead of just whacking in the appropriate direction, you first highlight the appropriate gator with the Nunchuk's analog stick, and then whack. It never occurred to me that this was an imperfect setup until I got home. I was actually too busy having a good time. Again, I don't have an excuse. Gator Panic may not be worth $50 on its own, but it's one of those things that seems like it would be hard not to enjoy at least a little. Maybe that's some unconscious desperation to promote retrogaming at work, or maybe it's a reaction against the new, flashy FPS games I could see from where I was playing Namco Museum, but it just made me happy.
VC Monday Madness video wrap-up 8/6/07
This week caught us by surprise. We never knew such an outstanding title would be falling on our laps. It brings back many a fond memory, for us, this racing on the waves. So, be sure to note that our video is chock full of footage for that title. That's not to say the others get kicked to the side. It's more of a gentle shoving.
The real games in Namco Museum Remix
Sure, there are some new screens of the new versions of Pac 'n Roll and Pac-Motos, and maybe they do look fun, in a budget party game sort of way, but we glossed right over them for screens of 20+year-old arcade games, because that's how we (Pac'n) roll.We're strange people, we suppose. But when we saw those screenshots of Gaplus, Pac and Pal, and especially our beloved Pac-Mania and its brilliant background image (CRAZYMAN!!), we knew. We got a terrible feeling that we will buy Namco Museum Remix. There. We said it. We only hope we can get the message out to Bandai Namco that we want more real classics and fewer wacky remakes. And please, some games that haven't been released in previous Namco Museums.
E307: Namco Museum Remix is still weird
CONFIRMED: Namco Museum Remix continues to be insane. Not that we expected them to, but Namco did not go back and change Galaga back to regular Galaga. We are still living in a world where a description of Galaga can include the phrase "Pac-Man rolls on a tube in outer space." This is the "new" Galaga in which, instead of shooting from a ship at the bottom of the screen, you shoot the alien ships by pointing and shooting at them with the Wiimote, shooting-gallery style, and you can also use the analog stick to make Pac-Man jump.Rally-X was still Rally-X, but with speed boosting, which seems like an okay addition. These were still the only two playable games, so we'll have to wait to see how Namco is ruining updating the rest of their classics.
Namco Museum screens are as new as Namco Museum screens can be
We've seen countless releases of the Namco Museum collections over the years. We remember feeling quite special about the Playstation versions-- they were the real versions of real arcade games! At home! But now the Namco Museum series is, itself, old. How old?Valkyrie no Densetsu (1989) was eight years old when it was released on Namco Museum Vol. 5. The original Namco Museum Playstation game is eleven years old. In other words, Namco Museum is now older, in relative terms, than a game that was old enough for Namco Museum.Speaking of the Playstation editions, the new Namco Museum DS has something not seen since those days: an actual museum mode, in the form of a trophy collection and music player, as well as scanned instructions and flyers. Relatively newer features include bottom-screen maps and hints for Galaga (?), Xevious, and The Tower of Druaga. Of course, the most exciting relatively-new thing is Pac-Man Vs., which, now that it won't require so much of a financial outlay, we may actually try with another person.%Gallery-4650%
Namco Museum Remix: Galaga, Rally-X details
Game|Life's Chris Kohler played the wacky reinterpretation of Galaga found on the new Namco Museum Remix, and somehow came out of it cogent enough to describe the surreal experience. Basically, Pac-Man is rolling down a slide in space, for some reason, and players have to protect him by shooting the Galaga ships that come down to attack him for some reason. You aim at the little ships with the Wiimote pointer. If Galaga '88 was Galactic Dancing, this is Galactic-- okay, we don't know what it is. We're still pretty confused about the whole idea. Kohler also played Rally-X, which was basically a 3D remake of the original arcade game (which itself is basically Pac-Man). While Galaga is rife with Wiimote integration, Rally-X is more staid and relies on the analog stick and shoulder buttons.
Pac-Man invades Namco Museum Remix on Wii
You remember Namco Bandai's Galaga, don't you? The very mention of it should conjure images of a lone spacecraft darting through unrelenting waves of giant insects, with bullets whizzing by and an unusually pleased Pac-Man rolling past. Oh, you don't remember him being there? That's because you haven't seen Namco Museum Rehash Remix for the Wii yet -- the "Remix" part referring to the inclusion of gluttonous gaming icon, Pac-Man, into every one of the revamped titles.The image above is from Galaga Remix, a point-and-shooter (yes, really) that forms part of the five Wii-vitalized games included in Namco Museum Remix. Others detailed by IGN are: Pac 'n Roll Remix -- Much like the early DS game, Pac-Man has to roll his obese body to the end of the level while overcoming enemies, obstacles and a self-image problem. Pac-Motos Remix -- Pac-Man knocks his opponents out of dangerous arenas. He'll eat them later. Rally-X Remix -- It's a 3-D version of Rally-X, only with Pac-Man driving the car (miraculously sans arms and legs). Gator Panic Remix -- Whack-a-Mole, but with gators. And Pac-Man. Galaxian, Dig Dug, Mappy, Xevious, Gaplus, Super Pac-Man, Pac & Pal, Pac-Mania and Cute Q will also be included, though they'll all have to make due without a "remix." Namco Museum Remix releases on Wii this Fall.%Gallery-3298%[Via Wii Fanboy]
