The problems with this package begin not with what is included, but with what they failed to include. Each Museum game’s menu lets you change a few options, but doesn’t offer a “How to Play” section, which, if you have never played the game before, will either send you in search of the instruction manual or force you to figure out the mechanics on your own. Each game also has to load twice: once to get to the game’s main menu and then again to get you into the actual game, totaling about 15 seconds. Once the game loads, you can’t watch the “attract mode” of the original title as you are immediately thrust into gameplay, which might upset purists, like myself, who would have enjoyed watching the classic intro sequences. The Museum titles also lack any kind of written history concerning that title, updated in-game graphics, original art from the time of release, video segments, online leaderboards, or achievement points, leaving you with a barebones package that has nothing new to offer.

Perhaps the most shocking omission in the Museum section is any kind of multiplayer. Many of the included games featured turn-based 2 player support in their original arcade incarnations, and that option isn’t offered here. I even checked with Namco Customer Service to make sure that I wasn’t missing it, and they confirmed my suspicions: the multiplayer options had been removed for this release. While a lack of Xbox Live play would be understandable, disabling all of the previously available multiplayer options is completely unacceptable and takes away a huge element of what made the original arcade experience so popular.

Another consideration that keeps this set from being ideal is the controls. While all 34 games play decently with the Xbox 360 controller, they don’t feel as tight as they should because most of the included games were meant to be played with a joystick and arcade buttons. There are several Xbox 360 arcade stick options available, and my testing of these games with a Hori arcade controller provided a much greater sense of authenticity and accuracy. As it stands, the stock 360 controller is fine, but don’t expect an arcade-perfect level of control when using it.

A final issue worth mentioning is that Namco failed to include any of their more recent arcade hits on the disk. At this point, many of us have played Pac-Man and Dig Dug an uncountable amount of time in numerous ways. Where are games like Tekken and Ridge Racer? Aren’t these games worthy of the “arcade classics” moniker that adorns all of the titles found here? Also clearly missing is Soul Caliber, the only Namco Xbox Live Arcade release not included in this collection. These titles would have added some much needed variety, and brought some newer, fresher games to the stale lineup that Namco has sold time and time again.

Overall, Namco Museum Virtual Arcade has a lot of great titles in it, and is worth grabbing if you have an affinity for “old school” gaming or don’t yet own Pac-Man C.E. and Galaga Legions. However, the lazy production, lack of extras, removal of multiplayer, and dearth of newer arcade titles keep this from being a “must-buy” set, and anyone who has already bought a number of Namco Xbox Live Arcade releases shouldn’t bother.