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Retro games are absolutely huge these days and as a long time gamer I've been sucked into the hype once again. What is probably at the forefront of the revolution is a collection of little gadgets by JAKKS Pacific which they've dubbed "TV Games". The term "TV Games" has been replaced by "Video Games" these days, but those born in the 70s/early 80s will probably be most familiar with the original description. For those unfamiliar with JAKKS' TV Games products, it is best described as an easily portable, self-contained gaming system. All you need are batteries. The system is preloaded with a number of fully licensed games, and no videogame consoles or gaming cartridges are required. You simply plug in the A/V input jacks that come with the controller into any standard television set, turn it on and play. JAKKS has a number of TV Games out there includnig retro-style Namco, Activision, Atari, EA Sports, and even newer Spongebob, World Poker Tour and Spider-man collections. Some of the most popular retro games are undoubtedly from Namco, and the TV Games - Namco: Ms. Pac-Man version is what this review covers. With its brightly colored packaging and art it's really hard to miss the TV Games - Ms. Pac-Man system when it's sitting on a store shelf somewhere. I've personally been intrigued for quite a while before actually getting my hands on one, but they've always caught my eye. The games included in this particular system are Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Mappy, Pole-Position and Xevious.
The controller itself consists of a ball-top joystick, 2 action buttons, a menu button and an on/off switch. The joystick isn't half bad, though it has a somewhat sloppy and cheap feel to it. This is especially true if you are used to playing on a real arcade unit. The absolute best feature of the joystick is the fact that it has a "twist" motion for Pole Position. Instead of moving the stick left or right, you twist the stick like a little steering wheel. It works surprisingly well. I'm not crazy about the button positioning of the larger primary and smaller secondary buttons (they feel too close together) but it could be a lot worse. For $19.99 though, it's hard to complain. The games themselves are mostly how you would expect them to look and sound. They run in a very low resolution, just like the original games, and overall look, sound and play quite faithful to the arcade versions. It's definitely a bit weird seeing them on a huge television screen, as the horizontal scanlines are really very obvious. I believe most of the games are in fact emulated, though a few are a bit different in regards to layout. Ms. Pac-Man and Mappy, both of which are vertically oriented games, has both the score and stats along the right side of the screen as opposed to underneath. Galaga and Xevious, which are also vertically oriented, are not reformatted in any way like that. The loose joystick does occasionally affect the gameplay, though the key to success is to make sure the unit is at a nice, neat 90 degree angle to your arm. Since the games only respond to 4-way joystick movement, avoiding hitting diagonals is important. Overall, the games will definitely bring back some fond arcade memories, and really play extremely close to the originals. Honestly though, one of the best features of the JAKKS TV Games is the price. For $20, it makes an absolutely awesome gift for non-gamers/casual gamers who've played these games way back when, as well as the more hardcore and gadget-loving types. Retro is cool, and the TV Games - Namco: Ms. Pac-Man definitely falls right into that category. Stay tuned for reviews of some of the other JAKKS TV Games in the near future along with a retro arcade restoration feature.
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