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Namco Mobile Gaming Preview & Overview

Written by DM on Thursday, October 19 2006

On top of the network enabled games, there are also classic Namco 3D games available. Yes, we said 3D. Ridge Racer, Time Crisis, and Pac-Mania are all available for download now on most wireless carriers. I got the chance to demo both Ridge Racer and Time Crisis and I can say that Ridge Racer looks and plays exactly like the PSX game which it stems from. In Ridge Racer you can either have an auto-acceleration mode where all you need do is steer, or you can set it to manual mode, and use the gas and brake all by yourself. The game works very well on the cell phone, and it is worth whatever money your carrier charges if you enjoy Namco’s signature racing series.

Time Crisis, however, is a mixed bag. For those of you who have never played the original game, Time Crisis is a light gun title. In the arcade, the game featured a pedal that players would depress to duck behind objects when cover was needed. Well, you can imagine how this translates to a cell phone. Basically the game’s screen is divided up into 9 sections which are each represented by one of the phone’s numbers (the 1-9 buttons). All you need to do if you see an enemy on screen is tap the number that corresponds to the section of the screen that you wish to shoot at. Add to this the ability to press the 0 button to duck, and there you have Time Crisis mobile. To be honest, the game falls flat. There is just not much excitement in pressing buttons that correspond to where enemies are located on-screen. The title is the sore thumb in an otherwise great lineup of mobile titles.

The pricing of all these titles varies from carrier to carrier. For instance, Verizon may charge $5.95USD to download Pac-Man to your phone for play now and forever, a one-time fee. Sprint, on the other hand, might only charge $3.95USD for the same Pac-Man game, but make it a monthly charge. Some carriers offer both as an option. Obviously, the choice that is right for you depends on your situation and level of play. Hopefully you will be able to find a carrier that gives you both options if you plan to play for any prolonged period of time.
Namco is really pushing their new mobile lineup hard, and rightfully so. The games are addictive and simple, and there are tons of gamers out there who are not into games enough to carry around a Nintendo DS or a Sony PSP, but will play a round or three of Pac-Man on line at the grocery store. Games are everywhere these days, and Namco is helping to bring gaming to players who may not have otherwise considered themselves gamers. This is not a bad thing by any means, and with a killer lineup already available, the only place for Namco to go is up, especially considering mobile gaming is the fastest growing gaming marketing around.

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