Namco Ms. Pac-Man Plug & Play with 5 TV Games

It had all six of us hooting and hollering! I had five of my friends over to my house to celebrate a couple of their birthdays, we are all 40 something guys. My buddy busted this thing out and had me plug it into my TV and before you knew it we were fighting over who was going to play next and who could get the high score and screaming as if Mrs. Pac-Man is THAT exciting!? Totally hilarious! I forgot how fun those stupid old games can be! So, because we had so much fun I had to go and get one for myself. Unfortunately I could only find used ones I guess they don't have them new anymore on Amazon? A little bit pricey, 70 bucks… And supposedly the one I am getting is "like new" but if not I will adjust my review later.I read some of the other reviews, and from my experience playing it that night, I saw no issues with the joystick whatsoever. Although I suppose it's possible.

Controller is extremely imprecise

For people like me who were first introduced to video games in the 1970's this is an excellent device. Easy to set up, easy move from tv set to tv set, easy to replay the games of "yesteryear." The small size, which makes it convenient, makes it a little bit challenging to use for some of the games. I found playing Xevious, Gallaga, and Ms Pac Man a little difficult at the higher levels because so much effort is maintained just keeping the game on the table in front you. The price I paid, around $70.00, seemed a little high. Overall this is an excellent product, and one I would recommend to others.

I bought this for the Xevious game, which is simply excellent and includes the secret items in the arcade version. Pole Position is also excellent; as the enclosed doc sheet says: TWIST THE JOYSTICK HANDLE TO STEER. In fact, the steering is incredibly responsive to this mechanism. Many reviewers have noted a Ms. Pac-Man "problem." We have had no issues with up/down control in this game, though there may be a timing issue. My son says Galaga is OK; I have no interest 'cause now I'm playing Xevious like in the golden arcade days of the early 80s!

Something is off with the programming for this device. The speed goes from fast to hyperfast, making it difficult to control movements with the wonky controller. Sometimes Ms. Pacman will go RIGHT THRU a ghost it clearly collided with. Other times, when making a sharp turn under high speed, the controller will just leave Ms. Pacman bouncing against the wall with obviously disasterous results. For the exorbitant price currently being charged for this thing, it should be absolutely perfect. It misses the original version of the game by a mile. I would not recommend anyone purchasing this if you are missing the classic original Ms. Pac man game experience. Note also that there is ZERO guidance provided on how to successfully use this thing. The unit might be worth the $40 price level is was originally marketed at. Currently selling for 5 times that price, it is an extremely poor value.

This was a gift to an editor friend of mine. I had no idea what to get a guy for the Holidays until he mentioned he had loved archade games in his youth.After many hours editing on his computer, to decompress he will go to the Arcade TV Game System. A day doesn't go by that he doesn't thank me for it. He says he zones out and lets his hands and eyes guide his game. The only problem the unit my have is the weird grip on the stick shift, but it's all good. He has friends that come over to play with it too. He's become a very popular 45 year old.

I got this primarily for Galaga and secondarily for Ms. Pac-Man. As others have indicated, the joystick has "issues"; specifically, turning corners in Pac-Man is just as likely to send you careening back the way you came (into pursuing ghosts in my case) as it is to actually turn the corner.So why did I give it three stars, instead of one? Entirely for Galaga. I was one of those geeks that could spend a half-hour playing Galaga using one quarter. The nostalgia value of that alone is worth $20 plus shipping.Even for just Galaga, there are issues. It is hard to hit the fire button in the rapid, staccato shots needed for "challenge" stages in Galaga (and helpful elsewhere). You have to use your thumb because of the small size of the unit. On the arcade Galaga, I use the tips of my fingers on the fire button, which is placed several inches away from the joystick.Some intrepid video game maker needs to make a "universal" video game. It would look like an '80s stand-up or table-top game, but would be able to play many (say, 50) classic '80s games. The software issue would be trivial; the hard part would be having buttons, joysticks, knobs (Tempest), trackballs (Centipede, Missile Command), etc. able to handle the different games. Perhaps there would be modules that could be plugged in to the controls area as needed for different games.

Good price, fast shipping, and amazing communication. Nothing to complain about; it was a fast, simple, and a pain free transaction. The device works amazingly, and my family loves using it.

Defective right out of the box

Great games, tons of fun!