The Three Generations Inside Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions

Namco re-re-re-refreshes two of their legendary franchises in a new 3DS compilation that doesn't exactly feel like a rerun.

In this world, nothing is certain but death, taxes, and Pac-Man. Namco's eternal mascot has both old and new games appearing just about every year, not to mention the bajillion or so Pac-Man titles on the iOS App Store. It's hard to keep up with the guy, even after 30 years. Nevertheless, my undying interest in Namco's classic franchises kept me interested in Bandai Namco's upcoming summer release Pac-Man and Galaga Dimensions, a 3DS title that's a more focused compilation than the Namco Museum series, but seems no less packed with fun.

New School

Dimensions includes two new games in the Pac-Man and Galaga families. On one side, you get Pac-Man Tilt, a colorful side-scrolling platformer starring the ol' dot-chomper, featuring control that incorporates the 3DS gyro to shift the gravity in the game left or right. It's clever, but not unheard of -- games like Rolando and others brought that kind of accelerometer/gyro control to the mainstream before. The difference here is that it's Pac-Man, of course, but the layout and look of the game's stages makes Tilt feel a lot like a Sonic game, as Pac-Man is affected by gravity, can gain momentum as he travels, and can even roll into a ball and travel through twisty tunnels.
Since Nintendo doesn't make 3D support mandatory for 3DS games, Pac-Man Tilt plays it safe and disables any 3D effects, because all the tilting can disrupt the 3D effect. It's disappointing, but not entirely Namco's fault, and the other games in the collection all have 3D anyway.

Galaga 3D Impact is the other headliner in Dimensions. It's a first-person, on-rails shooter that simply flies you through space stations, above planets, and around enemy bases as you destroy the incoming alien bugs from the Galaga "mythology."
If you've played Face Raiders on your 3DS, you already know the drill: you can physically move the system around to move the in-game reticule and fire at the surrounding enemies. But as a nice concession to those of us who don't want to look too silly, you can just as effectively play using the circle pad, and without pausing to change control schemes in a menu or something. Namco nerds will find it most similar to  Solvalou, the first-person interpretation of Xevious that played more or less the same way, but this Galaga game naturally has better graphics. It's simple, but then again, so is regular Galaga.

Old Guard

Dimensions also has some extra bonuses besides the main games (which can be a good thing, since you might be done with them fairly soon). Included and unlocked from the get-go are Pac-Man Championship Edition and Galaga Legions, the Xbox Live Arcade hits from a few years ago, the latter of which showing up on a portable system for the first time. They both have sequels versions on the consoles, but these are still good games.

Galaga Legions was quite a shift from the traditional gameplay, and that got it some iffy responses from people, who found it a bit too hard to deal with. The same thing could happen to newcomers on the 3DS, so just be warned that it's not your daddy's Galaga. As an added (but somewhat expected) bonus, both Legions and Pac-Man CE have subtle 3D depth.
And for those who liked Pac-Man or Galaga before they were repeatedly reinvented, Dimensions includes the original arcade games. Perhaps you've played them a billion times before, as they're available on basically every system you can buy now. But hey, why not the 3DS, too, right? And to sweeten the deal, there's a 3D effect in these games, too, but not in the way you think: alternate view modes put the game into a virtual arcade cabinet (either stand-up or tabletop) and make it look like you're hunched over the real thing, staring into the glass over the monitor.

Yes, by all means, it's a novelty, but I also found it a really smart way to treat these games on the 3DS. Bordering them with a fake arcade cabinet (and stacks of coins on the sides) does make the games smaller on the already small 3DS screen, but it's cute, and something only available on 3DS... and real life.