Pong is often credited with being the first video game, though some video game aficionados would disagree. However, if you say that Pac-Man was the game that put video gaming on the map, you probably won’t find anyone willing to argue. Pac-Man is synonymous with video games, and just when you think he is gone, Pac-Man always comes back to let people know who is in charge.
Pac-Man was created 20 years ago when Tohru Iwatani, a Namco designer, got the idea when he looked at the shape of his pizza after removing the first slice. While shooting space aliens was all the rage, Pac-Man created a maze-game craze that shocked the video game world. Pac-Man is the best selling coin-operated game ever, selling approximately 100,000 machines in its first year. The game has been played more than 10 billion times, making over $100 million.
Pac-Man inspired a cartoon show that ran for two seasons, and was the inspiration for Pac-Man Fever, a song written by Jerry Buckner and Gary Garcia in 1981. The pellet-chomping icon was the inspiration for several spin-offs, Ms. Pac-Man, Super Pac-Man, Baby Pac-Man and Pac-Land. In July, 1999, Billy Mitchell, a Florida resident achieved the first perfect score in Pac-Man (3,333,360) after six hours of play. He bested 256 boards, ate every dot, fruit, power pellet and ghost using only one quarter. Yes, even in 1999, Pac-Man was making news. No matter how many years have gone by, Pac-Man won't retire to that old age home as a new franchise has been created and the old one remembered in future games to hit the PS One and Game Boy Advance. We will take a look at both titles and see what's in store for the future of Pac-Man.
First, in 1999, to celebrate Pac-Man's 20th Birthday, Pac-Man World was created. This game took Pac-Man out of the maze into the side scrolling world dominated by Super Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog. The game debuted to rave reviews, even spinning off a 3-D title for his wife. The new game by Namco gave Pac-Man a brand new look, with arms and legs. I was skeptical of Pac-Man’s 1990’s overhaul, because Frogger sucked so badly, but Pac-Man World kicked ass. At first, the game seemed too easy, but the difficulty level picked up as the game went on. The game became challenging in a way that wasn’t too hard, but hard enough to have fun. The premise: Pac-Man must save his family from the evil Toc-Man, who believes he’s the real Pac-Man.
Guiding the little yellow guy through six worlds that break past the traditional maze, was a lot of fun, as Pac-Man now runs, flies, swims and even throws pellets as weapons to get past a new array of bad guys who aren’t all ghosts. The children I played this game with loved it and didn’t want to stop playing, often asking me to bring it back the next time I came over to see my girlfriend. However, this game is not for kids alone. People who, like me, loved this game 20 years ago, can enjoy this new twist of the classic game, now in 3-D.
Pinky, Inky, Blinky and Clyde are still in this game and if you miss the whole maze atmosphere, you'll be happy to know that the original game is included. In addition to that, there is another option that gives players a chance to enjoy all new, updated 3-D rendered mazes where the ghosts are smarter and the mazes are harder. It feels just like the old classic game we all know and loved, only tweaked to give the gamer a brand new experience. In a review that dates back to my days at Baruch College's Asylum, I gave this game a Badseed's Bottomline of 5 out of 5. Pac-Man world just kicked ass. The graphics were awesome, the gameplay was supremely addictive, the reply value was high, the controls were easy and the addition of the original classic was a nice touch. Pac-Man maintained that classic feel, proving that things do get better with age. However, if you like oldies, do I have a title for you.
Just recently, I purchased the Pac-Man Collection for my Game Boy Advance. Namco put out a collection of four Pac-Man games, including the original, and three others I never played before. Classic games are always best for the hand held systems and I was happy to get my hands on this one. As soon as I got it, I ran home, popped the cartridge in and enjoyed a happy experience that brought me back in time. Four games in one; hours of fun and a lifetime of childhood memories; Pac-Man Collection just kicks retro ass.
Of course, the original game is included here and the graphics remain the same as before. Everything from the first game remains the same as before. There is absolutely nothing lost in the transfer. However, I played this game the least, since I have it on so many other systems. What I bought this game was the versions of Pac-Man I never played before.
Pac-Mania was awesome. It was pretty much the same game as the original only spaced out more. The whole maze does not fit on the screen, so you never know where everything or every ghost is. It makes it that much more harder. The graphics here are more toward the 3-D environment and the ghosts are just a bit more intelligent than in the original, making for a much different kind of gaming experience. You aren’t going to do that well in this game unless you master patterns and throw everything you knew about the original out the window.
Pac-Man Arrangement takes the concept of Pac-Man and throws it on its ear. In this game, the maze has some funky colors, almost looking as if you were playing in a maze of Lego blocks. This game is the same as you still chomp pellets, eat power pellets and chomp ghosts and still have fruit to munch on, but it differs in how you approach this game. There is another ghost here; a much bigger ghost that can either barge at you like a bull, jump through the maze like a rabbit, or be in two places at the same time. This ups the ante, as he is almost impossible to get away from, but not totally impossible. Also, there are Pac-Dash Arrows that help you get along the maze faster. Just chomp these arrows and Pac-Man darts across the board in the direction the arrow is pointing in. Use these wisely, like when a ghost is right up your ass and you need a quick escape. Another way out is through the warp tunnels, which like always takes you from one side of the maze through the other. However, there are also warp gates that take you to the opposite gate of the same color, wherever that may be. There are even different kinds of power-ups that freeze the ghosts for short periods of time, traps ghosts or more. Pac-Man Arrangement adds a whole new element to the original game, making it the most fun version on this cartridge. I am sorry I never knew it existed until now.
Finally, like Dr. Mario and Pokemon Puzzle, Pac-Man has his own Tetris-style game, Pac-Attack, that is actually more reminiscent to Yoshi's puzzle game. You line up blocks in an effort to make a line disappear, but you must also watch out because ghosts come down and ruin these lines. Line up the ghosts in a way that when Pac-Man appears, you can have him chomp them to pieces and help bring lines together. This game is very challenging and after a few levels, it does not get any easier. This game is addictive as Tetris and reason alone to buy this cartridge.
The Pac-Man collection is just awesome. The graphics in each game match the originals, the controls are easy to master, the gameplay is as fun as it has always been, the sound is reminiscent of the old days and the reply value is extremely high. Since this is an old school title, I will give it an old school Badseed's Bottomline of 5 out of 5. I urge you to pick it up and enjoy what never gets old.
No matter what game Pac-Man is featured in, you can be assured that it won’t be like Frogger, Centipede or Asteroids. It’s going to be good and I urge anyone with a PS One to pick up Pac-Man World, and if you have a Game Boy Advance, The Pac-Man Collection is the perfect game for your system. Be on the lookout as Pac-Man World 2 should be out next year for the PS2. Finally, Namco Museum will be releasing a whole lot of old Pac-Man titles along with other games from their collection onto one PS2 disc that gamers can enjoy for hours. Legends never die, they just get better with age.
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