"Good Pac-Man clone, but otherwise a lame game"

Pros
Easy to learn; easy to play

Cons
almost no challenge; the screen never changes; delayed controls.

The Bottom Line
If you're looking for a fun arcade-style action game look elsewhere. This one is entirely too easy.

Full Review

It's funny how “Pac-Man” for Atari 2600 is one of the worst games of all time and yet the “Ms. Pac-Man” port for is one of the better games of the library despite the fact their premises are essentially the same. Then we have “Mouse Trap,” which is more or less the same type of game that lies somewhere in the middle. It's easy to learn and play, but it's not particularly special.

PRESS FIRE TO START

The difference between “Mouse Trap” and “Pac-Man” is the ability to change the maze slightly and to turn your character invincible at will. An original take to be sure, but this port to the VCS sure doesn't feel innovative in any way.

You play as a smiley-faced mouse in a maze filled with “cheese” that you must gobble up while at the same time dodging three cats who are out to get you. To aid in your quest are “bones” in the four corners of the maze which enable you to transform into a dog for a few seconds and turn the tables on those pesky cats.

Each rectangle is worth a whopping one point. Getting a cat while you're in dog mode earns you 10 points and for every stage you clear you receive a 100-point bonus. You earn a 1-up for every 500 points you score. Surprisingly, eating a bone earns you no points at all.

PLAYER 1 – READY!

One of the unique features to this game is the fact you can change the maze a little by holding down the fire button to open and close doors, but the entire maze layout stays the same the entire game! Playing the exact same screen over and over again is almost always a boring concept and this cart is no exception.

The biggest problem with “Mouse Trap” is that it's entirely too easy. It does offer four difficulty settings but even at the highest the challenge is minimal. The cats never really chase you, instead, they just find a spot near you and oscillate to serve as roadblocks. In the “Pac-Man” franchise the challenge was derived from the fact the power pills were located in the corners and that straying too far from them was dangerous. The opposite is true for this game since you have the option to engage your equivalent of the “Power Pill” at will. Since the cats don't really chase you to begin with, you're almost never in a rush or at a loss for a bone, so where's the challenge?

JOYSTICKING

At least the gameplay itself is smooth and surprisingly fast. The controls are quickly responsive for the most part, except for the fact the button is used for two different functions. Holding it for a second will open and close doors while tapping it quickly changes to dog mode. Not surprisingly, there were many times I wanted to change the maze only to eat a bone and then had to race to the other side of the screen just to utilize it. And even eating bones is a delayed process itself. Oftentimes I was trapped so I'd tap the button quickly but to no avail. Perhaps the true challenge to “Mouse Trap” lies in mastering its delayed controls.

SPRITES & PIXELS

There isn't much to comment on as far as visuals. The background is entirely black and the maze is a weird light green/aqua blue color. Naturally, there is some flicker with the doors but that's acceptable because it helps you know which parts of the maze are solid and which are movable. Otherwise the graphics are pretty average and iconic. However, I think the mouse's face is kind of funny because it looks like he's chewing gum and not chomping the rectangles.

I might also criticize the game for having a weird effect of the screen jumping after each stage, as if someone had hit the reset button or your television had a problem with its vertical control. Probably just a glitch of some sort.

CHIPPED TUNES

The sound palette is clearly made up of catalog sounds with the only original aural feature being the little chime that plays at the beginning of the game and after each stage you pass. It's cute at first but it gets annoying fast. What's worse is when you die and start up again, the game pauses for the exact same number of seconds as the chime but over dead silence – why?

INSERT COIN TO CONTINUE

Classic arcade action games have an ageless quality to them, but “Mouse Trap” is clearly aimed at children. I remember playing it for hours on end when I was little so it obviously has replay value, but only for a specific audience. Easy games aren't fun to play multiple times because they only get easier, and easy doesn't necessarily equal fun.

GAME OVER

As game unto itself, “Mouse Trap” is average at best. As a “Pac-Man” rip-off it's probably one of the better ones. So the gameplay is familiar, but not unique enough to give it any kind of charm.

Recommended:
No

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 04/10/08

Game Release: Mouse Trap (US, 1982)