"Wakka-wakka-wakka...."

Introduction- Pac-Man is an arcade game developed by Namco in which you have to guide a little sphere-like creature named Pac-Man through a never-ending maze containing a ton of dots, several flashing pellets, and of course 4 brightly colored ghosts, Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Sue. This simple story began a gaming phenomenom which continues to this day. Over 20 years later, Pac-Man is revered as one of the best arcade games of all time.

Gameplay- You play as Pac-Man and you have to eat all of the dots in the maze while avoiding the ghosts. Touching any of the ghosts while in their colored forms will result in an immediate death. So, eating all the dots while avoiding ghosts is easy, right? Nope, the ghosts will chase you down until you either grab a flashing pellet, clear the maze, or die. They even have an annoying tendency to corner you as well. Eating a flashing pellet will change that, as the ghosts mysteriously turn blue and can be eaten by Pac-Man. Eating the ghosts in quick succession will add a lot of points to your score. When eaten, the ghosts return to their little box to regenerate into their dangerous colored form, giving Pac-Man enough time to eat all of the dots in the maze. Each stage is noted with a little fruit such as an apple, cherry, orange, or grape. Eventually, the same fruit for the stage will occasionally bounce around the stage for you to eat. Eating the fruit will give you a few points which will increase in later stages. After a few stages, you may be treated to a cute little cut-scene involving Pac-Man and some of the ghosts.

Graphics/Sound- Pac-Man had very simple graphics, but at the time were considered very good. The maze does keep repeating, so some work could have been done there. Sounds are classic, especially when eating the dots or chomping on a ghost. These sound effects stick in your mind and instantly remind you of this game.

Recommendation- Pac-Man is very addicting and is also a great game to play. You must try this at your arcade whenever you go there. This is an arcade classic and also a game that will quickly burn through your money!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/05/06