"Pac-Man fun in an affordable "Pac"-age"

Pac-Man has received a great treatment in an era of reliving arcade classics. The greats of yesteryear are all enjoying a fair comeback. As some older gamers sometimes want not only a trip down memory lane to the games they used to play, but also, some want to relive a time where games were simple but extraordinarily engaging.

Pac-Man Collection brings the well-known and not-so-well-known games all in a convenient cartridge, and whether the game is recommendable depends on the gamer's familiarity or interest. Each game is good in its own right, but more than likely, the only game people will be familiar with is the original Pac-Man.

I am happy to report that the original dot-chomping classic is back with no major problems. The game can either be played as one non-scrolling maze, or in a mode that lets the game scroll up and down. Played as a single-screen, none of the detail is lost, but the game works a lot better when the maze is scrollable. The single screen is incredibly difficult to see on a GBA screen, unfortunately. This can be a major drawback for gaming purists.

The rest of the collection's content will probably be familiar to those interested in the game, but for the uninitiated, it may just be considered filler.

Pac-Mania is a game released in the late 80s to arcades and consoles. The same basic gameplay formula is there, with a few twists. The game is played at an isometric perspective, like Super Mario RPG or Sonic 3D Blast, and Pac-Man has the ability to jump. There is no control of this jump once Pac is in the air, and in later stages, the ghosts can jump as well. There is a fifth ghost added to the mix, as well. The game scrolls in all directions to accommodate the maze. Additionally, when a fruit bonus is available at the bottom of the screen, a notice appears on the screen, letting the player know a bonus or even a special Power Pellet is up for grabs. Pac-Mania features impressive graphics, and the characters and environments are rendered rather well. The game moves at a snail's pace, which might turn off some gamers.

Pac-Attack is a Tetris-style tile puzzler released in the early 90s to consoles. The player must place tiles of either ghosts or ground, and must make rows of ghosts. When a Pac-Man tile comes down, the ghosts are automatically vulnerable to being eaten. Pac-Man tiles come down eventually, and Pac can eat a full row of ghosts either horizontally or vertically. Pac eventually stops if he hits the bottom of the stage, or a barrier. The more ghosts he eats in a session, the bigger the combo. "Normal Mode" has Pac making combos and munching enough ghosts to reach a quote, while "Puzzle Mode" has a limited amount of Pacs available to chomp up all the ghosts on screen. "Puzzle Mode" also has a password feature. Redesigned sprites and catchy synthesized music make this a good experience, and the concept in itself works to an extent, but people may not find this game entirely too interesting.

The meat and potatoes of the extra material comes in the "Arrangement Mode". The Pac-Man formula has been redesigned, the game receives a graphical facelift, and the game has been changed drastically overall. The objective is still the same as the classic, and the mechanics are similar. Included in the classic mazes are speed boosts, special dots which are worth more points but slow Pac down if he eats a line of them, a new ghost, teleportation devices, and more. If Pac-Man hits a speed boost, he stuns all ghosts in his path. Most of these are self-explanatory, but the new ghost is a rather odd beast. Alone, he can act as a Power Pellet, but if he combines with one of the other ghosts, he can morph into a bull-type creature, and ram directly into Pac-Man with a surprising rush.

The graphics in the "Arrangement Mode" are also quite interesting. All dots in the stage bounce and float. The newly-rendered Pac is well-done, and the stage design in the new levels show off several different environments.

While the gameplay is different in every game, the game gets points for a great, intuitive interface and good sound. The sound emulation is good in the classic rendition, but the rest of the games and the interface feature some impressive compressed music. Pac-Man Collection features an interesting remix of different Pac-Man themes, with a nice backbeat. The tunes in the game are almost all different versions of the classic song, but the newer songs featured in the "Arrangement Mode" are quite nice. Generally, the games do not stray from the original bleeps and bloops in the sound department, and these are even used in the interface.

For Pac-Man purists, this game may be a good choice. It can always be fun to have a little dot-munching on the go, and each game is a different and unique spin on the original concept. The collection serves its purpose as a solid arcade collection: the original game is emulated quite well, the interface is easy to use and even features tips for each game, and the less-familiar games may even serve as good diversions and fun experiences in their own right.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/21/05, Updated 12/01/05