Pac-Man Collection

"You know you've played these a long time if you go "Wakkawakkawakka" when you eat!"

Remember Pac-Man? You know, Pac-Man? The little yellow ball that ate little pellets and went "wakkawakkawakka"? No? Oh, that's right, you're part of the new generation of gamers, aren't you, hm? Well, okay, I'll explain once and only once, so listen up. When arcade games were all the rave, Pac-Man was a hit. In fact, he was a hit then, he's a hit now, and will be a hit in the future. So how does Namco prove that he is a hit? Let's just say they compiled a collection of four great Pac-Games (made that one up myself!). Let's look over all of them, shall we, hm?

Pac-Man
Ah, the original, one-and-only Pac-Man arcade. In this nostalgic blast from the past, you must help Pac-Man eat all the pellets as well as any fruits that appear, all the while escaping those horrible ghosts Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde. (Why couldn't they give that last one a rhyming name? Just not right.) If you eat one of the four Power Pellets (patent pending, all rights reserved), those ghosts will not only turn blue, but they'll run for their AFTER-lives! (Get it? Ghost, afterlife? Never mind...)

Pac-Mania
In this 3-D game, get all the pellets while avoiding the ghosts. One thing I like here is that not only is everything three-dimensional, but the mazes are very unique and layed out very, very well. My favorite of this bunch, if you want my opinion. But you probably don't. Wait, if you don't then why read this review, huh?

Pac-Man Arrangement
It's almost like Pac-Mania, except it's more 32-bit, and the mazes are just as well-layed out, but they're more colorful. It's the same objective as the previous two, though.

Pac-Attack
This is different. It's a PUZZLE game. (Puzzle is one of my favorite game genres!) Here, you must rotate the combination of ghosts and walls to make them form a straight line of ghosts, so that when you lay a Pac-Man down, he'll follow the line of ghosts and eat them all up, thus completing the level. But, if everything builds up to the very top, GAME OVER!

Well, there's my review. This is a good compilation. You might enjoy it, depending on your preferences.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/09/04