Pac-Man

"A great version of the arcade classic!"

I can still remember going to my local arcade when I was just a young lad. All the cool games which were there just blew me away. They had it all: Missile Command, Centipede, Space Invaders, and all the rest. However, two games really stood out for me: Defender and, of course, the seminal classic, Pac-Man. I'm pretty sure that anyone reading this review doesn't need to be told what Pac-Man is. Although Ms. Pac-Man is considered the superior version of the game, I have a special place in my heart for the original. I spent more money on that game than my father would probably care to remember, and I was even a big fan of the cartoon during its short televison run. I would never have imagined that one day I would be able to play Pac-Man on a handheld console, or that said console could deliver such a close resemblence to the arcade experience.

Graphics:
Come on, it's Pac-Man! The graphics here are, of course, very primitive in this day of the PS2 and Xbox, but they do have that certain timeless charm about them which is undeniable. The NGPC recreates the graphics of the arcade machine perfectly, and all the characters are clear and well-defined even on the small screen of the handheld. The few animations which are present in the game are all accounted for, resulting in an experience much like playing it on an arcade machine.

Score: 7/10

Sound:
Once again, there's not exactly much sound here to be noted. The sound effects and tinny music of the arcade original are also present in unblemished form. It's hard to believe that these sound effects were once state of the art!

Score: 6/10

Gameplay:
Pac-Man proves that gameplay still is more important than all the fancy polygons and orchestrated soundtracks put together. Hey, if a game just isn't fun, then what is the point in playing it? Pac-Man is one of those games which is simple but addicting, and I can remember sacrificing many quarters to it back in my younger years. Simply, Pac-Man is a small, round creature which also has a mouth. Your mission is to guide him safely through each maze while at the same time devouring all the pellets in his path. Standing in Pac-Man's way are four different-colored ghosts that will kill Pac-Man instantly once they come into contact with him. Of course, Pac-Man can also eat the bigger power pellets which make the ghosts briefly vulnerable, and Pac-Man can then eat them, leaving only their eyes behind. Once eaten, the ghosts will return to their lair at the center of the maze, regenerating their bodies. All four ghosts have different personalities and will use different methods to attempt to trap and destroy Pac-Man. This adds some surprising strategy to the game. Once you beat a maze, you move on to a new one, continually in quest of the high score! Pac-Man may have aged very ungracefully graphically, but the fact remains that it is still one of the most fun games to play. There's no epic story or mind-blowing visuals here, but there is plenty of the type of gameplay which is in short supply these days.

Score: 9/10

Replayability:
Well, Pac-Man is pretty much all replayability. You can easily decide to sit down and play a quick round or two and wind up wasting much time on this one, trying to get through ''just one more maze.'' The only thing that really hurts Pac-Man is the fact that Namco didn't really add anything for this handheld release. There is the main game, and that is it. The only extra here is that you can adjust the size of the screen for a full view of the maze as you play (the classic view) or the new view which scrolls along with Pac-Man and allows a closer look at the proceedings. There isn't even any option to save your high score, which also hurts. Overall, though, Pac-Man is just one of those perfect games which is easy to pick up and play for newbies and vets alike.

Score: 9/10

Overall impressions:
Let's be honest. You already know if you like Pac-Man or not. The only question is whether or not to pick up this version for the NGPC. Considering you can probably find it very cheap, I would say yes. This game offers hours of classic gameplay at a very low cost. Also, it's just cool to be able to have a pocket version of Pac-Man. If you're a true gamer, you owe it to yourself to have at least one copy of this piece of gaming history. Were it not for the forefathers of gaming like Pac-Man, we wouldn't have the Final Fantasies and Resident Evils of today.

Overall score (not an average): 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/06/03, Updated 01/06/03