Pac-Man Vs. Review

In a possible act of desperation, Namco attempts to revive its lagging Pac-Man series, that has failed to be overly impressive, since its inception in the 1980’s. Finally, in what can be characterized as the most intelligent move in recent Namco history, they decided to go back to Pac-Man’s roots, reviving the series in an innovative use of the GBA/GCN connectivity capabilities.

Since the Nintendo GameCube’s birth, Nintendo has been talking about connectivity between their two systems. No game has fully taken use of this feature, nor even come close to being dependent, let alone fully dependent on this feature. I’ve been skeptical about this PR move by Nintendo to support such a move, afterall, the games that I had played using connectivity (i.e. Animal Crossing, Wind Waker, etc.) were less than impressive in using the feature.

In celebration of the GCN Player’s Choice version of Pac-Man World 2, Namco and Nintendo went to work on Pac-Man Vs. They decided that they would bundle it with the Pac-Man World 2 Player’s Choice version, I-Ninja, and R: Racing Evolution. Even though I received this with R: Racing Evolution, being a bonus disc, it therefore has no affect on its review, by Game Freaks 365 policy.

Simply put, Vs. is the original Pac-Man made for 2 to 4 player multi-player. One player plays as Pac-Man (using a Game Boy Advance/Sp connected to the GCN via the GCN/GBA Link Cable) while as many as three people play the role of the ghosts that attempt to run into Pac-Man.

The idea of having the link capability is a great innovation that I’m glad that they included, although it will limit the number of people allowed to play it, considering, not everyone owns a GBA/SP and/or a GCN. Playing as Pac-Man, the screen on the GBA/Sp is small, but unlike the ghosts, Pac-Man can see the whole board. The interface is 2D on the Pac-Man screen and it looks like the original Pac-Man mazes. The ghosts play on the television using GCN controllers. The ghosts are given a small view of the board, only able to see around the area that their ghost is located.

The goal of the game is to score 7,000, 10,000, or 15,000 points. 7,000 point range can be finished in as little as three or four plays. Pac-Man receives points by eating pellets and power pellets, along with ghosts and fruit.

Playing as ghosts, your whole goal is to catch Pac-Man. By capturing Pac-Man, before he can collect all of the pellets, the person playing as Pac-Man loses 1600 points and the person(s) playing as the ghost(s) gain them. If Pac-Man clears the board of all of the pellets, the person playing Pac-Man continues playing that role. Once Pac-Man is caught, play turns and the person playing as the ghost gets to play as Pac-Man and the person playing as Pac-Man plays as a ghost.

Ghost players have many disadvantages, such as the lack of a full screen and the fact that computer-controlled ghosts are clear and must be “turned-on� by touching him with another ghost to even affect Pac-Man. Looking on the 3D maze on your television as a ghost, you can see a trail that Pac-Man leaves behind, which gives you some help in finding him.

Pac-Man Vs. is not a standalone title, which if it were, it would probably be worth a $20 price tag, but being a bonus disc, you couldn’t ask for a better game to include. While there are only six different levels to play and only the one game mode, this title will last you a long time, leaving behind some good multi-player memories.