Pac to the future
Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 8:55 pm
Many years has it been since I last broke a sweat playing a Pac-man game, but Pac-man Championship Edition has stirred me in a way the yellow puck hasn't managed to do since about 1985. I was initially under the impression that it was nothing more than a graphically enhanced version of the original game, but I downloaded the demo figuring it might be a novel way to kill 3 minutes. 3 minutes later I purchased the full version.
The maze is totally different, which has been attempted before, but not since Ms. Pac-man has a new layout been this successful. The general openness is balanced by the segmented nature of the maze: eating fruit opens up new swaths of pellets, and since only 2 swaths can be on-screen at any given time, the game manages to give you clear direction without restricting movement. This back and forth "wave" structure gives the whole game a very smooth flow - it's not the staccato "clear board, repeat" schtick of Pac-man past. Even more interestingly, the board layout itself morphs from wave to wave in certain game modes, and since the speed increases as you rack up points, the pace never drags even during 10 minute endurance sessions. The vector-style graphics pulsate and change color in tune with the techno BGM, making for a wholly mesmerizing experience. (Kudos to Namco for resisting the urge to schlock together yet another tired remix of the old Pac-man theme.)
It's taken Namco twenty years to figure out what to do with the old Pac formula, but they did finally manage to teach that old dog some new tricks. There's a sense of rhythm here the series has never had before, and while it's too shallow to carry its own divergence (no "Ms. Pac-man Championship Edition, please), it's easily the most interesting and fun variation in the entire squalid assemblage. I hope I get hit by a car tomorrow for saying this, but, well, this ain't your daddy's Pac-man.
The maze is totally different, which has been attempted before, but not since Ms. Pac-man has a new layout been this successful. The general openness is balanced by the segmented nature of the maze: eating fruit opens up new swaths of pellets, and since only 2 swaths can be on-screen at any given time, the game manages to give you clear direction without restricting movement. This back and forth "wave" structure gives the whole game a very smooth flow - it's not the staccato "clear board, repeat" schtick of Pac-man past. Even more interestingly, the board layout itself morphs from wave to wave in certain game modes, and since the speed increases as you rack up points, the pace never drags even during 10 minute endurance sessions. The vector-style graphics pulsate and change color in tune with the techno BGM, making for a wholly mesmerizing experience. (Kudos to Namco for resisting the urge to schlock together yet another tired remix of the old Pac-man theme.)
It's taken Namco twenty years to figure out what to do with the old Pac formula, but they did finally manage to teach that old dog some new tricks. There's a sense of rhythm here the series has never had before, and while it's too shallow to carry its own divergence (no "Ms. Pac-man Championship Edition, please), it's easily the most interesting and fun variation in the entire squalid assemblage. I hope I get hit by a car tomorrow for saying this, but, well, this ain't your daddy's Pac-man.
