Hands-on with pac-man championship edition

The first thing I want to point out with Pac-Man Championship Edition is that you won't find a remixed version of the original Pac-Man. Each of the game modes included in the $10 price are timed events where you can only win by surviving until your five or ten minutes are up, then seeing how well your scores stack up on the leaderboards. This isn't a bad thing; competitive Pac-Man is actually a lot more fun than it sounds. Just don't get confused about what you're getting when you buy the game.

We detailed the game modes yesterday when the game was announced, and you might want to take notes: the actual game doesn't tell you what each mode is before you select it. The game is a departure from the classic Pac-Man; now the screen is arranged horizontally in widescreen so it's long instead of tall, and when you eat all the pellets on the screen, the level isn't over—you just have to eat the fruit and repopulate each side of the maze with pellets. The mazes themselves even change shape, which is a good way to keep you on your toes.

The new graphics and sounds are pretty rave-y, but it looks and sounds better than you would think based on the screenshots. This isn't so much a revamped Pac-Man as it is a way to re-imagine the game as an kind of competitive sport. When you die, Pac-Man even re-enters the level in the same place the ghost got you instead of resetting things as the original game did. Play is kept fast, and there is no multiplayer here, online or otherwise. This is purely you against the clock against the ghosts.

Speaking of the ghosts, they seem much easier to avoid now. I found myself getting out of near impossible situations, and I don't think I got any better at Pac-Man in the weeks since I've played it last; the ghosts just don't seem as interested in following me as they do in other Pac-Man titles. The problems with the 360's d-pad return as well; I found myself missing a turn every now and again when it felt like I had hit the pad perfectly. Frustrating.

Still, this is great fun, and the new mazes and score-based play breathes new life into Pac-Man. If you're a purist, this may drive you crazy, but for everyone else this is a very neat twist on the old formula. Trying to get the all the pellets while eating long chains of ghosts for the big points while the levels shift and pulse around you is almost hypnotizing. Even the ten-minute game sessions seem to fly by.

While not for everyone, this is certainly worth a try.

Source : arstechnica.com