PAC-MAN Championship DX

SCORE: 93

This ain’t your daddy’s PAC-MAN. The little yellow guy is back and his appetite is bigger than ever. If you thought ghosties were delicious before, just wait until you try this all you can eat buffet in neon flavors.

The Championship DX edition brings our 30 year old pellet chomping pal into the 21st century with style. If there’s one thing that this latest rendition of PAC-MAN adds, it’s color. With several visual styles to choose from, you’ll definitely being seeing PAC-MAN in a whole new light. From bright neons to pixelated building blocks, there’s nothing boring about the look of this game. Players can change the visual style of the various mazes as well as how PAC-MAN and the ghosts look. These are handy features as I found some of the visual styles to be a bit too “busy” or excessively bright for my taste.

You’ll feel right at home when you start up the game and hear those old familiar sounds from the 80’s. Of course these classic sound effects are updated and accompanied by some modern counterparts, but there is definitely a respect for the original audio. The music takes on a bass thumping club style to get you pumped up for some pellet packing fun. Players can choose from a small selection of background music or simply allow the game to choose the default for that particular maze. There are, of course, no offensive sounds to be concerned about in this game. That is unless the all too familiar sound of PAC-MAN’s demise at the hands of those persistent poltergeists is unpleasant to your ears.

The replay value of PAC-MAN Championship DX is limitless. For whatever reason, the simple PAC-MAN formula continues to keep calling you back for more and it never seems to get stale. Players can unlock several game modes in each maze as they play. You also have a great deal of freedom in customizing each level before you start. On-line leaderboards create worldwide competition and the ability to earn trophies by completing certain tasks adds to the compulsion to play the game. And speaking of compulsion, players should realize that PAC-MAN fever is not necessarily something to be taken lightly. Much like the original PAC-MAN you can become addicted to this game if you don’t keep yourself in check. I found that playing the timed modes in the game helps tremendously with this problem. Having a break in the action gives you a chance to pull yourself away.

You probably don’t need much of an explanation of how the gameplay in PAC-MAN works. There are however, some game modes you may not be familiar with. There are three primary game modes in PAC-MAN Championship DX. In “Score Attack” mode players are given a 5 to 10 minute window to score as many points as possible until the timer runs down. The “Time Trials” mode gives players an allotted amount of time in which they must collect a predetermined number of fruit pieces. This mode consists of several short trials and culminates with a longer, more challenging time trial. “Ghost Combo” mode is designed to challenge players to keep their pac pal powered up for as long as possible while gobbling up as many ghosties as they can consecutively. Oddly the game appears to be devoid of a “classic” mode which would have rounded things out nicely. I’ve played numerous PAC-MAN games on consoles over the years and the thing that stands out the most to me in this release is how well the controls work. PAC-MAN turns on a dime (or pellet if you prefer) which is something that has plagued nearly every console port of PAC-MAN I’ve played. Not only does PAC-MAN now have smooth moves, but he is also sporting bombs and “bullet time”. If you find yourself cornered with no way out you can detonate a bomb by simply pressing just about any button on your controller. Doing this sends all nearby enemies back home giving you time to escape while they clamber to get back to you. “Bullet time” kicks in when you nearly collide with an enemy and slows the game down to a crawl giving you precious seconds to redirect PAC-MAN out of harm’s way. While these features are very cool and give the game a completely different feel, they also remove much of the traditional PAC-MAN challenge. The PAC-MAN of the past was forever the underdog always on the defensive saving his priceless power pellets for the opportune moment to strike back. Now with bombs and “bullet time” PAC-MAN certainly has the upper hand. The real challenge of Championship DX is the speed at which you’ll need to play. PAC-MAN appears to have been on a steady diet of Mountain Dew and Pixie Stix these past few years judging by the way he can move around the maze. As your score increases the game speed will steadily incline to an alarming rate. You really need to experience it firsthand because trying to describe how fast that little yellow blur is moving is nearly impossible. While the controls are very smooth, your reflexes and instincts will need to be too. At a game speed of nearly 50 it becomes quite difficult to turn where you intended to. I’ll admit that it is exhilarating to guide PAC-MAN around the maze at these blazing speeds particularly when you power up and chomp a chain of well over 20 ghosts in a row. Hold on to your pellets folks, it’s going to be a swift ride.

PAC-MAN remains as family friendly as ever. This non-violent arcade game is safe for all ages and though it has no multiplayer mode, it is still fun to play together taking turns the old fashioned way. Even if you have young players in the house they too can enjoy this game. In the free play mode you are granted infinite lives and bombs as well as the ability to choose the “beginner” difficulty level. You can even select the number of ghosts you want to be present in the maze. This makes the game accessible to players who would otherwise be frustrated by the difficulty of standard play. This game was definitely enjoyable to play and a pleasure to review. I look forward to what the future holds for our yellow friend and hope to see this franchise continue for another 30 years. If you and your family are craving a pac-attack this game should satisfy your hunger. There is a free demo available for download on the PS3, so check it out if you think this might be up your alley.
-Roger

Graphics: 88%
Sound: 95%
Replay/Extras: 88%
Gameplay: 94%
Family Friendly Factor: 98%
System: Playstation 3/Xbox 360
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Rating: 'E' for Everyone

Want more info on this product, or the company that made this product?
Set web browser to:
Link

Got a question, comment, or a concern regarding this review?
Email them to:
Roger@familyfriendlygaming.com