Pac-Man Championship Edition
- July 31, 2007 14:23 PM PST
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After two decades of spinoffs featuring extended family and awful kart racers, Pac-Man is back with an all-new dot-chomping arcade experience that just may be better than the original.
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If the original Pac-Man had a lovechild with the ship from Geometry Wars and then raised it in a European techno club, it would probably resemble Pac-Man Championship Edition. PM:CS takes the core elements of the original arcade game--chomping pellets while alternately running away from and hunting ghosts--but adds new features that actually improve on the formula.
Like Geometry Wars, top scores require panache and persistence. Chaining power-pellet ghost binges will net you more points, and the points-per-pellet ratio will increase as you eat more of them without dying. The stages will only end when you run out of time or lives--pellets will keep regenerating as long as you eat fruit--so the game has a continual, hectic feel.
The stages are quite different and masterfully designed--some bunch up power pellets at points, only to make them scarce for a few minutes, others feature long passageways for tense showdowns, and there are, of course, many that recall classic arcade designs . Namco has stated they're the first new stages from the game's original designer in over 25 years, and it is definitely worth the wait. -DaveMayCry
PROS:
- Great new gameplay elements make one the greatest games of all time even better!
- A gorgeous, Geometry Wars-inspired look.
- Leaderboards inspire high-score lists of yore.
CONS:
- The techno-influenced remix of the classic theme is a bit cheesy.
- Folks who already bought Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man on XBLA should feel a bit ripped-off.
FINAL VERDICT: Combining the old-school feel with new-gen intensity, Pac-Man World Championship is the best Xbox Live Arcade game since Geometry Wars.
