Pac-Man
Posted August 9, 2006
Namco's ability for mediocrity on Xbox Live Arcade shows no bounds. While arcade classics certainly deserve to be preserved, the Live community has grown to expect more features and improvements when arcade titles enter the realm of the Xbox 360. Sadly, Pac-Man follows the exact same path of Galaga and disappoints on a multitude of levels. Honestly, it's as if Namco carbon copied its last Xbox Live Arcade release. 
Gameplay:
For those living on a desert island for the past 25 years, allow me to delve into the intricate gameplay that is Pac-Man. You control a round yellow munching machine that roams each level gulping down all the dots. Adversely, 4 multicolored ghosts scatter around the board to end your existence. In order to combat these spectral beings, you have four power pellets at your disposal to scare off or eat the baddies. Also, bonus items such as fruit will pop up occasionally for extra point bonuses. All in all, the classic version of Pac-Man was designed around chasing down the high score which became incredibly addictive for many. Unfortunately, the 360 version adds very little to the mix.
The control scheme is very simple to pick up and seems comfortable on the 360, although you may have to give a direction command twice on occasion. The control scheme has always been directed at gamers with quick reaction times. Also, there was a bug in the old version that's still prevalent in the 360 version. At certain times and areas of the board, you can pass through ghosts unharmed. I experienced this bug several times while playing the single player.
Within the options screen, there are a couple sections to peruse over. There is a four page help guide for those needing to familiarize themselves with the game and an options menu for changing a couple settings. The number of lives can be increased or decreased as well as the number of points an extra life will be awarded. Keep in mind, changing any of these settings will void a high score.
The 12 achievements for 200 gamerscore points hover somewhere between moronically simple and stupefyingly effortless. Without any structure whatsoever, the majority of the points can be racked up in 45 minutes. Since Namco idiotically allows for starting at any level and doesn't restrict the number of lives you can use, waltzing through the 21 levels needed is a breeze. The only achievement that may need some actual brainpower and strategy is the "Perfect" task of eating 16 ghosts on any level. While this may add another 30 minutes to the game, the replay value is annihilated afterwards. Namco should have used high point achievements or restricted the fruit collecting tasks to the default numbers of lives at level 1. That would have extended the replay life by hours and hours.
Identical to Galaga, Pac-Man is without any multiplayer mode. Without a Versus or Co-op mode, attempting to vault your score up the Xbox Live leaderboard is the only reason to keep playing. I can't understand why Namco wouldn't want to add to the single player game and increase the replay value dramatically. Seemingly, they are more content with providing the bare minimum than extra game modes.
Graphics:
Visually, Pac-Man is a dull adaptation compared to the plethora of available arcade titles. While the pixels have been cleaned up for release in High Definition, the actual game screen only takes up a little over a third of the screen and there is no stretch mode. The blocky sprite-like nature of the game board also speaks to a lazy design team at Namco. The rest of the screen is painted with high-res Pac-Man artwork similar to what's found on an arcade machine. Also, the menu artwork is a combination of the arcade machine design and a 3-D backdrop of Pac-Man chasing the Ghosts. It's odd that Namco spent more time designing the static backgrounds than redesigning the actual game.
Audio:
All the classic sound effects and music are faithfully in the 360 version. I can't fault Namco for keeping the old-school tunes as they are obviously appropriate to the nature of Pac-Man. The dot popping noises, the power pellet chases, and the ghost munching auditory effects are all overly satisfactory.
Conclusion:
Pac-Man is a wonderful game to revisit from time to time, but the full version offers nothing that the demo can't provide. Without multiplayer modes, decent achievements, or visual upgrades, the Xbox Live arcade version of Pac-Man is but a joke. Why do certain developers seem complacent to provide little improvement when bringing their ancient titles to Live Arcade? Pac-Man is certainly not worth 400 points and should be demoed only for a quick Pac attack fix. Save those expensive marketplace points for arcade titles from hardworking developers like Ninjabee, Garage Games, or Bizarre Creations.
Gameplay:
For those living on a desert island for the past 25 years, allow me to delve into the intricate gameplay that is Pac-Man. You control a round yellow munching machine that roams each level gulping down all the dots. Adversely, 4 multicolored ghosts scatter around the board to end your existence. In order to combat these spectral beings, you have four power pellets at your disposal to scare off or eat the baddies. Also, bonus items such as fruit will pop up occasionally for extra point bonuses. All in all, the classic version of Pac-Man was designed around chasing down the high score which became incredibly addictive for many. Unfortunately, the 360 version adds very little to the mix.
The control scheme is very simple to pick up and seems comfortable on the 360, although you may have to give a direction command twice on occasion. The control scheme has always been directed at gamers with quick reaction times. Also, there was a bug in the old version that's still prevalent in the 360 version. At certain times and areas of the board, you can pass through ghosts unharmed. I experienced this bug several times while playing the single player.
Within the options screen, there are a couple sections to peruse over. There is a four page help guide for those needing to familiarize themselves with the game and an options menu for changing a couple settings. The number of lives can be increased or decreased as well as the number of points an extra life will be awarded. Keep in mind, changing any of these settings will void a high score.
The 12 achievements for 200 gamerscore points hover somewhere between moronically simple and stupefyingly effortless. Without any structure whatsoever, the majority of the points can be racked up in 45 minutes. Since Namco idiotically allows for starting at any level and doesn't restrict the number of lives you can use, waltzing through the 21 levels needed is a breeze. The only achievement that may need some actual brainpower and strategy is the "Perfect" task of eating 16 ghosts on any level. While this may add another 30 minutes to the game, the replay value is annihilated afterwards. Namco should have used high point achievements or restricted the fruit collecting tasks to the default numbers of lives at level 1. That would have extended the replay life by hours and hours.
Identical to Galaga, Pac-Man is without any multiplayer mode. Without a Versus or Co-op mode, attempting to vault your score up the Xbox Live leaderboard is the only reason to keep playing. I can't understand why Namco wouldn't want to add to the single player game and increase the replay value dramatically. Seemingly, they are more content with providing the bare minimum than extra game modes.
Graphics:
Visually, Pac-Man is a dull adaptation compared to the plethora of available arcade titles. While the pixels have been cleaned up for release in High Definition, the actual game screen only takes up a little over a third of the screen and there is no stretch mode. The blocky sprite-like nature of the game board also speaks to a lazy design team at Namco. The rest of the screen is painted with high-res Pac-Man artwork similar to what's found on an arcade machine. Also, the menu artwork is a combination of the arcade machine design and a 3-D backdrop of Pac-Man chasing the Ghosts. It's odd that Namco spent more time designing the static backgrounds than redesigning the actual game.
Audio:
All the classic sound effects and music are faithfully in the 360 version. I can't fault Namco for keeping the old-school tunes as they are obviously appropriate to the nature of Pac-Man. The dot popping noises, the power pellet chases, and the ghost munching auditory effects are all overly satisfactory.
Conclusion:
Pac-Man is a wonderful game to revisit from time to time, but the full version offers nothing that the demo can't provide. Without multiplayer modes, decent achievements, or visual upgrades, the Xbox Live arcade version of Pac-Man is but a joke. Why do certain developers seem complacent to provide little improvement when bringing their ancient titles to Live Arcade? Pac-Man is certainly not worth 400 points and should be demoed only for a quick Pac attack fix. Save those expensive marketplace points for arcade titles from hardworking developers like Ninjabee, Garage Games, or Bizarre Creations.