Review: Pac-Man Championship Edition DX

Release Date: XLA: November 17, 2010, PSN: NA: November 23, 2010, EU: November 24, 2010
Developed By: Namco Bandai
Genre: Arcade
Platforms: Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network
Platform Reviewed: Playstation Network

"Wakka wakka wakka wakka" - Pac-Man

Revivals of classic games are not an uncommon thing. There have been plenty of attempts to bring retro games, such as Space Invaders and Asteroids, to modern consoles throughout each generation. Developers have a difficult task on their hands because adding too many new features can detract from whatever made the game a classic in the first place, while not adding enough can result in a game that's too similar to the original to make it worth revisiting. The planets must have aligned when Namco Bandai were developing Pac-Man Championship Edition DX because this is one case where the revival has been a complete success.

A Nutritious Diet of Dots and Fruit

As usual, this latest Pac-Man game has our hero navigating a maze, eating trails of dots and avoiding the evil ghosts which seek to undo him. Power pellets can be eaten to temporarily change the ghosts into a blue and edible form. That sounds like Pac-Man, right? What if I told you, then, that you'll be bolting around at blazing speeds while being chased by a train of 10, 20 or even 30 ghosts? It sounds crazy but it's exactly what you're letting yourself in for.

On beginning a game you're presented with two lines of dots. Eating the dots from one side of the maze will cause a higher scoring item, such as a fruit, to appear on the other side. Eating this bonus item will create a fresh path of dots on the other side of the maze. In some ways the game bears similarities to a rhythm game, as the way to a high score is to follow these pre-set paths of dots and fruit in as optimal a fashion as possible. With practice you begin to memorise the fastest way to complete each path and you gain the quick reactions needed to move onto the next one smoothly.

Speed is the name of the game here, as both of the main game modes have you racing against the clock. These consist of Score Attack, in which you have a set amount of time to score as many points as possible and Time Attack, where the aim is to eat a certain amount of fruit in as little time as possible. With your scores and best times then being posted to a global high score table and a ranking given based on your standing (Rank A for being in the top 20%, rank B for being in the top 40%, and so on), the addiction sets in as you try time and time again to perfect each maze and move up the scoreboard.

Hunted and Haunted

Of course, the ghosts Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde return to make things difficult for Pac-Man as they move around the maze, toying with him, breaking him down mentally by inducing deep paranoia before going in for the kill. While you may be trying to follow the optimal path of dots, Clyde can suddenly cross your path and throw you right off the trail and wasting you valuable seconds.

The most interesting and ultimately satisfying new element is the new type of ghost that sleeps in a certain part of the maze and awakens to give chase when Pac-Man rushes by. Several of these ghosts are dotted about the maze and more appear with each new path of dots revealed. Eventually you end up with a massive train of ghosts following closely behind until you grab your next power pellet and reach the pinnacle of gratification this game has to offer. Having Pac-Man chomp his way through a string of 20 or more ghosts is a sight to behold and may go down in history as one of the best examples of the phrase "revenge is sweet." Each ghost you eat is worth a large amount of points which increases as you eat more ghosts in succession. So, not only are you trying to eat dots and fruit as fast as you can, you're also passing by as many sleeping ghosts as possible in order to create a long trail of spirits to feast on when the time is right. There's plenty to be paying attention to.

Thankfully, Pac-Man has a new weapon to deter the ghosts; bombs. When used, bombs hurl every ghost to the centre of the maze allowing you to continue on your way unharmed. When a ghost is getting a little too close, the game slows down to a crawl, bullet-time style, to allow you to make the decision of fight (bomb) or flight. Don't misjudge this as a way to make the game easier, as each bomb you use reduces your speed, temporarily lowers the point value of dots and renders you unable to add more ghosts to your train until it catches up to you again.

"Blang blang blang BLANG BLANG BLANG" - Pac-Man, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX

The entire experience is enhanced by the brightness, loudness and sheer speed of the game. Whizzing around a maze of bright, neon colour with some fast paced music constantly reminding you that the clock is ticking and a gradual increase in Pac-Man's movement speed throughout make for some adrenaline fueled, sweaty-palm inducing gaming sessions. If you weren't so tightly holding on to the controller you'd be punching your fist in the air as the extremely emphatic sound of a long train of ghosts being devoured blasts out of your speakers. Everything about the presentation of this game wants you to keep your eyes wide open and darting about the screen. It wants to make you feel like the greatest Pac-Man player who ever lived every single time you play and it does so spectacularly.

More Pac-Man Than You Can Shake a Joystick At

There's little fault to be found here. Replays of high scoring players can be viewed for the 5 minute Score Attack mode and it would have been nice to see replays of the other modes too. Apart from that, the only thing that could improve the game is more of everything it already has, which says a lot about the high quality of the existing content.

The game certainly isn't lacking in content though, with 8 maze variations, several distinct graphical styles to choose from for both the mazes and character sprites and extra modes such as a challenge to eat as many ghosts as possible in the duration of one power pellet. Since the enjoyment of the game comes from perfecting your dot scoffing skill there's more than enough here to keep you jumping back in time and time again.

Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is an excellent example of what makes services such as Xbox Live Arcade and PSN great as it balances complexity and simplicity with competence in a pick-up-and-play game. This is an update that remains true to classic Pac-Man while successfully creating a fresh new experience that's easy to recommend to anyone.

Rating: 10/10