Pac Man returns in a bonus disc worth searching out.
Pac Man vs. began as a surprise title at this year’s E3. Pac Man had always been one of Shigeru Miyamoto’s favorites and seemed like a prime candidate for connectivity. So deep within the heart of Nintendo, Miyamoto worked on his multiplayer version of Pac Man. Originally intended as a means of displaying the potential of connectivity to other developers, it wasn’t clear whether this new Pac Man would make it to store shelves. Now, six months later, Namco has decided to include the title as a bonus for those who purchase one of three games from their holiday lineup (R: Racing Evolution, I-Ninja, or the discounted Pac Man World 2), and some players are picking up those games just to get their hands on Pac Man vs.
Starting up the game is simple. You plug GC controllers into ports one, two, and three, and a GBA hooked into port four. Player one selects the number of players, the goal score, and the maze, after which, you are presented with a screen identifying which ghost each player is. The computer randomly selects who will get to play as Pac Man in the first round, and player four will trade controllers with that person.
Controller swapping is only slightly disorienting at first, due to the fact that your player is no longer tied to a specific controller or space on the screen. The color of your player never changes, and you quickly learn to keep track of that. Controller swapping really is only an issue when you start a new game and everyone needs to get their controllers back to “home” position. This is a game where players would have benefited greatly from colored WaveBirds. Without WaveBirds, a constant effort has to be made to keep from braiding controller cords, and if you have a set of three WaveBirds, you’ll have to check them at the start of each game to identify which is which.
The gameplay in Pac Man vs. is rather simple. All you need to use is the control pad or control stick. Pac Man is watching the GBA screen, playing just as you would in the arcades: chomping pellets, power pellets, and fruit, while trying to avoid getting tagged by the ghosts. The three ghosts are trying to hunt down Pac Man in a 3D version of the maze on the TV screen, but the trick is that they can only see a very small portion of the maze. If a ghost manages to tag Pac Man, that player trades his controller for the GBA and gets to be Pac Man the next round. That classic sense of “tag” is what Pac Man vs. is all about, and it continues until one player reaches 7,000, 10,000, or 15,000 points, depending on your settings at the outset of the game.
Most of the changes in the game affect the ghosts. Ghosts can now pick up the pieces of fruit that appear, which not only gains them a sly 400 points, but also zooms out the view so that player can see more of the maze. Many a foul cry are given over ghosts nabbing each other’s fruit. When playing with fewer than four people, there is a transparent computer-controlled ghost wandering around that doesn’t hurt Pac Man. If a player tags, that ghost, he’ll make a computer-controlled clone of himself and will get the spoils if the clone traps Pac Man. Another trick the ghosts have up their sleeves is that they can duck into the box in the center to avoid being eaten when Pac Man eats a power pellet.
The strategy and a large part of the fun in Pac Man vs. come from trying to coordinate attacks as ghosts. The game quickly turns into a shouting match: “He’s heading through the tunnel!” “Go around that way!” “Stop following me!” “He’s on the left side!” You’ll quickly learn which of your friends doesn’t know his right from his left. You’re all frantically trying to end Pac Man’s reign, since he racks up points the fastest. However, coordinating does have its downside in that you may not be the one to catch him. Cries of “Where’s my commission?!” go out as one player gets the 1600 extra points for catching Pac Man.
There are six mazes to choose from, including the classic maze. Some are longer than others. Some have fewer power pellets, and some are more open than the rest. On the TV screen, each has its own unique textures and foliage, as well as music. The maze you select can alter your strategies greatly, and different mazes may suit different players’ styles differently.
As the title suggests, Pac Man vs. is a multiplayer title through and through. There is no single player mode, not even the classic Pac Man or Ms. Pac Man games. (Although, if you buy the Pac Man World 2 double-pack, that game does feature an arcade with several classic Pac Man games.) Gamers that live in college dorms or regularly play multiplayer games will get the most out of Pac Man vs.
Players should also note (if they haven’t already) that Pac Man vs. is strictly a connectivity title, and there is no means of playing without a Game Boy Advance in one form or another. The game is designed in a way that makes connectivity integral to the gameplay. Pac Man is the only one that can see the whole maze, and using that advantage to stay far away from the ghosts is a key strategy to winning.
The last thing to be aware of is that this is a giveaway, and as such, there isn’t a whole lot to it. There are only six mazes to choose from, and there are no tournament options or win tracking or anything along those lines. The game doesn’t even use a memory card. Keeping in mind that it’s meant to be a simple game and that it’s free, there’s not much reason to be disappointed with a lack of features.
With all that said, Pac Man vs. is a lot of fun to have in groups, and even friends that don’t play a lot of games will catch on quick and enjoy themselves. If you have a GameCube, a GBA, and a few friends, it’s a must-have for parties.
