Anyone born in the 80’s will tell you that Pac-Man is a very essential part of their childhood. Whether you were one to visit the video store, arcade or laundry mats. While vastly different Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures is actually based on the tv show it has spawned from but does it manage to offer a good experience with that in mind?
Starting off at the city of Pacopolis, Pac-Man and his gang of friends all go the school which is the main area of the game. All your expected personalities are there including the bully. I think the most interesting is some of the dialogue where you see Pac-Man has the ability to not be as nice as you would think. The dynamic shared between characters, teachers and even some ghostly’s from the tv show never breakout of any element you wouldn’t be used to for a game targeted for kids.
Venturing out beyond the central hub is where Pac-Man finds himself traveling through lands in various stages while battling all sorts of monsters and ghostly creatures. The game is a platformer and while the surroundings seem to imply much is going on it really isn’t. The simplicity of the 3D platforming level design is where the game can be most tedious. Luckily the ability to transform Pac-Man from a common ghost eater to a ice hero or chameleon etc. brings some variety to the levels themselves.
If Pac-Man is a chameleon then there will be poles coming off the walls, if your made out of ice then you will possibly need to freeze water with your powers to get over a certain obstacle. Everything also manages to give you an extra life, being hit only takes the power away. The punishment is also very temporary as you’ll be able to find the ability again within a couple of feet away.
Eating ghosts as blazing speeds, jumping from platform to platform and transforming to get through an objective seems to all come together rather nicely. Also finding some areas and bosses challenging. Their is this 4 player split screen local multiplayer mode as well in the game but I’ll be honest it will probably only keep you entertained for a short period of time. The concept might have gone better then actual development with the best redeeming quality being to play as anyone other then Pac-Man himself.
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures is based off a cartoon tv show and is pretty obvious at that. What it does well is add elements in-between the mix of standard platforming to make the whole experience feel a bit fresh. Fans of platformers will feel at home but the lack of challenge might scare some off.
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