Title: Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures
Format: PS3(reviewed), Xbox 360, PC, Wii U, 3DS
Release Date: November 5th, 2013
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Namco Bandai
Price: $59.99
ESRB Rating: E
Pac-Man has never faired really well when he's pulled from his 2D board and thrown into a 3-Dimensional adventure game, and Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures is no different.
Story and Presentation:
A brief intro introduces you to the city of Pacopolis, where you're quickly greeted by Pac-Man and his band of friends. The characters are all voiced with a certain peppiness that's very reminiscent to a an early morning cartoon or a cheeky anime. The narrative isn't deep at any point, and I never expected it to be. The game is a perfect setting for the younger audience, and it doesn't really have crossover appeal for children and adults that the popular LEGO games have. Once the childlike charm starts to wear off, and it will wear off rather quickly, the story will really start to drag on. The soundtrack is okay, it's not anything special, but it won't irritate you either. One of the bright spots in the game revolves around the use of nostalgic sounds. Even the main theme sends a direct call back to the original games. When you're platforming a eating those delectable yellow dots, you hear that iconic sound byte, which is a really cool effect. Visually, the game won't impress you in anyway. The game doesn't look terrible, there are some cool and unique levels to explore. I'm sure most of us wouldn't come to expect a technical masterpiece when it comes to a 3D Pac-Man title, and if you were, you'll be pretty disappointed.
Core Gameplay and Multiplayer:The early levels in the game really hold your hand and explains the game's simple mechanics to you. You simply run your way through a linear path eating pellets and hamburgers, while also scaring ghosts and chomping them in one bite. This formula may work out for the classic arcade game, but for a 3D platformer, it rounds out to a pretty dull experience. It becomes far too tedious early on, and within the first couple of hours of playing it, you'll be wanting to put another game in your system. Now the game does add some variety in the game by introducing you to powers for Pac-Man. The yellow guy can eat special pellets, that gives him new special powers. Examples include Fire and Ice pellets that allow Pac-Man to freeze and burn ghosts, making them a lot easier to swallow down. This really keeps the combat from becoming a total snore, even though it doesn't add any real excitement. Targeting specific ghosts with certain powers can become a bit wonky as the game introduces you to more different types of ghosts, and as they throw more at you at one time. The platforming in the game is solid, and that's what I expected. Other than the early levels of the game, the platforming is okay, and it's fun to explore the wide array of worlds. The multiplayer in the game pits four players as ghosts together in a classic maze from the older games, but it's presented in a 3D view. You're all hunting a CPU controlled Pac-Man, and it's a cool concept, but it turns out to be just as dull as the single player.
Final Thoughts:Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures doesn't do much for the platforming genre, but hardcore Pac-Man fans will get some enjoyment out of it, even though it will be purely nostalgic. If you're not, you may want to skip this one.
S&S Rating: 6/10 @whatsPlay
