Ms. Pac-Man for Prizes (Mobile)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.7 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Carrie Gouskos
• Reviewed on: 12/21/2004
• Updated on: 06/01/2005
• Originally published on GameSpot: Ms. Pac-Man for Prizes (Mobile) Review

If Billy Mitchell, champion Pac-Man player, hasn't found a good use for his talents since he played "the perfect game of Pac-Man" on July 3, 1999, then he can rest easy. Ms. Pac-Man for Prizes is a game made for people like Billy, who are Pac-Man savants with persistence and free time. If you like a good, old-fashioned game of Pac-Man and think you're pretty good at it, then Ms. Pac-Man for Prizes might be the most rewarding game you've come across in a long time.

Ms. Pac-Man, also known as Pac-Man with a pink bow, is exactly like her pellet-eating paramour. She's on the quest for pac-dots, power pellets, fruit, and ghost hides. If you're unfamiliar with the difference between the two games, you'll soon learn that there are only a few minor changes to the series and those changes don't affect the overall gameplay much. In Ms. Pac-Man, the fruit appears from the side tunnels and it has to be chased down instead of hanging out precariously near the ghost spawn. The ghost cast of Inky, Blinky, and Pinky are joined by Sue instead of Clyde in Ms. Pac-Man. The most noticeable change is the level variety. The overall design of the board rotates between a few different layouts, all of which have the traditional four power pellets and otherwise symmetrical pac-dots.

In Ms. Pac-Man for Prizes, you play the traditional game of Ms. Pac-Man in a race to get the best score against another human opponent. At the end of the match, marked by the loss of your third life, your score is uploaded, compared against the opponent's score, and your rank is tallied based on the results. If you're playing head-to-head, score results are finalized daily, and prizes are awarded by a text message to your phone. You can go to the Namco site to collect your prize if you've won. The prizes themselves change daily and, depending on their value, are awarded to the top two to five players in the game. Prizes have included gift certificates to Amazon.com, $20 to first place and $10 to second place, or $6 gift certificates to Baskin-Robbins for the top four players. Prize schedules are listed for the upcoming month and include gift certificates to many other popular stores, such as Blockbuster, Subway, and Target. Weekly or "progressive" tournaments are also held, with greater rewards for the winners, but these tournaments measure your overall high score for the week instead of your daily tally against ghost opponents. At any time you can check your head-to-head and progressive scores on the phone or online. Scores update instantly in progressive mode, as soon as both players are finished in head-to-head mode.

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