GameSpot editors' review
-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
OK
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 06/02/2005
- Released on: 05/27/2005
- Originally published on GameSpot: Pac-Mania 3D (Mobile) Review
Pac-Mania 3D is a "2.5D" (isometric perspective) version of the original Pac-Man, and it was originally released as an arcade game, although it was then just called Pac-Mania. The game uses higher-quality sprites than the original Pac-Man, and it plays polyphonic MIDI music. Unfortunately, few are nostalgic for Pac-Mania, which, even in its heyday, put off Pac-Man fans by eschewing the original's visuals. Those more receptive to change still won't be well served by this game, as the larger sprites necessitate multidirectional scrolling, which therefore prevents players from seeing entire mazes at once. Furthermore, the Pac-Mania allows jumping, which removes all the challenge in the game's initial stages.
Anyone who's played a Pac-Man game will be basically right at home here, as the controls and objectives are the same. You must collect all the pellets in a maze while avoiding the ghosts that perambulate the bounds. Pac-Man may now leap over most of his phantasmal pursuers, although some of them--in the later levels--jump along with him. The game now uses a camera that follows Pac-Man's movements, and it only lets you see a fraction of the maze at once. Consequently, it's difficult to both locate those last niggling pellets and anticipate a ghostly approach.
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