This is madness! This is Pac-Man 2!

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 9th 2007 at 12:45PM }

Give Pac-Man Championship Edition on XBLA a chance, seriously. Earlier this week Microsoft announced Pac-Man CE (one of the worst title choices in gaming history, but more on that in a second) as this week's game for Xbox Live Arcade. This news came following a misstep by a Microsoft exec. saying they had big news to announce Tuesday, when they were just trying to generate any type of attention for their Pac-Man World Championships. When the "big news" was announced and it ended up being a freakin' Pac-Man game, there was just a little bit of understandable anger.

However, Tuesday night, our very own PSP and PS3 Fanboy lead writer, Andrew Yoon, wrote a piece on Joystiq about Pac-Man: CE saying it's more than people think it is. Over the next couple days, between IMs on staff, we kept asking each other, "Did you check out Pac-Man yet?" This would be followed by an awkward pause and the person saying, "It's actually ... good."

Our own Jared Rea wrote on his blog, "Calling it a 'champion edition' of Pac-Man is a misnomer and a real bad move on Microsoft's part. A better name for it would have been Pac-Man 2. Not Pac-Man Again or Pac-Man: Retro Evolved, but a name that gets the point across that Pac-Man: CE is the first true sequel to the game since Ms. Pac-Man." So, why is Pac-Man standing with the boys of Gears of War? At this point, any image of Pac-Man would probably just be skipped over because it's just Pac-Man. But really, it's not just Pac-Man, the horribly named Pac-Man Championship Edition is a true successor to the game we all know. Is it worth 800 MS points? That's a bit of a stretch, but you owe it to yourself to at least try the demo. You never know.

Tags: championship edition, microsoft, pac-man, xbla

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Ninegauger @ Jun 9th 2007 12:50PM

I feel the same way. I don't like old Pac-Man that much but I checked this one out for some reason... and it's great. It has a better flow to it than old Pac-Man.

Diskoboy @ Jun 9th 2007 1:01PM

Why do you people continue to call yourselves video game journalists?

Jr. Pac-Man (released in 1983) was the last Pac-Man game to use the original formula. Not Ms. Pac-Man.

Get your facts straight, god dammit!!! This is the second time I've had to correct you guys.

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=J&game_id=8246

Kendrick @ Jun 9th 2007 1:03PM

Any chance that this is going to get a traditional disc media release? Given the record of 360 hardware reliability, I'd rather not have to rely on the hard drive to keep a copy of the game.

Boscorooty @ Jun 9th 2007 1:06PM

I don't usually chime in with review-type opinions, but I just gotta say that this game is really fantastic. Fast, fun, and totally addictive. Don't get the demo, just buy it. You'll be glad you did.

Silver @ Jun 9th 2007 1:08PM

B..b..but I thought 360 owners were real "hard-core" gamers and thought "kiddie" games were for pansies, yo?

I guess that's only true when they're brainlessly bashing on the Wii...

horngreen @ Jun 9th 2007 1:10PM

I too hated Pac Man back in the day a I was "around" then. Never saw the allure of it and trashed this big announcement as others did. I played the demo and the Xbox controller actually works with this version. Is it worth $10? Not for me but I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong, and I was wrong. Try the demo and if you were or are a fan it may well be worth the ten bucks for you.

ScreamingSkull @ Jun 9th 2007 1:15PM

The demo was alright, but not worth it for me either. I mean it's still pacman. I think it might have done better if the demo gave you more options.

Heh, they should add in customization options that way I can sell my fly pacmens on the ebay.

Mike @ Jun 9th 2007 1:17PM

Diskoboy, they are professional bloggers, not necessarily journalists. Besides this game is still a much larger change from Jr. Pac-Man than Jr. Pac-Man was from Pac-Man.

Shagittarius @ Jun 9th 2007 1:20PM

Joystiq has a fetish for gameplay thats at least 20 years old. This game is exactly the same as Pac-Man which I played enough of back in the 80s. Just like 'Geometry Wars' people are making a molehill of a game into a mountain for some unknown reason.

I question the taste of gamers who would recommend this title. Its most likely a case of being bored and syphilitic.

josh @ Jun 9th 2007 1:24PM

"Why do you people continue to call yourselves video game journalists?"

do they? i thought joystiq was a BLOG, and they called themselves BLOGGERS

josh @ Jun 9th 2007 1:26PM

Also, @2:

"Jr. Pac-Man is an arcade game released in 1983 by Bally Midway... this game was created without the authorization of Namco, the original creators of Pac-Man."

It's not an official sequel.

Rob Accomando @ Jun 9th 2007 1:28PM

It should have been a Pac man FPS. HAHA. Seriously, tried the demo and after 10 minutes bought it. Totally addicting.

Pid @ Jun 9th 2007 1:29PM

I thought the demo was great, but it is way way WAY too expensive for a Live title. With so many other cheaper titles to pick that are just as good, I'll skip over this one. Microsoft needs to make sure companies don't price themselves out of sales like this.

I'll wait until it's 400 points. Thanks.

Shockgamer M2B @ Jun 9th 2007 1:38PM

Pac-man comes from an era when videogames couldn't render anything more than a couple of pixels that vaguely resembled a shape. Everything looked simple back then, not because of art direction but power limitation.

What's Nintendo's excuse?

Watership @ Jun 9th 2007 1:42PM

The demo is not enough. Once you upload a score, and you realize how the multipliers work.. you're hooked. The speed, the game mechanics for scoring. It's freaking amazing.

What a shock. But I bet 9 out of 10 people will ignore it, because it's called PAC-MAN.

Dave Silva @ Jun 9th 2007 1:41PM

... but there's already a Pac-Man 2.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man_2:_The_New_Adventures
http://www.mobygames.com/game/pac-man-2-the-new-adventures

waves @ Jun 9th 2007 1:44PM

I got pretty much the same IM from my friend. I bought it, it's quite good. I just wish I had a controller with a usable d-pad.

Watership @ Jun 9th 2007 1:49PM

Okay poeple, you're not getting it. This is the first Pac-Man game from the creator of the original, Pac-Man. He never did Ms Pac-Man, he never made any of the 'sequels'.

Justin McElroy @ Jun 9th 2007 1:51PM

Not to put words in his mouth, but I think Jared meant that it was the first true sequel to Pac-Man since Ms. in the sense that it maintained a level of quality from the original.

Mike @ Jun 9th 2007 1:52PM

I've said it over and over and I'll say it again, MS needs to stop being so greedy and price these arcade games cheaper. $10 is just too much for this sort of game. They would sell a hella lot more games if they would put these out at 400 points.

Kinsella @ Jun 9th 2007 1:57PM

All the game modes are timed, right? No infinite mode, like the original? If thats true, its not worth the purchase at all.

a102 @ Jun 9th 2007 9:15PM

I came in thinking the same way--I have seen Pacman and this is just an attempt to cash in on the brand (again). 3 hours later, playing until 2 am, I'm a convert.

Gross Greg @ Jun 9th 2007 2:09PM

also @ #2 - You're a douchebag. You know, you can email Joystiq if you think you found an error instead of leaving a post here for everybody to see. That way, the editors can personally send you a response via email (most likely explaining why you are wrong as in this case) and you can spare us all from seeing what a self-righteous dick you are.

zero2dash @ Jun 9th 2007 2:30PM

I hated the announcement and was ticked off the other day, but after playing the demo, I bought the game.
It's great, what can I say?

I think 400 points would've been a real steal, and more people would buy it at that price, but...it's still a great game and I still enjoy it enough that the 800 point price doesn't bother me one bit.

BPM @ Jun 9th 2007 2:32PM

@#11 Josh:
Technically, neither is Ms. Pac-Man. Like many of the other Pac-Man sequels from the 80s, it was also developed by Bally Midway. However, unlike the rest, Nacmo bought the rights to this game from them. Which is why they're able to continue using the character as well as repackage the game in NamcoMuseum after NamcoMuseum.

mj @ Jun 9th 2007 2:47PM

Let me show you my Pac-e-mans!

ssuk @ Jun 9th 2007 3:03PM

The game is nice, however... Still not worth buying anything off Live yet. I'm cheap like that. =)

felixlighter @ Jun 9th 2007 3:31PM

@Shagittarius

Don't you feel at least a little slimy after making such an arrogant comment? It is a sequel to Pac-man so you would expect it to be conceptually the same but this game definitely does not play exactly like the original Pac-man. The fact that you say that it does makes me wonder if you even tried it.

They've added a lot of variety to a classic game without ruining what made it a classic in the first place. My initial reaction to this announcement was disappointment but this game is surprisingly well done and wasn't just tossed together to make a quick buck.

Unfortunately, the price is a little too steep and for now I'm holding off on buying it. It's a shame because Pac-man CE is perfect for when you just want to play a quick game and have some fun.

BulletToothTony @ Jun 9th 2007 3:35PM

wow for $ 10 you get pacman and for $ 10 we get calling all cars.. M$ just sees you fanboys as Money trees.. good thing you can listen to britney spears instead of the wakka wakka with your music while playing, you def need it

FM @ Jun 9th 2007 3:36PM

I liked the Pacman 2 SNES version,the hangliding level was fun plus you can play the original Pac-Man.

Tron Knotts @ Jun 10th 2007 1:41PM

Jr Pac-Man wasn't made by Namco? Is that why Jr Pac Man never shows up on any of the Namco collections?

I freaking love Jr Pac Man. It is by far my favoriate Pac Man game, and I've played them all. I'd probably rank Jr Pac Man first, then Pac Man Arrangement, Ms Pac Man, then Pac Man plus.

Pac Man CE is a good new game, but I agree with poster #2 that it would be dumb to call this game Pac Man 2. If you start numbering Pac Man games, you get your ass in trouble.

Watch me try

1)Pac-Man
2)Ms. Pac-Man
3)Super Pac-Man
4)Pac-Man Plus
5)Pac & Pal
6)Jr. Pac-Man
7)Professor Pac-Man
7)Pac-Land
8)Pac-Mania
9)Pac-Attack
10)Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures
11)Pac-Jr (the game with in Pac-Man 2)
13)Pac-In-Time
14)Pac-Man Arrangement
15)Pac-Man Vs.
16)Pac-Pix
17)Pac-Man World
18)Pac-Man World 2
19)Pac-Man World 3
20)Pac-Man: Adventures in Time
21)Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness
22)Pac-Man Fever
23)Pac 'n Roll
24)Pac-Man World Rally
25)Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man
26)Baby Pac-Man
27)Pac-Man Championship Edition

See how much trouble I got into?

Mr Khan @ Jun 9th 2007 3:42PM

I remember posting in that 360fanboy thread, and i warned them

Remember the last time they had a mysterious "big announcement coming" and it just turned out that IBM and ATI were saying that the production of Wii chipsets was on schedule?

Robert Summa got fired, he did.

felixlighter @ Jun 9th 2007 3:42PM

@BulletToothTony

For $5 you can get Pac-man. For $10 you can get Pac-man CE. Just wanted to make sure you had your facts straight for future useless anti-Microsoft/pro-Sony comments.

Twist @ Jun 9th 2007 4:01PM

I keep playing the demo and keep wishing it was only 400 points. At 400 points it would be a must own just like Geometry Wars. At 800 points I just don't know if I would get enough play time out of it. Way I look at it is even at 50 cents per play I probably don't spend $10 a decade on Ms. Pac-Man and next to Galaga (please give Galaga a make-over like this too) it is one of my favorite old school arcades. But I wonder if they limited the demo to just 3 minutes because they found that most people get tired of it by the fourth or fifth minute.

I did just make a bit of extra money though so I may go ahead and get this to help me pass the time while deciding if I should get a DS (maybe) or a Wii (probably not) or an iPod (this is the most likely choice) with my extra cash.

ElwoodJD @ Jun 9th 2007 4:05PM

@28

On top of the previous comment, calling all cars for PSN was not a good deal. At $10 you got a single-player game that lasted 20 minutes, and a multiplayer game with only 4 maps and 3 weapons. For $10 you get an amazingly small amount of content.
Besides, the XBLA has infinitly more and better content that the PSN at this point, so whether $10 for Pac-Man is a good deal or not, $5-10 for most of the games on the arcade is a steal

Pete @ Jun 9th 2007 4:48PM

This game is AWESOME, period. If you have not given this game some solid play time you are seriously missing out. This is the best Live Arcade game out there IMO. It has the same charm of the original Pac-Man, but taken to new strategic heights and intensity. Once you get going and the game speeds up, you enter that zen state of gaming that only the true classics provide...where you are planning and reacting in split seconds. Buy this game. If you think it is stupid just because it is Pac-Man then maybe you never gave that game a chance either. Play this game for a bit and you will understand.

Kizzle @ Jun 9th 2007 5:10PM

Top 5 XBL Arcade games, easily. More fun than anything on the PS3 as well.

Norm @ Jun 9th 2007 5:43PM

yeah, calling all cars sucked ass. I don't know why anyone would compare that to pac-man.

nick @ Jun 9th 2007 7:24PM

I don't care what they call it. The name is meaningless to me, but I have to admit the game is pretty fun. If you have a 360 and you're on live, it's worth checking out the demo.

Kyouryuu @ Jun 9th 2007 7:54PM

I completely agree with Joystiq's revelation. I wasn't a big fan of the original Pac-Man either, but a few simple rule tweaks, a little bit of control polish, and it has become one of the most addictive games I've played this year.

Still, at 800 MS Points, I think it's a bit overpriced. If it had some form of multiplayer (other players as ghosts, for example) I'd buy it in a heartbeat. Of course, it's not like prices on XBLA ever come down, either.

Brad Lee @ Jun 9th 2007 8:27PM

I love this game. I bought it after trying out the demo, which is one of very few XBLA titles I've actually bothered to buy.

I always loved Pacman, but couldn't justify five bucks on XBLA, especially since I already have it on DS.

But this new Pacman is fantastic. The graphics are a snazzy upgrade, while still retaining a retro charm. The gameplay is just as simple and addictive as ever, and actually moreso now that the mazes morph into new ones. And perhaps the best part, the game can be played with only one hand.

And no I don't beat off with the other, in case you're wondering. It's just more comfortable when you only need one hand to play.

@ Shagittarius

Huh, that's funny, because I would put into question the opinions of those who use words like "syphilitic."

;)

PS!CHO @ Jun 9th 2007 8:29PM

This game is actually good...

Bobby Ensminger @ Jun 9th 2007 11:54PM

You'll spend $10 going to see some crappy movie like Hostel 2, or the Mask Begins or whatever and waste 2 hours of your life. Spend the $10, play the game, enjoy it, get the gamer points and realize, "Hey, I've spent 10 bucks, gotten more enjoyment out of this than a lame summer movie."

$10 isn't that much. Now $10 to change your Xbox Live Gamertage, that's ridiculous.

heavyness @ Jun 9th 2007 9:17PM

EXTRA MODE #1 FTW!

Jonah Falcon @ Jun 9th 2007 9:42PM

So why is Pac-Man pointing at Marcus' codpiece and winking?

Jonah Falcon @ Jun 9th 2007 9:42PM

PS. My favorite mode is Extra Mode #3

okenny @ Jun 10th 2007 2:55AM

I just don't understand why people haven't figured this out yet... XBLA's pricing is 400pt for retro and 800pt for most original titles (I don't mean original IPs). Just accept it and stop bitching people. Nintendo is raping people for game with absolutely no added features (no online co-op, no online anything, and no updated tech). True Luminus on XBLA was insultingly expensive but generally, XBLA is as expensive as VC and PSN but usually with added value. Here's to hoping that it does get cheaper with volume but all this whining over great games is so low-class.

The typical Indy game is about 150-200K to make and you try to come up with a good price point when you will typically sell about 50 to 70 thousand copies. People, I'm not a fanboy and I too want to get everything for free or at least below what they typically cost but that's rarely the case but that shouldn't and doesn't induce tantrums.