I hate it when classic games go into the mysterious 3D world. I really do. Franchises that were once hits in the 2D world (Sonic) took a big hit once they went into 3D. Then I come across Pac-Man World for the Sony Playstation. My expectations were mixed, but what I got was one of the best 3D platformers I have ever played on the PS1. More so any gaming platform. Not bad for a little yellow sphere that eats Tic-Tacs and murders ghosts.Gameplay A-: Pac-Man World has some of the finest 3D platforming gameplay you can get out of the PS1 era of gaming. What makes it work so well is that it doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, it isn't a free roaming game like Mario 64. Its mostly side scrolling with full polygon visuals. Of course the levels do move forward and backward like you would expect but they are mostly left and right with free roaming controls. The levels are so well designed, that you will want to find every secret and maze contained in each one. Pac-Man has a full set of moves that borrow from other games of its genre. Pac-Man can butt bounce (Crash Bandicoot 2) rev up (Sonic) and shoot pac-dots at enemies that he finds scattered about. All these moves are used, and they all have their purpose. The game is mostly consistent of chomping ghosts, jumping (duh), bouncing on switches. You know, the standard stuff, but its all done so well. The levels are really well designed, I never felt lost. A benefit of its style of gameplay. The game has a light difficulty level that makes expert players want to find all the secrets, while allowing younger players to ease into the game. The bosses are really creative and add variety to the game. Graphics B+: Like many PS1 games time has not been kind to the games visuals. The chunky polygon graphics look mediocre today, but have held up better then most PS1 games. If you think about the consoles limitations the graphics in Pac-Man world are bright, colorful, and good looking. There's no clipping, and minimal pop up. The frame rate is smooth, and colors are all vibrant.Sound C-: There's not much to say here. Most of the songs are mediocre variations of the Pac-Man themes in the original arcade game (ugh) I did like the Space themes though. They have a 90s arcade flair to them. The sound effects are rehashes of the Pac-Man arcade games sound effects. Since this is Pac-Mans 20th anniversary game I guess I can cut these sound effects some slack.Addictivness A: If you die, its your fault. You will still be angry enough to want to come back and try to beat whatever stage you are sucking at. There is a lot of variety making the game more fun to play, and making you wonder what will come next.Depth A+: Pac-Man World is a large game. Don't let the 20 stages fool you. The 20 stages are long and will take time to beat. If that wasn't enough try going back and saving all your friends, is that still not enough? Well there are 2 other modes to choose from. Maze mode allows you to pick a 3D maze that you unlocked in the main game. Then we have an arcade perfect version of the original Pac-Man. That game is pure programming perfection. Nothing in this whole package can top that game.Gameplay A- Fun, and addicting this game is pure platforming bliss with enough variety to keep you playing Graphics B+ While looking chunky today, this game has aged well in the graphical department. Sound C- Nothing to write home about, not great, not bad. Addictiveness A There's plenty of diversity to keep you playing. Depth A+ This is a solid package, a large quest mode, a fun maze mode, and the classic Pac-Man original make this game really large. OVERALL RATING A-
I hate it when classic games go into the mysterious 3D world. I really do. Franchises that were once hits in the 2D world (Sonic) took a big hit once they went into 3D. Then I come across Pac-Man World for the Sony Playstation. My expectations were mixed, but what I got was one of the best 3D platformers I have ever played on the PS1. More so any gaming platform. Not bad for a little yellow sphere that eats Tic-Tacs and murders ghosts.
Gameplay A-: Pac-Man World has some of the finest 3D platforming gameplay you can get out of the PS1 era of gaming. What makes it work so well is that it doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, it isn't a free roaming game like Mario 64. Its mostly side scrolling with full polygon visuals. Of course the levels do move forward and backward like you would expect but they are mostly left and right with free roaming controls. The levels are so well designed, that you will want to find every secret and maze contained in each one. Pac-Man has a full set of moves that borrow from other games of its genre. Pac-Man can butt bounce (Crash Bandicoot 2) rev up (Sonic) and shoot pac-dots at enemies that he finds scattered about. All these moves are used, and they all have their purpose. The game is mostly consistent of chomping ghosts, jumping (duh), bouncing on switches. You know, the standard stuff, but its all done so well. The levels are really well designed, I never felt lost. A benefit of its style of gameplay. The game has a light difficulty level that makes expert players want to find all the secrets, while allowing younger players to ease into the game. The bosses are really creative and add variety to the game.
Graphics B+: Like many PS1 games time has not been kind to the games visuals. The chunky polygon graphics look mediocre today, but have held up better then most PS1 games. If you think about the consoles limitations the graphics in Pac-Man world are bright, colorful, and good looking. There's no clipping, and minimal pop up. The frame rate is smooth, and colors are all vibrant.
Sound C-: There's not much to say here. Most of the songs are mediocre variations of the Pac-Man themes in the original arcade game (ugh) I did like the Space themes though. They have a 90s arcade flair to them. The sound effects are rehashes of the Pac-Man arcade games sound effects. Since this is Pac-Mans 20th anniversary game I guess I can cut these sound effects some slack.
Addictivness A: If you die, its your fault. You will still be angry enough to want to come back and try to beat whatever stage you are sucking at. There is a lot of variety making the game more fun to play, and making you wonder what will come next.
Depth A+: Pac-Man World is a large game. Don't let the 20 stages fool you. The 20 stages are long and will take time to beat. If that wasn't enough try going back and saving all your friends, is that still not enough? Well there are 2 other modes to choose from. Maze mode allows you to pick a 3D maze that you unlocked in the main game. Then we have an arcade perfect version of the original Pac-Man. That game is pure programming perfection. Nothing in this whole package can top that game.
Gameplay A- Fun, and addicting this game is pure platforming bliss with enough variety to keep you playing Graphics B+ While looking chunky today, this game has aged well in the graphical department. Sound C- Nothing to write home about, not great, not bad. Addictiveness A There's plenty of diversity to keep you playing. Depth A+ This is a solid package, a large quest mode, a fun maze mode, and the classic Pac-Man original make this game really large. OVERALL RATING A-
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