Pac-Man World 20th Anniversary Review by: FaithFighter - 9.5/10
Pac Man world: Love it; live it eat it!Ah...It all started back when i was getting the video game Namco museum 50th anniversary. That game led me to find Pac man world 3. And Pacman world three would be a game that I loved so much that I just had to find out what the rest of the series was like. My wait was long and tiresome. The game was nearly impossible to find...It had seemed that the Ps1 was past its glory days, and that I would never be able to play it. But one day...My mom discovered JJgames.com. We looked on there. And sure enough, they did not have it in stock, but they were able to order it for me. Of course, even after this point, I still had to wait for like a month for them to send it. Apparently, I was not the only one who was having a hard time finding it! Then, one day...It finally arrived! I was never so happy before in my life! After such a long wait, Pac Man world was finally mine! Well, I'd better quit gabbing and get down to business.
Graphics: 9
Compared to other systems, the graphics could use some work. But for the ps1 they are quite stellar! Everything in the game was well designed given the tools the designers had to work with. There is not one world that is not beautiful in its own way. The graphics really brought extra feeling to all the worlds, I thought. My two top favorites are the space zone (surprise, surprise!) and the Funhouse. I absolutely loved the battle with the galaxian king alien. SWEET! And what could be better than the level where your getting shot at by some unknown hand, because apparently...you're in the shooting gallery. One of the things that I just love that they did was giving the ghosts different hats depending on the environments that you are in! That is just absolutely the best! It's so much more fun to see them with the little party hats in the funhouse, or hardhats in the factory, or wielding clubs in the egypt-themed area. What can I say, the characters looked good...the fruit looked good (boy did it look good! Getting hungry!) Best move on!
Sound: 9
How do you give a newer game that same classic feel. This is a question that i have no doubt the sound guys worked on, because they did a great job pulling it off! All the sound effects sound almost exactly like the original pac man game! And the music? Oh ho! Wayyyy too catchy! From the alien like music of the space zone, to the industrial music in the factory, the songs were not only catchy, but fit the levels perfectly! There really just is not much more to say about it, the sound department is awesome!
Addictiveness: 10
Maybe this just has to do with having to wait so long for this game, but the addictiveness was through the roof for me. I played the game through multiple times, even perfecting it multiple times. Why? Number one, it was just so much fun to play! Number two, every time I played I kept getting better and better. And eventually, I was able to get through the game...playing every level just once--and have over 400 lives at the end. Don't believe me? Well, it IS possible! I would not lie to you about that! I remember the first copy that I had kept gitching in the funhouse level one. I could get to a certain point in that level, and every time it would stick and not go anywhere on me! Well, that was not going to stop me from finishing this game. (This happened to me multiple times, what made it more frustrating was the fact that I did not have a memory card at the time! So when it glitched, I would lose all my progress!) No worries, I just ordered another copy of the game, and a memory card! So I eventually was able to get past it and beat the game. But that still was not enough for me. I kept playing on even after that point. For some reason, the Pac Man world games were all like that for me. I think namco had a good formula with this series, and they should implement it in their new series Pac Man and the Ghostly adventures...Just sayin'
Story: 8
The story was pretty good, for an arcade classic such as this. It's Pac Man's 20th birthday and all his friends and family are planning a surprise party for him at his house. But when he gets home, there is no one there! There is a hole in the wall, his birthday cake that Ms. Pac made for him is destroyed, and worst of all, his family and friends are not there to wish him a happy birthday. Apparently, someone had just rushed out of the house, because there are papers still floating down. Pac Man sees it and reads. "Party on Ghost Island Come see Pac man in person!" Pac man crunched that paper, waved it in the air. Almost as if to say, I'm coming all right! But you're going to wish I didn't! Well, that's the opening story line, I do not want to spoil the rest. Play the game and see what else happens!
Depth: 10
This game has some of the most depth that I ever remember seeing! There are six worlds. Each one has three levels and a boss level of sorts. But there is more to thins game than just playing it through. In each level, there are six letters to find. They spell the word PacMan. Of course, what would the game be if there were no mazes, so each normal level has one of these too. If you can manage to collect all the letters in the level, you will get to play a special mini game. The goal in each mini game is to collect all the fruit without dying before the time runs out. If you collect a lot of fruit, you will be able to play another game! The Pac Man version of the slot machine. You put all the fruits that you collected in the level (including the bonus level) and if you can manage to line up the right fruits, you can easily earn 20 lives at a time. Which fruits should you line up you say? Well, I shall not tell you here, that shall be information that I reveal to you in the game guide that I plan on creating for the entire game! Overall, there is just so many fun possibilities pac-ed into this game
Difficulty: 9
Unlike many games that I have tried these days, this game is tough! There are challenges all around. The toughest battle I remember in this game is the battle with a strange rock mummy. You have to rev roll on the rev roll pads, while trying to avoid his fire that he spits at you, his tornadoes, the lava balls that keep shooting up from the lava, and trying to not fall into the lava itself. That was, I think the toughest battle in the entire game, but it's not the only challenge. And most of the challenge does NOT come from the controls. The controls are great. Absolutely smooth and natural. There is just one thing besides the enemies and platforming of the game itself that can cause the game to be extra tricky if you do not know what you are doing. The game is truly in three dimensions...however, for the most part, it's still a side scrolling adventure. So part of the trick of this game can sometimes just being making sure that you do not go too far back into the screen or too far forward! But that is really the only problem. Everything else is just because the puzzles, platforming, and enemies are that well placed. (However, it's not like megaman where it starts to feel cheap sometimes. Sorry, buddy!)
Overall: 9.5
For me, this was a highly anticipated game that delivered more for me than I ever could have expected. I would just love to rate it a 10 but I'm pretty sure there would be some booing on that one! Anyway, PacMan world is an arcade classic with all the good qualites of modern gaming. This game is actually a role model of how more games should be. Well designed, fun, addicting, and tough. Now that's my kind of game!
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