Pac-Man is back in Namco's Pac-Man World 20th Anniversary for PlayStation. Gaming
magazine EGM made an excellent comment about this game:
"It should play faster."
I never thought of that, but they're right. The original Pac-Man played faster than this.
Granted, this is a 3-D platform action game, but a faster speed may have given this title
more energy. If Sonic can do it, Pac-Man can do it. For the sequel, Namco should
incorporate walking AND running controls.
Pac-Man World has three game play modes. Quest mode contains the meat of the
game, with new 3-D platform-based levels. These Mario-ish levels have old-school
Pac-Man mazes hidden behind Galaxian doors, kind of like how Konami lets you play its
own arcade games in the shops of Mystical Ninja.
Classic mode contains the original Pac-Man, but guess what? There's a huge bug in
the game that renders all vertical walls invisible! Oops! I guess that shows how much
time they spent on that part!
The third mode is Maze mode. Game play is the same as Classic mode but with new
twists. Eighteen mazes are initially available. As you clear mazes in Quest mode, more
mazes open up in Maze mode, for a grand total of 36 mazes. Win all 36 mazes back to
back and unlock a hidden art gallery. Ooh! An art gallery! Ooh!
The worst aspect of this game is that you can't rotate the camera to see out-of-the-way
dots. Since classic Pac-Man has never hidden dots, it seems unfair to hide them now.
After all, you can't break a 20 year tradition. This is a fun game that steals elements
from Mario 64, but I expect more than six stages in the Quest mode.
Publisher: Namco