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Pac-Man World 3 Review / Preview for PlayStation 2 (PS2)

Pac-Man World 3 Review / Preview for PlayStation 2 (PS2)

Pac is back. But who the heck invited him? by Cole Smith

February 14, 2006 – I didn’t know that the world really needed another Pac-Man World game. I enjoyed the first 3D platformer and was mildly amused at the sequel but the third installment of Pac-Man World is starting to get on my nerves.

I love Pac-Man as much as the next gamer but these old, tired platformers are really dragging the little guy down. It’s like watching some caged circus animal forced to perform his daily routine for a cruel and mindless audience. Free this chewy yellow man from his platforming hell and let him explore a new genre from here on in.

As a platformer this isn’t a terrible game but we’ve already experienced most of these elements in the last two games. Have we not jumped on enough trampolines? Have we not performed enough butt bounces and munched enough pellets? To those of you that have not had enough of this activity I give you my apologies before I call you an old-fashioned geezer gamer.

Pac-Man 3 is fine as a rental and you certainly can’t complain if someone gets it for you as a present – although you might be able to exchange it for a much better game.

It’s the little guy’s 25th birthday and he’s headed home to Pac-Land to celebrate. Before he gets there he’s accidentally sucked into a mysterious vortex and transported to the strange dimension haunted by the ghosts. Known as Spectral World, it’s a surreal world that Pac-Man has to fight his way out of. It’s filled with strange and wondrous levels in addition to a host of dangers including killer robots, conveyer belts with fire blasters, rickety platforms and other environmental hazards.

Pac-Man’s abilities include punching, jumping, climbing, rolling and gobbling. Along the way he will encounter power pellets that give him new abilities such as a form of bullet time, the power to shoot electricity from his hands and an ability to harness the powers of the ghosts. In this game, Pac-Man, who is also fully voiced, finally makes peace with a couple of his ghost nemesis, Blinky and Clyde. It’s a nice touch and shows some imagination although the entire focus of this game appears to be aimed at kids and generally inexperienced gamers.

The game isn’t without its share of mechanical problems either. The camera isn’t always with you, causing some disorientation. The framerate is inconsistent and the graphics suffer from low resolution and blurry textures. It’s not an impressive sight for a next-gen console that has long reached its peak. At least the main characters look good and Pac-Man is very easy to control. It’s not that the game is forgiving with leaps and bounds but it affords you the opportunity to make those jumps with no interference. The music and voiceovers support the game well but as large as some of the levels are, so too is the sound eerily silent in parts. There are huge gaps in the ambient music, as though someone forgot to add it before it went into production. It’s that obvious.

Lack of replay value relegates this game to a rental. There are lots of things to unlock such as Museum which features the original Pac-Man game as well as an interview with Pac-Man creator, Toru Iwtani. It’s better than nothing, but it’s still nothing to get excited about.

By Cole Smith
CCC Senior Writer

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