Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions (3DS) Review

Pac-Man had a pretty good run on the Nintendo DS, especially during the early days of the system. Within its first year, both Pac-Pix and Pac N Roll used new and interesting approaches to their design, and thankfully, with the 3DS, Pac-Man attempts to do something a little bit different again. This time, however, he’s brought along Galaga, another of Namco’s storied franchises along for the ride with him.

Pac-Man and Galaga Dimensions is essentially a compilation of six mini-games, three of each for each franchise. New offerings include Pac-Man Tilt and Galaga 3D Impact, which are designed to take advantage of the 3DS’s unique functionality. On the other hand, Pac-Man Championship Edition, Galaga Legions, and ports of the original games have been reworked to utilise the 3D functions of the 3DS too. All of the games are thankfully available from the beginning, and to top things off also includes a 3D Pac-Man movie and online leaderboards. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll break this review down and look at each of the games included in the package.

Pac-Man Tilt is the centrepiece of the compilation, and to be honest I wasn’t quite sure what to think of it, being a heavy commuter. Having to tilt the console constantly was a little bit off-putting for me to play it in public areas. Pac-Man Tilt plays much like a standard 2D platformer, however it also requires the player to tilt the console in order to manipulate the world and navigate Pac-Man through some rather challenging situation. In addition to the environment, the gyroscope’s tilt also affects objects in the world, allowing players to roll around objects (such as bombs) to clear new paths. Each level does its best at introducing a new play mechanic and as such keeps things rather fun and interesting, with scores and rankings being issued at the end of each level.

My biggest gripe with Pac-Man Tilt is that there is no way to adjust the sensitivity of the gyroscopic sensor, and it would’ve been nice to make the game a little more sensitive so the subtle motions could’ve been detected, rather than drastic movements which affect your vision of the game. The game does, however, look quite nice with lots of bright colours and well defined characters. As you would expect, the 3D effect is not present in this game due to the excessive tilting required. With 25 standard levels, and 5 “ranked” ones for online leaderboard functionality, I really enjoyed Pac-Man Tilt but with a little bit more it could’ve been a great standalone title.

The other new addition in this compilation is Galaga 3D Impact, an on-rails shooter in similar vein to a classic Star Fox game. Players control their ship and fly through a set path, blasting away hordes of giant space insects (or Galaga), controlling only the targeting reticule. As such, players will notice that they cannot dodge any oncoming attacks, but these can be defended against using firepower instead. The ship itself comes equipped with a few weapons, including a laser and a tractor beam to absorb enemies to power up and unlock newer weapons too. Each Galaga type will allow a different kind of ability for the ship, but the tractor beam itself has an immense cool down so timing and an element of strategy are rather cleanly incorporated. Each level builds up to a huge boss battle, of which some are quite hard but once players memorise the patterns it will become easy to beat them.

Galaga 3D Impact utilises two control schemes – one with the circle pad and one with the gyroscopic sensor to tilt around. The biggest issue that I came across with this was that there was no way to disable the tilt while using the Circle Pad, so there was a bit of imprecision in my shooting which was outside of my control, which was a problem during some commuting trips on a rather turbulent train. Additionally, the 3D effect was active during this game but is once again quite distorted when using the tilt controls. The 3D effect itself was okay, but it didn’t give me as intense a view as PilotWings Resort as previously, but to be honest it’s a very decent effort. Graphically speaking, the game is not something that would’ve been doable on the original Nintendo DS, but we all know that the 3DS is still capable of so much more.

Galaga 3D Impact was the game that I was most looking forward to when I heard of it, but out of the whole package it appears to be the one that I’ve played the least. I can’t quite put my finger on just why, as it’s not really a bad game, but the lack of options to adjust the controls, namely the inability to disable the gyroscopic sensor made it a little hard to pick up and play. Also, it’s not got as much length as Pac-Man Tilt, with the whole thing being over within one sitting. With that off our chests, let’s talk about the “returning” titles in the compilation.

Pac-Man Championship Edition is a new take on the classic Pac-Man formula, moving the game from the stage-based structure to a fast paced and frenetic time based score attack mode. Starting off slow and hitting a crescendo, players must collect pellets from one side of the screen while avoiding ghosts in order to fill the remaining side of the screen. This formula continues and continues until time runs out or the player dies. There are several play modes available, each offering slight variations of the base game, though they aren’t really all that different. Those who love a score-based Arcade-like experience will absolutely love playing this again and again, and those who haven’t played it are going to be in for a great remix of a classic formula.

Galaga Legions, on the other hand, re-imagines the classic Galaga formula. Pitting on ship against an onslaught of Galaga, players also have an additional two satellites to assist them. Most of the time they will fire in the same direction as the player, but players can position them to stay in certain spots and fire in a certain direction. This means players could try to take out multiple swarms coming from multiple directions at once, or alternatively just opt for stronger firepower from their main ship by keeping the satellites attached. It’s a great system that really adds some strategy to the game. Players can also capture Galaga and add them to the satellites, powering up the firepower immensely. Galaga Legions is an amazing looking game and has a great techno inspired soundtrack that really helps keep a fast and tense pace.

The other games in the package are ports of the original Pac-Man and Galaga games. There’s really not much to be said about these, they play the same as when they were originally release. To their credit, Namco have added online leaderboards and achievements, which are a nice touch. It’s worth noting also that every game in the compilation has leaderboards. There is also achievement support for all of the returning titles. These achievements are pretty nice for those looking for some extra replay value too.

In general, the 3D effect for the classic ports are handled quite well, not adding much to the games but rather making it look like the game is being played through a classic cathode-ray style arcade cabinet with signage around the screen. Players can select their cabinet style too, playing on a horizontal or vertical cabinet. On the other hand, with both Pac-Man CE, the 3D adds to the effect in the game – providing subtle and non-intrusive effects. With Galaga Legions, the 3D adds depth to the visuals to help better identify the difference between the backgrounds, the ships themselves and of course the enemies. With all these elements sprinkled throughout the level at varying depths, it’s a very nice and impressive display.

In closing, I really did enjoy the compilation, as there’s a lot to do and I can see myself coming back to it every now and then. The addition of the leaderboards and achievements really add to the longevity of the package. Barring a few control issues and gyroscopic control issues, I don’t really have any huge problems with the games. It would’ve been nice to have the upgraded DX versions of Pac-Man CE and Galaga Legions included as well, as they are much improved over the games included. That being said, there’s nothing wrong with what’s on offer here. If you’re looking for some nice quick arcade style fun, you can’t go wrong with this compilation. It’s easily worth the asking price.

Graphics 7.0

The game doesnt look bad but really doesnt do anything too impressive. The 3D effect is subtle, but adds a great amount of effect to the games.

Gameplay 9.0

Some of the games do play better than others, however on the whole there is quite some fun to be had here.

Sound 7.0

I cant really think of any pieces that really stood out, but I did enjoy what I heard. The Pac-Man games all carry the classic tunes and sounds established throughout, while Galaga Legions thumping soundtrack adds to the experience.

Tilt 9.0

With online leaderboards, achievements, and the fact theres six games in the package, theres lots to do here. While the games may not be the most in-depth titles around, youll obsessively return to keep topping your previous score.

Value 8.0

Ive been a fan of Pac-Man CE ever since I first played it over 2 years ago, and this version would have to be the best Ive played if only due to the subtle touches the 3D adds. I also had a blast playing Galaga Legions and it really made me excited for the future of shoot-em-ups on the system. Pac-Man Tilt especially was a welcome surprise.