Pac-Pix (DS) Review
Introduction.
Ahh Pac-Man, without a doubt one of the worlds most recognizable video game characters, since his early days ruling the arcades 25 years ago, to his first appearance on the Nintendo DS, hes done it all, appeared on almost every video game system, had his own cartoon series, the only thing he hasnt done his had his own movie. So now he has made it to the DS how does it fair against the every growing crop of DS games?
Graphics
Pretty good, they capture the story book look that the game very well. Everything is nice and well presented. The game looks very bright and cartoony, keeping very much in style of the game. The ghosts and other objects in the game look like they have come straight from a story book. Pac-Man looks great, well most of the time, he only looks odd if you have drawn an odd looking Pac-Man. The graphics them selves arent anything special, they look like they could of easily have been done on the GBA, but as with other DS games out right now, the Graphics are as good as they need to be, nice and simple.
Sound
Now this brings back some memories, at the start of every stage you will here that familiar Pac-Man tune that you would here back in the original arcade game. Also still present is Pac-Mans trademark wakka wakka sound that has preceded him in most of his ghost chomping adventures. The actual in game music isnt too bad, it does get somewhat repetitive after a while, but its not as bad as some other DS games (like Zoo Keeper). Other then that the sound is fine, but there is room for improvement.
Gameplay
Pac-Pix really stands out from the other Pac-Man games for many reasons, firstly you have to draw your own Pac-Man, secondly you dont actually have control over your Pac-Man, if left on his own he will just merrily go munching forward. What you can do though is draw walls in front of him. When Paccy hits the wall he will go in the direction to you were drawing the line. So using this method you must guide him around the screen, with out letting him out of the playing field. Later in the game you also get gestures that you can draw, one is an arrow which can be used to hit objects on the top screen or stun ghosts & the other is a bomb. These do help add a bit of variety to the game, as do the several different ghost types. However about halfway through the game, things start to get repetitive. So at first the gameplay is fun and frantic, but it later stages it just becomes more of the same, shoot that switch, blow up wall eat ghost etc etc. It would have been nice to see the later stages made a bit more different.
Value/Lastability
With 100+ levels to complete, this game should keep you going for a while, and even once you have finished the game there is also the challenge of beating your high score. At the end of each chapter you are given a ranking, ranging from F to S, the best I have been able to get so far is B ranking, so achieving the elusive S ranking is a mighty feat indeed. How if your not the type who likes going back and setting new high scores, then it may feel a little unrewarding for you. It would have been nice if some sort of multiplayer mode was present, or an endless mode where you see how long you can stay alive, and just eat as many ghost as you can with out dying.
Overall
Not a bad first attempt for a Pac-Man game on the DS, as I said its a very unique take on the Pac-Man idea. However I do wish the game had been fleshed out a bit more, as after awhile it does start to feel a bit repitive, but of the top of my head other then a multi-player mode I really cant think what more they could have done with out making the game overly complicated. All in all this is a good DS game, if your looking for something different give this a go, you will find a very fun, if not odd, game.
