Pac-Man First Impressions

Hasbro Interactive stopped by the GameSpot offices today to show us its lineup of remade classic games. One of the games shown was Pac-Man: Adventures in Time. Unlike Namco's recently released console version, Hasbro Interactive's version of Pac-Man takes the game back to its roots with the classic maze-style gameplay - though it does add some features. Making the jump into 3D, the classic Pac-Man gameplay has been modified to accommodate different levels of elevation and varying types of terrain. On one particular level, not only do players have to grab all the pellets on the ground, but they must also retrieve all the pellets on a bridge that takes them high above the entire stage. Other terrain variations include a concave volcano stage that causes players to run faster as they slide toward the molten lava, and a tree trunk stage that requires players to run up and around a tree trunk in order to grab each pellet.

Varying terrain types aren't the only new elements in this version of Pac-Man. Another addition is a chase mode, similar to one view in Crash Bandicoot, in which players run toward the camera and away from enemies in an attempt to grab as many pellets as possible. Of course, there will be a few obstacles in the way such as pits and stones, but Pac-Man's added jumping ability makes it easy to avoid them. However, each jump causes Pac-Man to lose a portion of stamina from his stamina bar, and once the bar runs out, the player will no longer be able to jump.

Pac-Man: Adventures in Time is currently set to include 45 levels with five different themes, and it's due out in the fall of 2000.