Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Old-school"

Pacman CE is a reimagining of the original game that everyone knows and loves, Designed by original Pacman creator Toru Iwatani the game takes the original premise of Pacman and updates it with some great new features and some new modes for competitive gameplay.

Gone are the levels from the original Pacman replaced by an ever evolving maze. The maze is split up into 2 halves with each half being populated by its own dots and power pellets, eat all of these and a fruit appears on the opposite side, eat the fruit and the maze will then change and spawn more pellets allowing the player to continue the round for as long as they still have lives or the newly added timer runs out.

The timer is a great new addition to the game because it gives the player a fixed limit in which to score the most points and though scoring remains the same as before, you get points for eating dots and pieces of bonus fruit and when you eat a power pellet you can also score points by eating the ghosts, the way to score big is too stay alive and link your power pellets together to receive a multiplier.

Pacman now has a new move up his sleeve when you approach a corner you can hold the direction you want to turn and Pacman will grind the wall giving off sparks and increasing his speed, which comes in handy for avoiding those pesky ghosts.

The game features only single player though with the addition of online leader boards, you can compare yourself to the best players in the world or check out your friends best scores and compete for bragging rights.

The game also features several game modes which each add a different style to the gameplay for instance in one mode you play in a darkened maze making it very difficult to navigate your way around and in another you play at a much faster speed than normal.

Graphics have been suitably updated into the high definition era though the game pays homage to Pacman's 8 bit style each level is presented in a fantastic neon style with the mazes pulsating and changing color in tandem with the action onscreen.

The onscreen action is of course controlled using the left analogue stick and at times it can feel a little unresponsive often when you aim for a turn on the more complex mazes you will miss it and continue in your path but overall the game does a great job of giving the player the necessary maneuverability to navigate the mazes and avoid the ghosts.

Pacman CE is a great addition to any retro gamer's collection and if you're looking for something to challenge your friends at you won't go far wrong with this. I personally would recommend this to anyone that doesn't have it yet, it's simple gameplay and addictive quality will keep you hooked for a long time and at such a low price its certainly good value for money.