Awards: The 2007 Value Shopper Double High Five "Bang for That Buck" Award
Play Some Good Ole Pac-Man, Yo!
Pros:
Incredible Value, Over a Hundred Game Variations
Cons:
Makes a Few Carts of Mine Obsolete
Or Some Bastard Variation of Your Own Design!
Overview: If you own an Atari 7800, buy homebrews and you like Pac-Man maze games, you must be in hog heaven. Bob Drescenzo has been pooping out, er, I mean popping out 7800 hacks of Ms. Pac-Man for some time now. They have all been very good, but let's face it... he basically has been tweaking an already excellent game engine to produce similar good games. It's better than 99% of the population could do, but this year I felt a little Pac-Hacked out, honestly. But the arrival of this game has slapped me in the face and awakened me to my senses. This game package is incredible. Not only does it feature several Pac Man-style games that have been released over the years... it features a few that haven't been. Oh yeah, every game is customizeable, too. Yes, by now it's obvious... Bob owns your a$$. With maybe an exception to the new Pac Nestor SE game, this cart will be the only maze game you will ever really need.
Graphics & Sound: As with Bob's other hacks, everything here is pretty much taken from or borrows from the Atari 7800 Ms. Pac-Man game. That is a good thing. What is noticeably different in this title is the easy to navigate menu. How many people groaned and remembered hitting select a blue million times while playing Space Invaders or Maze Craze when you read that this game has over a hundred game variations? Well, relax my fragile orchid, everything is self contained in one easy to navigate menu. Oh yes, mommy likes.
What You get: : There is no need to reiterate what Pac Man is about or how the Atari 7800 Proline is a little stiff to use with these type games. If you need to catch up with the rest of us, knock yourself out with our Ms. Pac-Man Review. For everyone else, here is what you get with the Pac Man Collection:
***Pac Man (The original maze game. Features one maze)
***Puck Man (Known in the arcades as New Puck-X. Weird. Features one slightly harder maze than the original)
***Hangly Man (Two mazes. One maze's walls will disappear when an energizer is eaten. Second maze has no inner walls)
***Ultra Pac Man (Has six mazes!!!)
***Ms. Pac Man (hubba hubba)
***Ms. Pac Attack (features more difficult mazes)
***Random Mazes (New game. Suffer through 21 random mazes!!!)
***Ms. Random Mazes (New game. Same as above, but with more lipstick and the fruit moves)
I feel like I'm on an infomercial, but let me say it: "BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!" Every game you select can be turned into a "Plus" version of the game (Remember Pac Man Plus?). This basically converts the game of choice into more of a Vietnam flashback. I personally don't think these variations add anything, but I'm guessing people like the ghosts having little flags on their heads. I mean... I wish more ghosts had flags on their heads, it would make them more approachable. Plus version also means FAST mode is extremely fast, sometimes one ghost won't turn blue when Pac Man eats an energizer, or the maze randomly turns invisible. Another nice feature in this collection is that there are three options concerning game speed: Fast, Slow, and Button. Fast and Slow are obvious, but Button mode is quite interesting. When you press the button, the game moves at a faster pace. Getting caught in a jam? De-press the button for the Prosystem's version of "Matrix Mode!" Okay, the game doesn't move in slow motion, but the option to slow it down to regular speed can help you in a pinch. I should also mention that Pac Man Collection is different than the Ms. Pac-Man original in a very interesting way. When Pac Man eats dots, he slows down, making him very susceptible to ghosts chasing him from behind. That's a neat twist, but it sucks for me because I suck at these games to begin with.
Best Variation: All of this is well and good, but the game that is gonna keep you coming back is the never released "Random Mazes" option. Think about it: Switch from a Ms. Pac Man maze to the original, then into one that disappears, then into one that you have never played before. Look at the zig-zaggy one at the top right of the page. Man, that's crazy! The replay value of this is incredble. 21 mazes, fools! That's Black Jack! The best thing for 7800 owners is that we and we alone are the ones that can enjoy this version of Pac Man. Pimp-slap Mr. Xbox 360 in the face and tell him that the 7800 owns his mom.
Overall: To call Pac Man Collection just a hack is criminal because this game offers so much more than Ms. Pac-Man does. If you are a fan of Pac Man style games, what in the heck are you waiting for!?!? This is the definitive maze game collection for ANY game system! Hell, I can't even deduct points for including that wretched Super Pac Man thing, because Bob had the good sense to not even include it! I really can't find a flaw anywhere. I thought about deducting points for not mentioning me anywhere in the game, but that's not fair because I've never been mentioned in one before. I throw up my hands! I don't like giving out perfect scores, but considering the site has Ms. Pac-Man at a 4.5 and that title is not even the best Pac Man version included in this package... I have no choice! Congrats Bob! Perfect Score!!!
***Bob Drescenzo aka "Pac Man Plus" has done several variations of Ms. Pac Man and Pac Man for the 7800. Most versions are included here, but a really cool one that features one player as Pac Man and a second player as Blinky is called, "Dual Pac-Man". Bug him at the Atariage.com boards to get you a copy of this one.
***Pokey's Problems One Through Three is a painting by Jim Davies. 2002. Acrylic on Canvas $400
