Namco Finds Another Way to Reinvent Pac-Man
To start off with, I’m going to answer the question that is no doubt going through your head. I’m sure you’re thinking "Pac-Man party…like Mario Party?"
The answer to that question is yes, it’s a lot like Mario’s party. Now I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. It took me back to the days when my brother and I used to settle our differences on Mario Party.
In fact, many of the concepts of Mario party are a major part of Pac-Man party as well. Moving around a board and winning mini games is still the primary focus. As always, the mini games are entertaining and kind of funny at the exact same time.
One mini game requires you to throw javelins at flying fruit. Let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to do that. If they had a booth at my school for this during career day, my whole school would have lined up to become professional javelin fruit throwers.
After playing for a couple minutes, I even noticed a little bit of monopoly mixed in this game. As you take control of adjacent spaces, you get mansions. Pac-Man Party made me want to go digging through my closet to find my board games.
Pac-Man party has a story mode as well as a quick play mode. Quick play mode allows you to just start a game on a level of your choosing. Story, on the other hand, follows our beloved yellow friend as he chases those pesky ghosts trying to get his cookie recipe back. This mode takes you through a variety of levels ranging from grassy hills to dark, evil forests.
Along the way you meet many other characters to compete against. The goal of each level is to collect the stated amount of cookies first.
This game requires luck more than it does skill. I’ve played levels where I’ve won every mini game but still lost in overall cookies. Some levels I just can’t catch a break, only moving two or three spaces at a time. Gameplay is smooth and for the most part error free. Every now and again it seems like the controls don’t want to respond, but those cases are few and far between.
The background music and sound effects are great in this game. Upbeat music fits in well with the speed of the game play. Sound effects have that comic sound to them and really make the game better. Both music and sound effects are subtle, and never once did they override each other or end up being a distraction.
Graphics in Pac-man party are quite nice. Everything is clear and vivid and really well colored. Now, the 3D is something different altogether. On this title I don’t recommend using the 3D. Most of the mini-games require good coordination, and turning on the 3D throws your coordination right out the window. So unless you’re comfortable with the turning on the 3D, you might want to leave the switch alone.
This game is amazing at making time fly by. Whether you’re waiting for an appointment, taking a break or wasting time at work to get even with your boss for insulting you earlier, this game will help you stay entertained. As a disclaimer, I do not endorse using this game to get revenge on your boss.
Pac-man party is child friendly as well. With all the playability here, it should keep your kids busy for a long stretch. After compiling all of the parts of Pac-man Party I give this game a solid 4 out of 5 Gin Gems.