Anyone who knows me knows i’m a big Pac-Man fan and out of all the Pac-Man remakes and spin offs, there’s only one that holds up with the original. That game is a small title for Gamecube and DS called Pac-Man Vs.
Originally developed by Miyamoto through the Triforce Project, Pac-Man Vs. was created to show off the Gamecube’s connectivity with the Gameboy Advance. It did this by taking the Pac-Man we know and love and putting your best mates in control of the ghosts. With a limited view the ghost players had to hunt down Pac -Man and avoid his power pellet death sprees. Meanwhile, one player would be holding the trusty GBA and controlling Pac-Man, doging his friends and chomping pellets. The player conrolling Pac-Man would gain points for every pellet eaten and if he was caught, the successful ghost would take their place as Pac-Man in a new round. It was a mad dash to 5000 for the title of Pac-Champ. It was such a simple idea but one that worked so damn well…
While it was brilliant fun, it wasn’t exactly the easiest fun to be had. Firstly you had to actually find a copy of the game (which was no easy feat) then grab four mates around your Gamecube and a Gameboy Advance (with the necessary cables). all these factors meant that very few people were able to enjoy it’s brilliance. Luckily, the game saw another day of light in Namco Museum for Nintendo DS, where it was added as an extra. This mode saw wireless connectivity as well as more stages to enjoy, and was the version which I instantly fell in love with. Many an hour was lost during my free periods at college as I wiped the floor with my Pac-Munching skills, clearing the round in a flawless victory and I had equally as much fun trapping my friends in a corner as a ghost, only to have someone else steal my kill from before me. It’s one of those games that never really gets boring and screams for one more go.
If you see a copy of Namco Museum I highly recommend you pick it up. As well as this brilliant lost gem you also get seven classics, such as Pac-man, Mappy, Galaga and Dig-Dig 2. Until then I leave you with the brilliant Pac-Man Fever.
