Improving on a classic formula is a difficult thing to do; just ask the teams who thought up New Coke and Crystal Pepsi. Fans become attached to the memories and feelings represented by anything beloved, making it all the more difficult for any future iterations to get a fair shake and be judged on its own merits.
Pac-Man has suffered from this dilemma, as developer Namco-Bandai has attempted myriad times for decades to reinvent the pellet-munching hero for modern games and systems.
Grade: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½
System: PlayStation 4, PC, XBone
Players: 1
Published and developed by: Namco-Bandai Entertainment
Genre: Arcade
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Grades: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Outstanding; ★ ★ ★ ★ Very Good; ★ ★ ★ Good; ★ ★ Fair; ★ Poor
While most attempts have failed, one project not only succeeded but managed to surpass the original arcade classic’s brilliance. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX was a shining example of smooth game design, changing what fans already knew about a well-known title, creating exciting gameplay that borrowed from multiple genres to create something different.
Combining pulse-pounding electronic dance music, vibrant colors, and break-neck speed, Championship Edition DX left a mark on the previous generation of consoles as one of the best — and most overlooked — games on the market.
Six years later, Namco has returned to the well with Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 and largely succeeds in not ruining the fun and energy of its predecessor.
This new Pac-Man iteration isn’t as good as what came before but certainly scratches the itch to eat ghosts while watching a game that looks and feels like a psychedelic experience.
The core gameplay remains the same, with players getting a set amount of time to clear as many Pac-Man tables as possible, all while avoiding ghosts and grabbing power-pellets. The goal is to amass a score multiplayer through eating ghosts, which are asleep on the board but will wake up and chase Pac-Man once he runs past.
I still find immense satisfaction in building up a massive train of ghosts before eating a power-up and gobbling the spooky prey like the world’s longest piece of blue spaghetti. The visual effect for this full-course meal of score multiplication has changed since Championship Edition DX, and while not nearly as impactful or energizing, it still manages to come off as cool and destructive as Pac-Man eats his way through the ghost horde.
The core gameplay is pure Pac-Man, but the tables are laid out in a way so that there is an optimal path for clearing dots and eating ghosts. This Pac-Man has more in common with racing games such as Project Gotham Racing, where the goal is finding the most time-efficient way to score points and stay alive.
That said, the controls feel off when compared to Championship Edition DX. Perhaps Pac-Man moves at a faster speed, but our hero doesn’t feel as responsive as in past games.
To combat this, ghosts can now be touched multiple times before they turn angry and gain the ability to eat Pac-Man. Purists of the series will cry foul at this most fundamental change, but I found that new strategies arose from this base change.
Regardless of minor changes, Pac-Man Championship 2 is still a great pick-up-and-play time killer that is great for short sessions. Likewise, I still feel like the best gamer ever when I pull off a massive train of ghosts and narrowly avoid being pinned in a corner while attempting to optimize my way to the top scores.
This aura of coolness amplifies the game’s presentation, providing numerous styles of boards, ghosts, and Pac-Men. The ability to switch from a pixel-based Pac-Man to a modern 3D model is a small touch that breaks up the monotony that stems from staring at the game’s tables for too long.
Picking up where the soundtrack in Championship Edition DX left off, this new Pac-Man experience offers a bevy of beats that jibe with the game’s aesthetic. The bass pounds in time with what’s happening on the screen and the EDM soundtrack is the perfect accompaniment to the game’s stressful and reactionary gameplay.
The biggest fault of Championship Edition 2 is that it’s not breaking new ground. The updated map designs — which include teleporters and power-pellets that run away — are an expected and welcome touch, but Edition 2 is very much the same game from 2010.
After all, it’s improbable to improve on perfection for a second time.
But if you need a Pac-Man fix for the current console cycle or crave a twitchy, scoring attack style of game, then you can’t do better than Championship Edition 2. I would have preferred more radical changes to the core gameplay, but sometimes it’s better to not mess with what works.
I’m looking at you, Crystal Pepsi.
New release
The next iteration of the beloved Civilization PC strategy series is set for release Friday, with Civilization VI marking the 25th anniversary of developer Sid Meier’s classic games.
Civilization VI is developed by the same team that handled the Civilization V expansions Gods & Kings and Brave New World, with new leaders and a fresh art style for the series.
Former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt is the American leader, and past leaders such as Cleopatra make a return.
Actor Sean Bean narrates the game and music is by composer Christopher Tin, who won a Grammy for his work on Civilization V.
Civilization VI will be available on Windows, OS X, and Linux.
Contact Will Harrison at DoubleUHarrison@gmail.com or on Twitter @DoubleUHarrison.
First Published October 20, 2016, 4:00 a.m.