Pac-Man World (Game Boy Advance) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

We've seen lots of Mega Drive and SNES games make their way onto the GBA recently but who would be ambitious enough to even attempt to do the same with a Playstation One title? The guilty parties are none other than Full Fat and ZOO Digital, and while this must have seemed like a great idea at the time it remains to be seen whether Nintendo's handheld can really support a SONY one? It certainly looked like it could, when we first published screens late last year we were impressed to say the least, at just how close this new handheld version looked to the original. Pre-view screens can be incredibly misleading however and leaving aside Pac-Man's obvious pull as a leading character it's still all about gameplay. We loved the original (who didn't) but what's this one like?

Gameplay

Pac-Man World is a very different slant on the original arcade classic and whilst you still have to munch on pills and swallow the super pills in order to dispose of the ghosts this is not really the main focus of the game. Instead, this arcade actioner gathers together all the elements from the Pac-Man universe to create a kind of 3D platformer with a twist. This is because Pac-Man is now on a rescue mission after his friends have been kidnapped by the evil (or should we say not so nice) Toc-Man and it's up to you to locate and free them. But this is never a simple case of wandering up to a cage and opening the door. Instead you'll be forced to travel back and forth within the sizeable levels locating fruit, bouncing on switches and avoiding all manner of enemies. You'll also notice something a little strange: doors. To be more specific, doors with fruit behind them and the only way you can gain access is to locate the same fruit elsewhere in the level. Opening a door usually reaps rewards ranging from a letter (collect all the letters to spell PACMAN for an extra life) to a lift to a hidden level.

You'll also discover that you have a fair few new moves at your disposal, our favorite being the 'Rev-Roll', which allows you to build up great speed in order to propel yourself from platforms or reach greater heights. This is useful when you encounter a lift or floating platform, which is powered by Pac Power. You also have the ability to swim. Find a 'lead ball' and you'll be able to experience 'gravity' underwater meaning you can bounce on treasure chests while a collection of rather scary looking fish swim by. This is completed with a battery save, although this is only available on completion of each level. Sadly (unlike the PS1 version) there's no ability to unlock the original Pac-Man game and while this was no doubt down to sheer lack of space it's still a rather disappointing omission.

Controls

Isometric games always pose control problems and Pac-Man World is no exception. This is generally because it's incredibly difficult to judge distances and although this isn't a problem in the earlier levels, mistakes later on mean you will instantly lose a valuable life. Even so the controls are both tight and intuitive and... well... you're just going to have to practice aren't you?

Graphics

If you've sampled the original PS1 version you'll probably recall that it was full 3D with the camera following Pac where ever he chose to wonder. Clearly this isn't possible on the GBA without sucking up every last inch of processing power so the developers have instead opted for a kind of 'over head, three quarters view point'. If you don't know what that means just check out the screens as they'll explain it far better. Visually the levels are well designed and the animation, even though I'm sure even the developers will admit that it hardly pushes the boundaries, is still pleasing. A mention must go to the animated intro too, which is incredibly well implemented and a great little story to boot. So do yourself a favor and rather than skipping it (as we normally do) sit down, relax and treat yourself to the next best thing to FMV.

Sound

All of the various level soundtracks are sampled from the original game and while some of these are actually quite good others are incredibly irritating. Especially, we have to say, the first one, which is so sickly sweet (not to mention on an incredibly short loop) you'll want to throw your GBA against the wall. Else where it's clearly a Pac-Man game where you?ll hear the much loved 'waka-waka-waka' following the yellow hero whenever he starts feeding, and the dreaded deflation sound as you lose yet another life. Other sound effects flesh out the levels but it's the original arcade sounds that are most likely to put a smile on your face.

Final comments

If you're a fan of the PS1 title or even if you go as far back as the original arcade game there's a great deal to enjoy in this GBA version of Pac-Man World. It successfully brings together all the various elements that made the original so popular whilst adding some ingenious level design and enough new characters to please a new and more demanding audience. Possibly the greatest problem of Pac-Man World is the learning curve as while the first level is mind-numbingly simple the next few are not only far more difficult but much longer too. Obviously if you're up for a challenge this is not really a problem but it may leave some gamers frustrated. Overall though Full Fat have done a fine job in their conversion and if your PS1 has long since gone into storage you may just want to bag yourself a copy of this just to bring back how good gaming can be.

Pro: Great Intro.
Con: Can Be Tough.
Final score: 7.1

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