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

Introduction

It's difficult to re-call just how many pinball games I've played on the GBA, both traditional tables and, like this, licensed affairs. I do know that it's been a lot and that, like karting games or sports titles, they appear to be an ideal arena for applying an aging character looking for their latest 15 minutes of fame. Many people love pinball and even greater numbers who still regard Pac-Man as a true gaming icon, the question is; can these two veterans of the entertainment world come together and produce a memorable title? We're just as curious as you are...

Gameplay

The initial cut-screens build up something of a story (yes, a pinball story) which I won't expand on. If you're at all interested then it's there for the taking. After this you'll have the choice of two tables, Pac Village or the Haunted Boardwalk. The tables contain everything you've grown to love about pinball with the only real difference between them being the graphics and layout. The bonuses and objectives are almost entirely the same including collecting the letters to spell PACMAN or lighting a series of bumpers in a given time. There are also some Pac-Man themed assaults where catching a blue pill will allow you to consume the ghosts but only for a few moments. Do well on these tables and you'll open up the 'classic' tables although to be honest these are simply the same tables with slightly different visuals that add no extra challenge.

Controls

It's always baffled me how some developers work out the control system so that some games are obvious others require a little more thought. Take this game for example. The buttons for controlling the flippers are fixed with the 'A' button controlling the right whilst the 'D-pad' takes care of the left. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I much prefer the shoulder buttons as controls on a pinball game but surely a user defined option would have been the best way to go here.

Graphics

The visuals are definitely one of the game's highlights although I've always thought that a pinball game should be one of the easier jobs for a games designer. Even with this in mind though the backgrounds are detailed with some nice animation. It's just a shame there couldn't have been a few more visual variations.

Sound

While this is a pinball game absolutely all the sounds are taken from the Pac-Mac arcade and if you've played that as much as we have you'll know exactly what to expect. In short this game sounds wonderful with the majority of the audio cleverly twinned with a specific character of happening on the table. The soundtrack is just as good providing a perfect backdrop to the increasingly difficult gameplay.

Final comments

Before I even start to sum up I have to say that this game is definitely aimed at the younger gamer mostly due to the simplistic layout of the tables. That said the whole thing does have a certain pick up and play charm and any game that allows you to play without thumbing through the instructions first has to be a winner. Unfortunately the lack of tables and high score save feature do push the score down a little due to the fact that the whole point of pinball is to beat the high score. Overall it's still fun to play it just offers little challenge if you've wasted as much time as we have on the real thing.

Pro: Authentic Pac-Man Soundtrack
Con: Tables Lack Variety
Final score: 5.5

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