Pac-Man Championship Edition: Best 360 game to date? You better believe it!

RainbowDespair

Nearly a year ago, Microsoft dropped a hint that a big announcement that would make gaming history was about to be made. Gamers waited with eagerness to hear what Microsoft had in store. It was this:



It's a little XBLA game called Pac-Man: Championship Edition. Better titles for the game would be Pac-Man 2 or Pac-Man: Retro Evolved. It costs a mere $10 to purchase and it may very well be the perfect video game: accessible to beginners, tons of depth for advanced players, and a blast of pure fun for everyone.

The morphing levels, revamped scoring system, ever increasing tempo, and timer ticking down all combine to make Pac-Man: Championship Edition some of the most intense 5-10 minute chunks of gaming ever. I don't think it's any coincidence that I've found that as my Pac-Man: Championship Edition skills improve, my bullet hell shmup skills improve as well and vice versa.

So I thought we might discuss some strategies for the different modes. My thoughts:

Championship Mode - The balanced course. Judging from the Youtube videos of the game I've seen, the preferred strategy for high scores is to plow through the boards as quickly as possible, only pausing to chain ghosts together towards the end of the board sequence where they give you a bunch of power pellets at once. If you're especially fast, you can get through the whole sequence twice. Here's an example of a 500k+ run: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy0J27k1Z5E

Challenge Mode 1 (Patience & Reward) - A board with lots of power pellets followed by 3 boards of none. Since the left & right side aren't symettrical in this mode, I've found the key to getting the best scores is to get 4 boards ahead on the left side and then progress both sides evenly. This way, the boards with the most power pellets will coincide with each other.

Challenge Mode 2 (The Darkness Course) - The course where you can only see immediately around Pac-Man, the ghosts, and the pellets. This course has the slowest pace of all of the courses which gives it a more strategic feel to me. I believe the key to this course is chaining strings of power pellets together: clear the board of regular pellets, leaving just the power pellets and then start a big ghost eating chain. Also note that later on, the power pellet distribution becomes uneven so you'll want to take that into account.

Extra Mode 1 (The Freeway Course) - The superfast course. I have a high score on this course, but to be honest, I don't remember the specifics of how I got it. I would imagine that due to the speed of the course, staying alive and taking advantage of the x5 pellet eating bonus would be key.

Extra Mode 2 (The Manhattan Course) - This is a long and fast paced course that is rather similar to Extra Mode 3. One trick I've noticed is that the last board before the boards start to repeat has a ton of power pellets. If you can clear that board of regular pellets and then chain all the power pellets into the next few boards, you'll get a ton of points.

Extra Mode 3 (The Overall Course) - There aren't really any great ghost eating spots on this course aside from the beginning, but on the other hand, you can get through the boards rather quickly meaning tons of fruit points. This is my best mode (I'm ranked #3 at the moment). I think this is the mode that is most likely to be the first mode where someone manages to break 1 million points.

Lunker

I don't know if I'd call it the best 360 game yet, but it's definitely top 3. Though we've been singing the game's praises for months now.

So amazingly awesome, and the only thing that marred it was that the unveiling billed the game as "more levels for Pac-Man," which is a terrible way of describing it. It would kind of be like calling Super Mario Galaxy "more levels for Super Mario Brothers." Yes, it shares some basic gameplay fundamentals of its ancestor, but the end product is so much more refined, improved and richly complex than the description can ever begin to explain.

It's worth noting that I really can't stand the original Pac-Man, sin as that may be. I get bored really quickly. Pac-Man CE, on the other hand, has a lot more of a risk/reward balance to it; you can't just screw around dodging ghosts because you only have five minutes, and every second you're not eating something is a handful of points you're not getting.

I think my favorite part of the game is the time limitation. Score attacks within confined spaces mean that high scores are due purely to skill, not endurance. If I want to get a good run of Geometry Wars, I have to devote a chunk of time into getting ready and then having a 20+ minute play; with CE every five minutes is a chance to reboot and start anew.

I haven't picked it up in a while since I've been shmupping out with more recent XBLA offerings, but I often go back and burn one or two cycles on Pac-Man CE. I'm way off what my old fighting weight used to be, though. I never got hard-core into it enough to devise concrete strategies, though I always tried to balance the left/right refreshes in Championship mode so that I got the power pills simultaneously, and from there it was 3200-point heaven.

RainbowDespair

Lunker wrote: »

It's worth noting that I really can't stand the original Pac-Man, sin as that may be. I get bored really quickly.

Me neither.

Pac-Man CE, on the other hand, has a lot more of a risk/reward balance to it; you can't just screw around dodging ghosts because you only have five minutes, and every second you're not eating something is a handful of points you're not getting.

Exactly. The original Pac-Man was a very defensive game which is probably why I'm not a big fan. By adding a time limit, they made the gameplay very aggressive. Plus, like you said, it makes the game one that rewards skill more than endurance.

EDIT: Edited the OP to include a 500k+ Championship Mode run.

Lave II

Aye this is a grand, grand game. I bought it thanks to Lunker and I'm very glad I did.

Not devoted long enough to it yet but it sit's their on my dash guaranteeing 5 mins of fun.

Bamelin

It's the best XBLA title out there.

I still play once to twice a week.

Dodge Aspen

The only thing that irks me about this game is how it sits on the disk I got with my Arcade pack, and not on my HD. I know I would play it alot more if I could extract it from that disc, but alas, it is not to be. I should just buy it anyway.

Lunker

Dodge Aspen wrote: »

The only thing that irks me about this game is how it sits on the disk I got with my Arcade pack, and not on my HD. I know I would play it alot more if I could extract it from that disc, but alas, it is not to be. I should just buy it anyway.

I did the same thing when I bought the Live Unplugged disc ... eventually I traded in the disc and used the money to buy points for Geometry Wars, since it was the only game I played on it anyway. Any high scores and achievements will carry over if you buy the digital version, BTW.

The game really shines as digital content because it's always available without any disc-swapping and because you can pick at it in five-minute increments. I find myself playing a lot of XBLA games when I either can't make up my mind for another game or I'm waiting for something else, like my wife to get ready or for a TV show to come on, and I know I only have a few minutes.

Lave II wrote:

Aye this is a grand, grand game. I bought it thanks to Lunker and I'm very glad I did.

Not devoted long enough to it yet but it sit's their on my dash guaranteeing 5 mins of fun.

And in turn, I'll likely be buying Space Invaders Extreme, so consider the favor returned. I haven't picked it up in a while either, but it's nice that I don't have to worry about "starting over" or "new gaming" like I do with other games. I can just hop back in and not worry about where I was before. I end up buying and playing a lot more XBLA games instead of full retail games because of this.

Sheep

Never picked it up. A buddy of mine highly recommends it. It's just one of those games I'll get whenever I have left over points.

I did that with Commander's Attack of the Genos. That was a bad idea.

LBD_Nytetrayn

I have the demo, and love it. I really need to plunk down the cash for the full version sometime.

DigDug2000

RainbowDespair wrote: »

Lunker wrote: »

It's worth noting that I really can't stand the original Pac-Man, sin as that may be. I get bored really quickly.

Me neither.

I always though PacMan was kinda shit. Mrs. Pacman is where the real game was at. I mean, they're both old though. You can't really fault 'em for not having 16,000 different levels. I was (and still am) not that good at either after the first 10 or levels though, so maybe the lack of skill is what makes me enjoy 'em.

Viscountalpha

I still wish pacman CE had the ms-pacman speed up mode. I always did much better when it was faster then slower. Also, I still wish I could see pacman V.s. on XBLA because that deserves the recognition. And where the hell is my MR. and MRS. 2 player pacman mode? is that too much to ask for new pacman modes?

RainbowDespair

Viscountalpha wrote: »

I still wish pacman CE had the ms-pacman speed up mode.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Most of the modes in Pac-Man CE get extremely fast when you're doing well. Heck, there's one mode that is specifically designed to be ultra-fast.

Also, I still wish I could see pacman V.s. on XBLA because that deserves the recognition.

Agreed. Pac-Man Vs. would be an awesome XBLA title.

AbsoluteZero

D:D:D:

It's so fast!

UnbreakableVow

It was definitely more fun than I expected. I initially thought the time limits were a bad idea, till I realized that I wasn't necessarily good enough to survive that long anyways. Probably the best original XBLA title, though there are certainly better games on the Marketplace.

Viscountalpha

RainbowDespair wrote: »

Viscountalpha wrote: »

I still wish pacman CE had the ms-pacman speed up mode.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Most of the modes in Pac-Man CE get extremely fast when you're doing well. Heck, there's one mode that is specifically designed to be ultra-fast.

Also, I still wish I could see pacman V.s. on XBLA because that deserves the recognition.

Agreed. Pac-Man Vs. would be an awesome XBLA title.

Well, the need more of the modified pacman modes which are out there. They are rom hacks and that kinda goes to a place which is forbidden here. But for awhile, people were altering the arcade boards to run double speed which is more my kind of fun.

I like pacman CE but its nothing like Ms.pacman sped up.

maximumzero

The only game that I've ever gotten all the achievements on.

Ironically, rather than the in-game music I would normally load up "Eat'em Up!"

Thank you Xbox 360 and your custom soundtrack capabilities.

RainbowDespair

Aha! Found the Penny-Arcade quote:

"If Pac-Man CE remains on Live Arcade only it will be a criminal act, and I will work to bring these evil men to justice. I downloaded the demo expecting disposable content, consistent with the necrophilia on display elsewhere in the classic coin-op section. After one round, this demo I grabbed explicitly to revile had become a sale, and a week later it is an obsession and perhaps even a lifestyle.

It's in Widescreen, and it has a slick look, but what it really does is segment the maze into two distinct "boards." In strategy games, you often play through classical scenarios, and this has a similar feel: each side of the map can have its own maze, and its own arrangement of dots to consume. It may be full of dots, or dots may be sparse. There may be no "Power Pills" to drive back ravening spectres. Every time you complete a side, the classic fruit appears which can both replenish it and radically alter the maze. If you are caught, there is a slight pause before you return in the same location, so the game never really stops. Each mode is time limited, which I've heard complaints about - it would be nice to have an option to play perpetually, to play forever if possible - to play until the Earth is a lifeless ball of ice. I don't mind it. It just emphasizes a different style of play, reinforcing the already manic drama of hunger and pursuit.

It's absolutely critical that you grab the demo, at the very least. You'll be surprised by its vitality and relevance. "

Godfather

This almost makes me want to pick up a 360.

Almost.

Sheep

Downloaded it today. I've been missing out, though once again it's a "update old arcade with trippy graphics" type of presentation, but it's all good. I like how one side of the board will be completely dark and how the ghosts and pacman can light up corridors.

Challenging to boot. Highscore is something like 380,000.

I should be going to bed, but I want to go in there and play another round very badly.

Nocren

Until Shimmy knocked me down I had the top score among my friends with 190K. Now shimmy's got 194K... I need to find a way to squeeze out a few extra thousand points.

Ah_Pook

this game is pretty much the only reason that i want a 360. but i want it so bad. i would explode with glee if this dropped on steam or something.

Negrodamus

RainbowDespair wrote: »

Aha! Found the Penny-Arcade quote:

"If Pac-Man CE remains on Live Arcade only it will be a criminal act, and I will work to bring these evil men to justice. I downloaded the demo expecting disposable content, consistent with the necrophilia on display elsewhere in the classic coin-op section. After one round, this demo I grabbed explicitly to revile had become a sale, and a week later it is an obsession and perhaps even a lifestyle.

It's in Widescreen, and it has a slick look, but what it really does is segment the maze into two distinct "boards." In strategy games, you often play through classical scenarios, and this has a similar feel: each side of the map can have its own maze, and its own arrangement of dots to consume. It may be full of dots, or dots may be sparse. There may be no "Power Pills" to drive back ravening spectres. Every time you complete a side, the classic fruit appears which can both replenish it and radically alter the maze. If you are caught, there is a slight pause before you return in the same location, so the game never really stops. Each mode is time limited, which I've heard complaints about - it would be nice to have an option to play perpetually, to play forever if possible - to play until the Earth is a lifeless ball of ice. I don't mind it. It just emphasizes a different style of play, reinforcing the already manic drama of hunger and pursuit.

It's absolutely critical that you grab the demo, at the very least. You'll be surprised by its vitality and relevance. "

That news post was the reason I gave it a shot.
So, so worth the $10.