Pac-Man World 3
Pac-Man’s back and he’s the same as he was last time.
Tags: Pac-Man World 3 Categories: PS2 Reviews, Reviews
Posted by David Hinkle on Dec 17th, 2005
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pac-Man World 3 (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Platformer | No | ||
This timeless mascot, which Toru Iwatani, the creator, claims came to be after being inspired by a partially devoured pizza, is still at it in Pac-Man World 3. In an attempt to keep up with the times, but ultimately failing where other italian plumbers have not, Pac-Man stars in another game that fails to define itself as anything other than your average cookie-cutter 3D platformer, unlike the original game that won so many hearts (and quarters) when it first emerged.
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It’s really a shame too if you grew up loving the yellow guy. Much like your favorite actor that just isn’t getting those good parts anywhere, delegated to straight-to-video releases, Pac-Man just hasn’t been able to effectively keep up with the times. His latest Pac-Man World games have managed to be decent, but they haven’t broken through as revolutionary in any way. Instead, his titles follow the formula that Crash Bandicoot has set out before it exactly, which may have been revolutionary and fun when Crash first emerged as the mascot on the brand-new Sony PlayStation, but the 8-year-old approach is tired and just wants to retire.
The story isn’t that bad, however, as we find Pac-Man is on his way home to celebrate his 25th birthday with all of his pals. On his way home though, he’s transported from Pac-Land to the Spectral World (where those pesky ghosts come from) accidentally by Orson, enemy-turned-friend. Turns out another ne’er-do-well has been sucking the energy from the Spectral World to fuel his robotic army, so now Pac-Man has to correct the balance and put a stop to this new enemy, Erwin. The story isn’t going to win any awards, but the premise is just right for this type of game and previously-established universe.
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The gameplay is boringly the same as in previous Pac-Man Worlds. You’ll jump from ledge to ledge, gobble a massive amount of pellets, and collect all sorts of items. You’ll jump on enemy heads and punch robots to smithereens. Sure, the title is aimed at the younger crowd, but even kids can get tired of playing the same game with a different coat of paint over and over again. Honestly, the levels all play the same and look the same, causing the game to be a lot more boring than it should be. Jump, punch, climb, eat some pellets, jump, climb…nothing here sets the game apart from the pack other than the hero starring in it.
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The game tries to mix things up by giving Pac-Man some abilities and provide a variety of environments to take him through. The abilities, which allow Pac-Man to possess and control ghosts or shoot electricity from his hands, help things from being too monotonous, but don’t impact the gameplay all too much as the game is easily played without even utilizing them. The environments provide some eye candy in each of their unique themes. Some stages are uniquely modeled after the classic stages from the original Pac-Man, while others take on the role of underground caverns and elaborate castles.
Pac-Man World 3 kind of just treads water, never putting forth the effort to actually get anywhere. Instead, the game offers about 8-10 hours of mindless play to distract your young one. The platforming action, while solid, is just tired and used to death, failing to provide anything new. Some of the older level-inspire areas in the game are nice, but overall the game is mediocre and won’t make it to the top of anyone’s wishlist this holiday season.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Controls well enough + Story is fun at times |
6.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Cookie-cutter platforming - Basically the same game as last time |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Another tired reuse of the yellow eating machine. | |
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Tags: Pac-Man World 3
Posted by David Hinkle on Dec 17th, 2005 and is filed under PS2 Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
