It came from a Downloadable Service: Pac-man CE DX

I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about this new Pac Man Championship Edition DX so for $10 I thought why not. I had no idea the type of game it would become and how it would transport me back to the arcade days where high scores were a gamer’s claim to fame. Mixed with some truly enthralling and terrifying moments, Pac-man has wakka-ed his ass back into my heart and at times into my night mares

The game follows Pac-man going through the motions of travelling through mazes avoiding ghosts. The twists through there are now stationary green ghosts that chase conga line style as soon as you get near them. Acquiring a longer and longer ghost train you develop a snake like pathology trying to avoid your own tail. But once you get close to a ghost you go into bullet time and have about a second to change your course to avoid a collision. This new mechanic really ramps the fun and removes those lame deaths from the original Pac-man.

Then you see the ever reliable power pellet that will turn these ghosts into prey. You hit it and turn on your ghost train and devour the entire line. The game flashes with familiar sounds and you’re completely in rapture from the auditory joy going on. Few games have ever provided such a feeling of well being for me then that ghost eating sound. With the line defeated and your score raised you notice more ghosts appear to take up the mantle of their fallen brethren, but there’s something else. The game speed has been ramped up by an indicator on the bottom of the screen every time your score rises. The speed tops out at 50x.

Pac-Man CE: DX is thrilling to say the least, with a variety of maps to choose from as well as time trials, 5 minute and 10 minute modes it is truly a slick compact game with no filler.

Additional notes is that your also given bombs in the game as a last ditch attempt to get rid of ghosts chasing you. These along with removing the ghost threat will lower the game speed but you will also lose the chance to get higher multiplier to get a better score.  The only negligible thing in Pac-man CE:DX is the fact you can’t compare your score with friends directly. Instead you’re forced to have them broken into two different screens. Not a huge problem but a noticeable one none the less.

I recommend this for anyone looking for a frantic and visually astounding looking Pac-Man game, also for anyone that loves rubbing your high scores in your friend’s faces.