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Ms Pac-Man goes problem solver

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 37 / 37
Date: November 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Ms Pac-Man was apparently bored with just munching pac-dots and finding inventive ways to elude her colorful adversaries. The pac-dot munching diva gobbles and puzzle-solves her way through this decent maze-tromping game, which offers quite a variety of challenges. Those looking for classic Pac-Man style action should be warned. This is mostly a puzzle game.

The story is about some witch who is terrorizing Pac-Land; and to stop her, Ms Pac-Man has to find the four lost gems of purity... or something. I didn't pay it much attention. The story isn't all that essential anyway.

There are thirteen large levels here, set in four worlds. An Egyptian temple, ice caves, a city, and a haunted castle. Each level has four separate goals. Completion of each goal earns you a star, and getting all of the stars will gain a 100% completion of the game. For starters, you can reach the end of the level within a preset time limit. Gobbling all of the pac-dots in a level is also worth a star. Finding all of the fruit in a level earns a star. Finally, you can get a fourth star by beating the level's par score. A good number of stars are needed to finish the game.

The levels are presented in a 2-dimensional, semi-overhead view. You can see the fronts of the walls, and sometimes Ms Pac-Man is partially obscured from view when she moves behind a wall. That kinda thing. Hopefully you get the idea. Each level is a large labyrinth with traditional style areas and puzzle areas (and sometimes a mixture of both). Traditional style areas are a maze full of pac-dots, a ghost home, and sometimes there are teleporters that you can use to move to the opposite side of the field. The colorful ghosts are present, and they will give chase when they see you. Gobbling a power pellet enables Ms Pac-Man to turn the tables on the ghosts. They turn blue and run away. She can chase them down and devour them for points.

The puzzle areas involve a variety of things. Movable blocks, exploding blocks, wall switches, pressure pads on the floor, doors that will only open after you've eaten the required number of pac-dots, doors that require keys, platforms that carry our heroine across abysses... Lots of cool stuff you can interact with. There are also larger enemies prowling the corridors of the labyrinth. Mummies, snow men, dragons, wolves, vampires, and some other guys. All of these guys are just as vulnerable to a power pellet as the ghosts are. Ms Pac-Man has a health bar, and she takes damage if a ghost or other bad guy touches her. Finding a heart replenishes some health.

There are also plentiful hazards to avoid. Steam vents, death blocks that are worth an instant death if you touch them, fire crackers, and other harmful things.

The puzzles here are all logical. Ms Pac-Man has to find inventive ways around obstacles, pushing blocks around and using springs to get to the top of the maze's walls. There's a lot of stuff to do, and it's all pretty easy to figure out. I completed most of the game the same day I got it. I came back later and finished it up with just a little difficulty. Ms Pac-Man starts out with a few lives, but extra lives can be found in the mazes. Some of them are pretty easy to come to by, while others require puzzle solving to grab. I had acquired over 100 extra lives by the time I finished.

Visually, the game looks good. No complaints. Ms Pac-Man is well animated as she walks around (she has arms and legs here). The labyrinthine environments have some artistic style to them. Each theme is well represented, with embellishments that set the mood. The background music is just sort of there. It's nothing extraordinary. There are a few themes that rehash throughout the game. They're light hearted and unobtrusive. When you're concentrating on solving those puzzles, you're not likely to even notice it much. Sound effects are what one might expect. Faithfully reproduced pac-dot munching, blips and bleeps from the original Ms Pac-Man, and the occasional rumble of an exploding block. Ms Pac-Man makes a cute "Yeep!" noise when a ghost catches her.

This game includes a few multi-player maze games. I was unable to try them out because I don't have a second GBA (or a second cartridge).

All said and done, this game is pretty good. It's not awe-inspiring, but neither is it bad. It looks good, plays well, and provides a quality gaming experience. The puzzles are diverse and interesting, and the pac-dot munching is fun. There's nothing too stressful here. It could definitely be much more complicated than it is. I'd say that Ms Pac-Man does a fine job in the puzzle department, but she's much better at the old-fashioned, frantically-paced arcade style of pac-dot gobbling and ghost eluding.

Maze Madness!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I like this game, but after a few levels,it gets hard. But i still like the game. i would recommend it any time.

Review Page: 1 

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