Pac the Man 2 - A fun diversion from reality

The macosxhints Rating:
9 of 10

[0 to 10 lights; 10 = perfect!]

Developer: McSebi [Product Page]
Price: Free

A completely lite, short, and sweet Pick of the Week this week -- primarily because I was feeling the need for relief after the conclusion of the book project, a fairly eventful week at the office, and too much work to do around the house. In search of some mindless releief, someone pointed me to Pac the Man 2, a clone of one of the most popular of the 1980's arcade video games. After about five seconds, I'd forgotten all the week's travails and was focused on keeping my yellow orb alive...

If you ever played Pac Man, you know how to play Pac the Man 2. If you're new to the genre, the basic rules are: eat the dots, don't get eaten by the roving monsters. Pac the Man 2 doesn't clone the arcade game's layouts, instead using 25 new levels, each with their own twists to master. The OS X version also uses alpha and 3D effects to bring some life to the old standard, and includes a variation of the "Ms PacMan" game that was also immensely popular in the 'old days.'

Complete with musical score and (theoretically, though I couldn't get it working) a level editor, Pac the Man 2 is a fun diversion and it's tough to complain about the price!

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Pac the Man 2 - A fun diversion from reality
Authored by: Bob White on Tue, May 13 2003 at 4:11PM PDT

I would only give it 7 or 8 lights. Some of us pre-Baby Boomer types don't do well trying to control games with arrow keys! If it wasn't for this shortcoming, I'd give it 10 lights!

Pac the Man 2 - A fun diversion from reality
Authored by: ky11x on Tue, May 13 2003 at 4:50PM PDT

Do you mean that you don't like the keyboard in general (as in, you prefer this game to be controlled by mouse/joystick)? Or do you just mean that you don't like those particular keys? If it's the latter you can remap the keys to whatever you like (on my iBook the arrow keys are too small so I remapped them to i-j-k-l).

Pac the Man 2 - A fun diversion from reality
Authored by: mazatty on Wed, May 14 2003 at 1:06AM PDT

yeah and if you are really hardcore you would map them to h, j, k, l. you know who you are. :)

Pac the Man 2 - A fun diversion from reality
Authored by: Bob White on Wed, May 14 2003 at 3:04AM PDT

I mean just what I said. I can't control games well enough with keys to enjoy them or get halfway decent scores. Yes, I want mouse or joystick control. By the way, that's how PacMan was played way back when it was introduced as a plug-in cartridge on brand new Atari 400's. But, seriously, I have never been able to master switching keys quickly enough for most games. My fingers aren't slow. (I type around 60 words/minute.) I liken it to the fact that some people can never master using chopsticks. Both key controls and chopsticks are simple but not all people can master them.

Pac the Man 2 - A fun diversion from reality
Authored by: ky11x on Wed, May 14 2003 at 4:35AM PDT

<p>
Yeah, i guess it depends on the person. When I was a young'un I played the original Pac Man in arcades and i hated the controls. Later on the Atari version with the joystick worked a little better but still I couldn't get it to respond to me efficiently. I actually prefer the keyboard as the best system, responsive and quick.

<p>
I can't touch type worth anything though LOL

Pac the Man 2 - A fun diversion from reality
Authored by: jgilmorebaldwin on Tue, May 13 2003 at 5:11PM PDT

No keyboard response for me. Detracts from the game considerably. :(

Pac the Man 2 - A fun diversion from reality
Authored by: lettertiep on Thu, May 15 2003 at 8:05AM PDT

no keyboard reaction on powerbook :(

Pac the Man 2 - A fun diversion from reality
Authored by: jeffiel on Wed, May 14 2003 at 9:27PM PDT

As a serious fan of the arcade games, I have to say there is one major difference (aside from the interface, and various creative differences) that detracts from gameplay.

The ghosts should be slower than pacman! This is an important part of the game's strategy. In this version, they're faster!

Boo!

At Least It's Free
Authored by: bedouin on Sat, May 17 2003 at 3:08PM PDT

Wasn't really into this, but it's cool. I prefer MacPacMame.

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