Pac-Man World 2 - PS2

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Pac-Man World 2 (PS2)
Also for: PC, Xbox, GameCube, GBA
Viewed: 3D Third-person, floating camera Genre:
Adventure
Platform
Media: CD Arcade origin:No
Developer: Namco Soft. Co.: Namco
Publishers: Sony (GB)
Released: 28 Feb 2003 (GB)
Ratings: 3+
Accessories: Memory Card
Features: Vibration Function Compatible, Analogue Control Compatible: analogue sticks only

Summary

It seems that releases in late February 2003 are witnessing a bit of a retro revival, what with two Frogger re-makes and this latest adventure starring the world's most popular Power Pellet muncher. Following the expected 3D makeover, Pac-Man has made a return to the gaming scene, starring in a brand new 3D platformer on the PlayStation 2.

As the story would have it, deep in the heart of Pac-Land lies the small, hidden village of the Pac-People. In the centre of the village grows an ancient tree, which bears five Golden Fruit. Legend states that as long as the Golden Fruit remain undisturbed, Pac-Land will be bountiful and everyone will be happy. But this is a video game and we all know that things are never quite so simple, so it comes as no surprise to discover that a certain gang of mischievous ghosts come along, pick the fruit and unleash the evil ghost Spooky. Spooky then orders the ghosts to hide the five pieces of fruit throughout the land, and so Pac-Man's quest begins.

Despite the fact that it's a fully-fledged 3D-platform adventure, Pac-Man has retained the spirit and simplicity of movement that was the trademark of the original arcade game, but with one big difference. In the original game you merely moved in four directions on a single plane, Pac-Man's new abilities will see you ice-skating, in-line skating and even driving a submarine, across a number of free-roaming levels.

As you progress through the game, Pac-Man's abilities increase as you collect special weapons. Amongst other things, he acquires the ability to swim underwater; to rev-roll; butt-bounce baddies; gain a Pac-Dot suck chain and a steel power-up to enable him to walk underwater.

A nice little touch in Pac-Man World 2 is the inclusion of the original Pac-Man games. While making your way about Pac-World, you can visit the Amusement Arcade in Pac-Village to play perfect recreations of the original games, including Pac-Man, Ms Pac-Man, Pac-Mania and Pac-Attack.

Anyone who's a fan of this particular genre will find this game provides more than enough entertainment. The fact that it stars one of the world's number one game characters is an added bonus.