Pac'n'Roll - DS/DSi

Pac-Man: the first video game character ever? Probably. And he’ll probably be the last, too, if Namco have anything to do with it. Many people wouldn’t see the potential that a small yellow blob could have as a tool for brand recognition. But Namco have kept their flagship character busy with platform and pinball games – there’s even a karting game in the works. Now things take an ingenious turn with the very promising Pac’n’Roll on the Nintendo DS.

This is no clumsy port. Pac’n’Roll could only be made on the uniquely featured Nintendo DS, and it just goes to show how many new types of game are possible with the console. It also shows how eager Japanese developers are to capitalise on the machine’s creative potential. A delightfully flimsy pretext turns all the Pac-people into balls: at a party celebrating a bumper harvest of their beloved power pellets, the people of Pac-Land are attacked by a UFO, which fires a dread Ghost Beam which turns the whole land into Ghost Land. The Pac-Folk launch a power pellet fuelled counter attack, but a ghost called Golvis (ghost-Elvis – get it?) pulls out a guitar and starts playing it. As he wails on his axe, a Ghost Light is emitted, which turns all the people of Pac-Land into... spheres!

You might think that they are already spheres, but now they become even more spherical, without even arms or legs. Luckily the irrepressible Pac-man finds a way to use his new quadriplegic form to his advantage. Using the stylus on the touch screen you can roll, turn and stop Pac-Man with unbelievable control. Rampage through a number of worlds as you search for a way to free your friends. Old Pac-Man doesn’t seem too bothered by his new shape, even finding ways to go underwater, or don armour that greatly increases his destructive powers. There’s even a Feather Hat that allows you to fly! A first, we believe, even for this Pac of all trades. Another great way of using the DS’s powers, we can only marvel at this latest effort from Namco.
more