Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures

Genre: 3D Platformer

Players: 1-4 Competitive (Local Split-Screen)

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Review:

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures is a 3D Platformer released on PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U in 2013 (a different game with the same title was released on Nintendo 3DS in 2013). This game is based on the plot and characters of the computer-animated TV show of the same name, which in turn very loosely mirrored elements of the classic Arcade game. For those who never watched the animated show, this game looks and plays almost like something made by someone who had Pac-Man described to them, but never played it themselves.

The presentation here is technically good, with a 3D world and characters that have pretty good animation and an overall look that’s pretty polished. Having said that, many will likely be put off by the presentation here, as the character designs are the worst sort of market-tested trash made for children you can imagine, complete with cringe-worthy voices for the characters and a soundtrack that tries way too hard to be “cool” with its bombastic energy.

The gameplay, though only loosely related to anything gamers would recognize as Pac-Man, is actually pretty decent, with players working their way through largely linear 3D levels, chomping enemies and collecting pickups along the way. In particular I found it to be quite enjoyable when you get the opportunity to chain together ghost-chomping attacks one after another like a combo attack.

Unfortunately, what could have been a much better game has been harmed by this game’s terrible camera that needs constant babysitting, along with unreliable aiming when attacking enemies. This was particularly bothersome with some of the power-ups you acquire, which often require players to aim abilities at enemies, something the game is poorly set up to handle, and that’s after you put aside the fact that you’ll often be aiming off-screen because the camera is so terrible.

Despite its flaws, I don’t think Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures is a bad 3D Platformer, and it has its strong points. It’s just that those strong points are hard to appreciate with all the camera and aiming problems and a presentation that not everyone will appreciate. This isn’t terrible, but you have better options for Platformers on Wii U.

tl;dr – Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures is a 3D Platformer based on the animated TV show of the same name that’s loosely based on the classic Arcade game. This is a fairly decent linear 3D Platformer, but it’s marred by camera problems, aiming issues, and a presentation that not everyone will like. This game isn’t bad, but it’s far from great.

Grade: C

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