PAC-MAN

Of all the characters that best personify the golden age of arcade gaming, Namco's Pac-man takes the cake. The little yellow guy has been through several different iterations over the years, even starring in Mario Party-esque games and 3D platformers. However, Namco has brought it back to where it all began with a mobile port of the original Pac-man. Pac-man plays just like you remember it, and is a pretty solid port of the original game, albeit with a few missing parts.

If you've been living in a cave for several decades, Pac-man basically puts you in control of the titular hero as he navigates his way through a maze of ghosts and power pellets. In order to progress to the next level, you must eat all of the power pellets while avoiding the four ghosts that are hunting you down. However, you can pick up large pellets that turn you into a killing machine, allowing you to turn the tables on the ghosts and effectively chomp them.

Pac-man on the cell phone is Pac-man, and little else. The game is just as it was decades ago, yet it ages extremely well. The simple gameplay is very challenging at later stages, and very addicting. Pac-man fits perfectly on the mobile platform, and should appeal to hardcore fans as well as casual gamers.

Graphically, the game's simple look is intact, and moves very smoothly and fits the cell-phone screen perfectly, as the screen uses the same aspect as the original arcade cabinet. The sound effects are a little different unfortunately, as some certain sounds have been removed from the port. The familiar "wakka-wakka" as Pac-man chomps away at power pellets is sadly missing, and the rest of the sounds seem a little bit off. The theme song is still intact, however, booting up when you start a game.

Pac-man on the mobile platform is a solid port of a classic arcade game. Fans of the original game should be pleased, and casual gamers will also find it a worthy purchase.

Gameplay: 8.5
How do you rate the gameplay elements of Pac-man? That's like doing a restaurant review of your grandma's kitchen. Pac-man is a cornerstone of pop culture that's been canonized in the video-game world. However, the port itself has all of the addicting gameplay of the original arcade game, appealing to hardcore and casual gamers alike.

Graphics: 7.0
Graphically, Pac-man is just like your room after you moved out to go to college: just as you left it.

Sound: 7.0
Hey, where's the "wakka-wakka"?

Difficultly: Medium

Concept: 8.0
It's Pac-man. Brutally simple, yet very challenging and fun.

Overall: 8.0
Pac-man is a good port that's almost perfect. Unfortunately, the musical cutbacks hurt the final score.