Pac-Man
Giovanni Rosendo, associate
editor
In the
old two-D days of gaming everything was simpler and games made legends by
memorable characters such as Pac-Man.
Namco
is celebrating their 25th anniversary with Pac-Man this year.
Remember those days in the 1980s when games were simple?
Games
used to be user friendly and everyone played them. I have yet to meet a
person who has never heard of Pac-Man, Galaga, or even Super Mario.
I’m
talking about the games at the arcade that had a directional pad and a
jump/shoot button. That was it. None of this L1, R2 or hidden Z button
that new consoles have.
Everything was simpler then. Gray, black and red was all we needed.
Sega
was great too. It got a little trickier with the C button, but I think
Sonic helped us all through that one, if you know what I mean. This is when
things started to become an art. Along came Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter
and other combo-hogging games that let you beat up the girl wearing
practically nothing.
Pac-Man could so school all these new “gamers” a thing or two about staying
on top.
Seriously, Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde had nothing on this guy.
And
what a memorable moment it was when Ms. Pac-Man came into the picture.
Those kids were so in love. It was adorable. Ms. Pac-Man wasn’t afraid to
tell the world that big bows were definitely sexy.
So why
have we forgotten these iconic figures?
When
did “gamers” become so violent that every big game on the market has some
sort of firearm and profane language?
Sure
Galaga and Space Invaders had their lasers and what have you, but that was
in order to “defend the galaxy from the threat of invasion.”
To get
back on track, Namco is celebrating their anniversary by, you guessed it,
re-releasing the games that made history.
Available on PlayStation Portable is the “Namco Museum Battle Collection”
which will include 18 games; featuring none other than “Galaga,” “Dig Dug,”
“Rolling Thunder,” “Tower of Druaga,” and of course “Pac-Man” and “Ms.
Pac-Man.” Also featured on this game will be “Pac-Man Arrangement,” that
will form drawbridges, elevators and even allow you to pick up speed.
Nintendo DS will be gaining two games from this anniversary. One is “Pac ‘n
Roll,” which supplies a much more intricate maze and allows you to direct
with the stylus. There will also be armor available to allow you to go
under water.
Also
available on DS is “Pac Pix” which is a very detailed game as well. This
version presents gamers with the task to draw Pac-Man before even beginning
to escape from ghosts. After that, you also have to create walls for
Pac-Man or else he will fall off.
Though
Pac-Man games are becoming elaborate, it definitely is still a game that
will be played by generations to come.
