PacMan Best-Selling Coin-Operated Game of All Time

Pac-Man Collection contains the original Pac-Man, plus Pac-Attack, PacMania 3D, and the never-before-seen-out-of-the-arcade Pac-Man Arrangement game. Pac-Man plays like you remember, and like Namco Museums's picture perfect re-creation of Ms. Pac-Man, it features spot-on control, graphics, cartoon cutscenes, sound effects, and, best of all, music from the coin-op (who can forget that opening theme?). As such, it's easily the best of this collection.

PacMania 3D is basically a 3-D version of the original, and is just about as uninspired now as when it came out. Pac-Attack is a cool variation on such puzzlers as Tetris and Columns, and as such it's perfect for handheld gaming. Pac-Man Arrangement is an odd little game that plays much like the original but adds weird power-ups that, for example, make you gigantic.

Because Pac-Man Collection is a perfectly emulated package, there isn't much to gripe about, save that Ms. Pac-Man is a far, far better game than the original, and you'll have to shell out more money if you want that one. But for retro gamers on the go who also want to track down ghosts and eat power pills, this package is sure to sate your hunger. --Andrew S. Bub

Pros:

• Perfect graphics and sound
• Perfect controls
• Pac-Attack is a fun Tetris variant

• It's missing the best Pac game, Ms. Pac-Man
• Pac-Man Arrangement and PacMania 3D aren't really great games

Maze Madness is a bit of a misleading title, because while the game does involve mazes, it's the puzzles that will stop your progress. Most of the puzzles aren't that hard, but a few will stump you for a bit. There are blocks to push, TNT to explode, and springboards that propel you upward.

Players are awarded stars for completing different tasks, such as finding all the fruit in a level, munching all the pellets in a level, or beating the level in time-trial mode. Initially, earning one star per level will get you to the next stage, but you must go back and earn more stars to unlock later levels.

Maze Madness' graphics are smooth and crisp, but they aren't very detailed. The game has the look and feel of a cartoon's minimal lighting effects. Ms. Pac-Man herself is just a round polygonal sphere with some textures, arms, and legs glued on.

Where this game excels is in the level design. A puzzle game like this is made or broken on the ingenuity of the levels. Also, Maze Madness features some multiplayer options, which, combined with its simple, family-friendly gameplay, makes it an excellent choice for a party game. --Todd Mowatt--This text refers to the Sega Dreamcast edition of this game
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Maze Madness is a bit of a misleading title, because while the game does involve mazes, it's the puzzles that will stop your progress. Most of the puzzles aren't that hard, but a few will stump you for a bit. There are blocks to push, TNT to explode, and springboards that propel you upward.

Players are awarded stars for completing different tasks, such as finding all the fruit in a level, munching all the pellets in a level, or beating the level in time-trial mode. Initially, earning one star per level will get you to the next stage, but you must go back and earn more stars to unlock later levels.

Maze Madness' graphics are smooth and crisp, but they aren't very detailed. The game has the look and feel of a cartoon's minimal lighting effects. Ms. Pac-Man herself is just a round polygonal sphere with some textures, arms, and legs glued on. There are a few particle effects in the title that look very good, but Namco didn't do too much else to tax the Dreamcast's graphics abilities.

Where this game excels is in the level design. A puzzle game like this is made or broken on the ingenuity of the levels. Also, Maze Madness features some multiplayer options, which, combined with its simple, family-friendly gameplay, makes it an excellent choice for a party game. --Todd Mowatt

Pros:

• Extremely simple yet addicting gameplay

• Graphics are a little too simple