Pac-Man 3D

Pac's back with a whole new look as he jumps into 3D for free-roaming action. In addition to Pac's trademark chompin' jaws, he can also swim, fly, jump, and run. For purist Pac fans, the original arcade version of the game has also been retained, but with a new 3D look.

A good portion of the games of yesteryear have been taking a plunge into the world of 3D. Even with all of the enhanced retro titles on store shelves nowadays, one little yellow guy in particular really hasn't taken the trip Ik just yet, even though a new game with him in it seems like a no-brainer. Pac-Man 3D from Namco puts the pellet-gobblin' sphere into a 3D world, and so far it seems like they're doing it right. This is the first title designed and developed by Namco's U.S. product development team.

Nothing in the E3 version of Pac-Man 3D seemed forced. The game's lead designer Jason Weesner commented, "We wanted to create unique levels of gameplay, yet retain the history associated with Pac-Man." And the retention of history is just what they're doing. When it comes down to it, Pac-Man is kicking it old-school so to speak except this time he's in a sharp-looking 3D world. Pac still has to avoid ghosts, eat power pellets and delicious types of fruit (which act as power-ups) and basically do what he has to do to get out of a level. This 3D update is hardly as simple as its arcade predecessor though. Pac-Man 3D puts you in a bright and colorful world, complete with mazes, puzzles, platforms and Bosses. In fact, at first glance our EIC John Davison thought Pac-Man 3D was for the Nintendo 64. That's how nice the game looks.

Since Pac-Man is in a new world, it only makes sense he'd have to try new activities such as flying, swimming and what Namco calls rocketing. Even though Pac can run around in all dimensions, the game is more similar to Pandemonium! than it is to Gex: Enter the Gecko. In addition to the 3D action levels, there's also an update of the original 2D version on the disc. Now the blue-outlined maze is in 3D and the camera has a tighter focus on Pac-Man, but this is more of a bonus than anything else. Namco originally was hoping to release the game in time for the holidays. However, since Pac-Man is Namco's mascot, they want to make certain this game lives up to the kind of anticipation a new Pac adventure will receive.