4Ks' Blog - Game Review: Pac-Man for Atari 8-bit

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Atari appears to have learned their lesson from the fiasco that was Atari 2600 Pac-Man, and actually put a lot of effort into the 5200/8-bit version. The maze and character sprites look very much like their arcade counterparts, and the sound effects are much more than just repetetive beep noises. So thanks to the 5200 and 8-bit, Atari was back in everyone's good books (including the Intellivision fans, because Atari did them the service of releasing a nigh-on perfect version of Pac-Man for them to obsess over, along with Centipede and Defender.)

 

Gameplay 9.5

 

The gameplay here is the same old classic material as the arcade, 5200, and Intellivision versions. You collect dots around the maze while avoiding (or eating) the ghosts. Eating a large dot will turn the ghosts blue and ripe for eating. Every 30 seconds a fruit appears, and you have five seconds to eat it for bonus points before it disappears. Touching a deadly ghost will cost you one of your lives.

 

Graphics 9.0

 

The graphics in this game are excellent, and do a fantastic job of reimagining the world of Pac-Man for the 8-bit. Pac-Man himself is an actual circle-with-a-mouth in this game, not just a creepy yellow blob. The ghosts are rendered well too, and their eyes point in the direction they're facing instead of simply barreling around in their heads like they just got off a very fast carousel. The maze looks superb, although it is stretched to fit the whole screen instead of being more of a vertical structure. The only gripe to be had with the graphics is that the ghosts look like they could have been done on an Atari 2600.

 

Sound 8.0

 

The sound is pretty good, and does a good job of setting the atmosphere for the game. The dot eating sound is as good as you could expect, considering that the wakka-wakka noise is very hard to do. The ghost siren is also here, and it isn't blaringly bad like the 2600 version. All the other sounds are reproduced faithfully as well, rounding out the package quite nicely.

 

Value: Excellent

 

This is a very good game, and is also thankfully one of the most common games in the 8-bit library. It's worth every penny.

 

Overall 9.0

 

Pac-Man is on of the true shining gems for the 8-bit, and stands the test of time remarkably well.

 

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