Pac Man Vs.

I picked this up merely because I'd heard it was a ton of fun. I really can't describe how unsettling it is that this game is as entertaining as it has proven to be.

Pac Man Vs. is a multiplayer Pac Man game. In order to play, you need one GBA hooked up to the 4th controller slot, and three or fewer controllers hooked into the other slots. The person on the GBA just simply watches the GBA screen, while the other three use the TV. The GBA player controls PAC Man, and it plays exactly like old school Pac Man games. The other three players control the three ghosts that harass the yellow blob, and chase him around on the TV screen. Here's the catch: the person on the GBA gets to see the whole map, just like in the original. The three ghosts, however, only get a limited view of their surroundings. Each ghost has his own little bubble of vision and at any given time, the ghost players can each individually see about a 10th of the entire map. They can move across the whole map however they please, but they can't see where Pac Man is unless he's very close.

The Pac Man player can still pick up Power Pellets and eat the ghosts, the game still tosses fruit into the map every once in a while, and that proves to be an interesting addition to the gameplay. You see, when Pac Man eats a piece of fruit, he just earns a few extra points. When a ghost eats a piece of fruit, their personal camera swoops out for a limited amount of time, providing much greater visibility. This creates a sense of competition amongst the ghosts as well as the necessity for teamwork.

Once Pac Man has been eaten, the game awards points to the ghost that ate him and subtracts points from the Pac Man player's total, afterwards switching control of Pac Man over to the winning ghost player. If Pac Man manages to clear the map (which is excruciatingly difficult) then the Pac Man player gets a ton of points, while the ghost players recieve nothing, and the Pac Man player gets to control Pac Man again in the next game. it's because of that setup that the competition and need for cooperation between the ghosts becomes necessary. You see, it's impossible to catch Pac Man if you're not communicating with the other ghosts. However, at the same time, you can't just sit back and guard Power Pellets to trap Pac Man, because that most likely means you won't be earning any points in the overall game. You have to balance cooperation with competition in order to win.

The game just simply loops the same map (there are about eight maps to choose from) over and over until one of the players reaches a certain point goal. You can determine how many points to play to before beginning the game. Winning the game really depends upon your performance as Pac Man. If you suck as Pac Man, and you're getting eaten ten seconds into the game, you're not going to be awarded many bonus points, and as a result, you're going to stagnate. The winners are usually the ones that rock ass as Pac Man.

Anyway, that's about all there is to the game. It sounds odd at first, but trust me. I've played extremely few multiplayer games that are as mind-bogglingly entertaining as this one. Simplicity at it's finest.

Wow that sounds like a pretty sweet game, I saw some previews for it a couple of days ago, I'll talk my friend into getting it, then we can play.

Well, you have to buy the Collector's Series Pac Man World 2. It comes with the game for free. On top of that, you need to have a Gameboy Advance and a GBA/GCN link cable for the Pac Man player. It's definitely a fun game.