Underrated Game: Pac-Man 2
So I was just talking to a friend of mine, and eventually the topic came around to Pac-Man games, and specifically this game.
Released in 1994, Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures was not only a rather unique entry in the Pac-series, but in the entire length and breadth of video games.
The game didn't really have a plot, but rather had four levels each with its own plot. In the background of each (and finally becoming the main plot in the fourth episode) are the four Ghosts, who in this story are under the command of the Ghost Witch. I don't quite remember what the deal with her is, but she is SOO much cooler than that stupid Count from the cartoon. The last plot involves her stealing bubblegum so she can create a monster (don't laugh... this is a setup for one of the most absolute fun final confrontations in gaming history).
One of the best ways of describing it is that its sort of like an adventure game, except you don't control the hero directly.
That's actually where most of the fun comes from. You don't control Pac--he's entirely himself, acting on his own. He will take action on his own, even if you do absolutely nothing. On the other hand, Pac isn't exactly the brightest bulb in the box. That's where you come in. You, the player, are Pac's silent partner who helps him through things. You do this primarily by calling Pac-Man's attention to things via your slingshot. Sometimes you have to manipulate the environment too. Timing is important. Want Pac to eat that apple? Shoot it out of the tree while he's looking. Its very easy to get the hang of.
Another thing that made the game fun (though could be annoying because it could create situations where you're stuck) was that Pac had moods. Certain things you do would either make Pac happy, sad, angry, or even make him lose his sanity. These things affected not only how he responds to your input but also to the world around him. In a normal mood, he'll run from the angry dog. If he's pissed off or whacked-out enough, he might ignore it, or even try to fight it!
Being insane was the best. This could only happen in certain areas--typically as a result of eating something he shouldn't--but it rocked when it happened. Best of all was Pac-Man's reaction to ghosts. The ghosts are always hiding out in crates or something you need to blow open (you can always tell which ones because you can see their eyes). Normally, when the ghosts are around Pac-Man cowers in fear until either he faints or you feed him a power pellet (which turns him into the high-flying caped hero Super Pac-Man), but if Pac's flipped his lid he'll simply sit there and laugh.
[No, the ghosts never come out until you blow their cover, but there are three places where you need to fight them in order to get a keycard]
As an additional bonus, it features the original arcade version of Pac-Man as an unlockable (the SNES version also features Ms. Pac-Man, while the Genesis version features Pac-Man Jr.)
When I first played it, I was addicted to Pac-Man 2 for weeks on end, and eventually bought the game. Even today, it is still awesome to pop it in every once in awhile and... well, since Paccy has his own personality, its really like revisiting an old friend. Besides that, I've never gotten a 100% completion rating.
Unfortunately it was never a very popular game. magazines gave it middling-to-low scores, and it didn't sell in high numbers. The problem essentially was the same thing that plagued Zelda 2: It was too different. Gamers want more of the same. Pac-Man, to them, was a little round dude who ran around mazes eating dots for no apparent reason while avoiding ghosts. In this case its particularly sad. I kinda wish someone would make a Pac-Man 3 that's in the same lieu as Pac-Man 2, or at least wish that someone would make a "Pac-Man 2 Adventure Creation Kit" so a community could make their own adventures. This is a game that does not deserve to die.
Well, that's my piece for the day.
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Originally Posted by Drixxel
