Pac-Attack

The Good
In Pac-Attack, the object of the game is to manipulate (and rotate) a brown bar that approaches the bottom of the playfield and sits there. You have to manipulate the next piece and bring that piece down next to the last one. Now repeat this until you form a straight line. You are also trying not to screw up. There are actually two playfields: one for the “Normal” mode, and the other for the “Puzzle” mode.

You may think that this is just another Tetris clone, until you finally start to play the game and realize that ghosts have been added. These ghosts try to stop you from forming complete lines, but it is a good thing that Pac comes by occasionally and fix things up, but you must make him come in contact with one or more ghosts or he will do nothing. If the playfield is filling up quickly, a green fairy might come along and fix everything.

As expected, Pac moves across the screen and gobbles up ghosts that block his way, like he does in the original game. What I like about this is how smooth that he does it, and how he just warps out whenever he collides with the bar. As the player, you will know that Pac is going to come: by looking to the left of the playfield, at the next set of blocks. The way that this flashes and changes is excellent.

The graphics remind us of how cartoon-like that Pac and his enemies are. The graphics that serve as the backgrounds to the playfields looks much better than the plain black background of the Tetris games. The music, which uses that modified Pac-Man music, is enjoyable to listen to while you play. The gameplay itself is challenging as you have a combination of ghosts, Pac-Men, and bars to work with. This would be ideal for people who want to take a break from the Tetris games, and want more of a challenge.

The Bad
I hate it when the blocks float down the playfields much faster than the speed that you start the game on.

The Bottom Line
Pac-Attack is a step up from Tetris. Not only do you have to worry about forming straight bars across the playfield, but you have to deal with ghosts as well. Pac-Man gobbles up the ghosts that he comes in contact with, then disappears when he collides with one bar. The main purpose is trying not to fill up the playfield. Doing so will land you in a bit of trouble if the fairy isn't there to help you. The graphics and sound are very good, and gives Pac-Attack that look of the previous one or two Pac games.