Pacman Worlds

Definitely the best fanmade Pac-Man game I have ever seen, PacManWorlds is a fun game that brings the fun of Pac-Man into the 21st century with excellent graphics, nicely designed themed worlds, and the same simple-yet-addictive gameplay from the arcade classic.

Pac-Man still has to eat all the pellets on each world to advance, but he has new tasks: collect all the hidden and protected Gems. The designer Danjo Software chose to keep the same gameplay as ATARI's classic but add a lot of bells & whistles and ghost varieties - and the result overwhemingly positive. The ghosts in PacManWorlds have special powers depending on their alignment. The red ghost, for example, is aligned to fire, and can therefore light fires that will burn pellets and our hero. The yellow ghost is aligned to air, the blue to water, and finally the purple to earth. There are also special ghosts, each with his own powerful attacks and movement patterns. Similar to platform games, you will have to face "boss" monsters at the end of each world, and there are multiple routes you can take to them, making the game highly replayable. To cope with more powerful ghosts, Pac-Man has special abilities and can pick up numerous power-ups in each world.

The best thing about PacManWorlds is the well-designed worlds that have plenty of background detail and are all teeming with action. The first world, for example, is a big town, with overlapping bridges and walkways. Crossing the busy road in the middle of the screen is reminiscent of Frogger: you must time it well, lest Pac-Man gets killed by passing cars. The graphics is very crisp in VGA, and the "2.5D" perspective (top-down blended with isometric) gives you an excellent view on the world's depth. The game offers over 40 levels spread across 4 worlds, each with 4 different routes, 4 bonus rounds, and even several hidden mini-games you can discover and unlock.

Whether or not you are a fan of the original, PacManWorlds packs plenty of addictive gameplay and enhancements that will make you a new fan. A worthy fanmade tribute to one of the most recognizable game characters of all time, PacManWorlds comes highly recommended.

Review By HOTUD