Be Excellent To Each Other

While it looks awfully similar to 2007's Pac-Man Championship Edition, DX's gameplay is actually quite different, and it's aimed at a broader audience than the first CE's hardcore-only traditional Pac-Man fare. That's not to say the difficulty isn't there for those who can handle it, but there's definitely a range of options this time for all skill levels.

The main difference in gameplay in DX compared to traditional Pac-Man revolves around a new kind of ghost. There are still regular ghosts that start in the ghost house in the center and wander around the map getting in Pac-Man's way, but now there's an additional type of ghost that lies in wait all over the maze. Sleeping ghosts sit frozen in various formations on the maze, and when you pass them they wake up and follow behind Pac-Man in an adorable rainbow conga line.

Your objective is to navigate the maze as you usually would, collecting pellets and avoiding ghosts, while passing as many sleeping ghosts as you can to build up a huge chain of ghosts following behind. Once you've got a good conga line going, find a power pellet and then turn around and eat the whole queue of ghosts like a 6 ft novelty burrito. So satisfying.

When you get close to colliding with a ghost, everything automatically slows down to a kind of bullet-time mode, so you have a chance to try and out-maneuver your assailants. To purists it may sound like that would defeat the purpose of Pac-Man's main mechanic, but it's a welcome addition especially given how fast the gameplay becomes after you've been playing awhile. During our demo there were times when everything was moving so fast that we lost track of what was going on, so it's definitely still a very twitchy experience.

Pac-Man CE DX's new mechanic certainly seems to work well and offers a surprisingly fresh take on an old game, but it's the superslick presentation that sends it over the edge into possible addiction territory. The graphics and rainbow color palette are a pleasure to behold, and there are tons of options to swap out templates to change the look and feel of the game. The music too is fittingly energetic, and the pumped up techno beats complement the futuristic-meets-psychedelic aesthetic nicely.

Look for our full review when Pac-Man Championship Edition DX releases later this fall for XBLA and PSN.

I was just about to get the original of this when they announced the new version, so I've yet to play it properly outside of the demo.

I don't think it's ever been discounted either (or at least not since I got a 360) so I've never got it. If this is really a lot different then ideally they'll discount the original when this comes out.

For what it's worth, you can usually get the Xbox Live Arcade compilation disc that includes Pac-Man CE (along with Uno, Luxor 2, Feeding Frenzy and Boom Boom Rocket) for two or three quid on eBay.

Pacman is shit, though.

Lauded well beyond its actual greatness, much like Shawshank, repeatedly re-released so more and more people buy it as "It's Pacman".

Pacman CE being a notable exception.

You know how Pac-Man Championship Edition seemed like the perfect Xbox Live Arcade game? Yeah, they made it even better. Somehow, gaming's oldest mascot is delivering one of the most exciting games of the year. More mazes, more modes, more ghosts...lots more ghosts, actually. This "deluxe" version takes everything that made Championship Edition great and adds a bunch of cool new stuff. It's like taking a great white shark and adding laser beam eyes and saw blades that shoot out of its mouth.

Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is all about gunning for a high score. Games are timed, so you need to eat as many pellets, fruits, and ghosts as possible before the clock stops. You don't die very often, you earn plenty of extra lives, and you have many bombs at your disposal to get out of tight spots. (Yes, Pac-Man can now trigger bombs that send all of the ghosts back to their hideout.) Without much fear of death, you can focus on the one thing that matters: representing on the leaderboards.

Pac-Man now has many more ghosts to contend with. Like, a hundred more. You'll see the spirits sleeping around a maze, and as Pac-Man whizzes by they'll wake up and give chase. Hold off on eating a Power Pellet long enough and you may find a hundred ghosts trailing behind you in a long conga line. Finally grabbing that Power Pellet and devouring a hundred ghosts in a row is one of the most satisfying things I've done in a game this year. This is also a key technique in getting those high scores.

While the first Championship Edition was super fun, there were only a couple of mazes and modes. DX has nine mazes, most of which are new creations that offer a lot of variety. For example, Spiral has several coils that are easy to get trapped in. Dungeon, on the other hand, has long, cramped corridors. Each maze also has many game options such as Score Attack, Time Trials, and Ghost Combos (see how many ghosts you can eat with one Power Pellet). When you first dive into Championship Edition DX, only the standard Championship II course is unlocked, but each round you play usually unlocks a new maze or mode.

Like I said, it's all about the high score, and Championship Edition DX provides many friendly ways to see how you rank against the competition. You can comb through the leaderboards for extensive data on all the many maps and modes, but there are other really nice touches: your current ranking is displayed right on the title screen, the Course Select screen, and again within the menu for each maze.

Pac-Man Championship Edition DX also looks and sounds great. You can select from a variety of maze skins and character designs for each game, running from the 3D Pac-Mania characters to pixilated retro sprites. The lively electronic soundtrack builds in intensity as the game timer ticks down and always gets me leaning forward in my chair.

Closing Comments
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX boasts simple, addictive gameplay that will have you competing for high scores on the leaderboards for months. Everything that made the first game a hit is still here, accompanied by a bunch of new mazes, modes, and ghosts -- all for $10. It's hard to imagine a more perfect Xbox Live Arcade game. This is a master class in game design: you will understand it instantly, enjoy it instantly, and want to play again and again.

IGN Ratings for Pac-Man Championship Edition DX (X360)
Rating Description
out of 10 Click here for ratings guide

10 Presentation
Way more content than the first game, wrapped up in slick visuals and a user-friendly interface.

9.0 Graphics
There are several different maze skins and character designs to choose from, and they all look great.

9.0 Sound
Bouncy techno tunes that become more intense as the timer counts down.

10 Gameplay
Simple and wildly satisfying, this is the perfect arcade game. The addition of more ghosts makes it feel significantly different from the first Championship Edition.

10 Lasting Appeal
Serious players will be battling it out on the leaderboards for the foreseeable future.

10
OVERALL
Masterful
(out of 10)

Except, you're buying Fudge Pack Man.

A bit annoying that the overall leaderboard is based on a stupid cumulative score thing. They should have used the Championship II 5 min Score Attack instead.

No, your Dad's free.

Can you get one with a cable so it'll work on a PC as well?

You can buy one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Xbox-Wireless-G ... cp_vg_h__2



Which lets you use Xbox wireless controllers on your PC

*or* you can buy the wired stick - i'm sure there is a wired version of the HORI , any xbox wired controller will just connect directly to the USB port on your PC and be seen as a gaming controller.

My Hori is wired and it works on the PC for MAME purposes. Personally I wouldn't bother with a wireless one. The lag is too noticeable with such a "precision instrument".

The price of staying alive is the constantly rising gameplay speed, and once you start getting into the realms of [speed] 40 and above, the battle to keep Pac-Man on course becomes an increasingly futile one. At this point, you'll probably be muttering about chunky old-style 4-way joysticks and shouting at the joypad.

It should use the buttons.

I do wonder about if the 'new' Xbox controller with the swivel d-pad to change it to a four way would make a big difference

Once you get past the interesting concept of the transforming d-pad, however, you realize that its utility is largely superficial and there really isn't a significant difference between how the two modes function. Both the plus and disk modes retain 8-way directional functionality and the same level of resistance, but the plus shape simply emphasizes the four core directions – up, down, left, and right. Still, tactile variation can go a long way in certain game types, and fighting and classic games are easier to control using the plus mode. We wouldn't say the transforming d-pad fully resolves the Xbox 360 controller's problems – the swivel mechanism is still somewhat loose – but it certainly makes some worthwhile improvements.