Mobile game of the week: Pac-Man 256

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Iā€™ve been playing this game on and off for a few days on my Kindle Fire TV. Iā€™m not sure if I enjoy it, or if I just play it to kill time. Itā€™s more difficult than the original Pacman/Ms. Pacman, but not really difficult in a fun way ā€¦ like itā€™s really easy to get trapped by the ghosts. Maybe thatā€™s because the maze is random, but itā€™s not like i have the original Pacman maze committed to memory.

Another criticism I have is the layout of some of the scoring elements. During game-play, you are rushing towards the top of the screen in a maze, but there are huge score/multiplier indicators smack in the middle of the maze that you are trying to navigate. Also, the zooming in and out when you do certain tasks, such as eating a ghost, hampers maze navigation.

Finally, I donā€™t find the power-ups to be all that compelling. Honestly, I think I find the free-play more more fun without the power-ups.

I like the concept of a Pacman endless runner, but I think this one needs some work.

Being a big fan of the original Pac-Man (as played on MAME, emulating the arcade classic), I donā€™t usually like newer versions and hate their controls on touch screen devices.

But this one is different. I feel as if the developers have truly achieved to bring the spirit of Pac-Man to the modern age in a fun and visually stunning game. The cash-grab elements are unfortunate but add to the enjoyment in their own way: if you donā€™t feel like handing out any moolah, youā€™ll treasure the few ā€œcreditsā€ you get over time just like you would quarters way back when.

If you play it for some time youā€™ll get to discover all the monstersā€™ different behaviors and become able to precisely predict their motion, just like in the old game. The only quibble I have is the collision detection and movement around edges, which is too different (worse, in my opinion) from the original.

Still, Iā€™m regularly in Game Centerā€™s top 20 of most 256 chains :sunglasses:

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