Pac- Future-Past: Pac-Man 2 The New Adventures!

Hey Arcaders! I really enjoying Pac-Man Month! I hope you are too.

I thought it was a good time to start another series- about the Pac-Man games after the original maze chasers. You see- Namco knew their icon had to evolve. So, I thought- Let’s take a closer look at these games… and see if they keep their Pac-Man feel, but more importantly, is the game good? I thought we would start with one that I remember being so quirky, fun, and so- different- that it was THE PERFECT GAME to start with. Arcaders- I give you…

Pac-Man 2 The New Adventures.

Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures is a graphic adventure game, a vast departure from its predecessors. Players assume the role of Pac-Man as he must carry out different quests given to him by other characters. Many of these involve retrieving a specific item, such as a bottle of milk or a flower. Unlike other adventure games, players cannot control Pac-Man directly, who will wander and interact with the in-game world at his own pace.[2] Instead, players use a slingshot to guide, or “influence”, Pac-Man to his destination or to attract his attention towards a specific object.

In each quest, the player will need to solve puzzles to progress. The solutions to these puzzles are based on Pac-Man’s moods, which differ based on the player’s actions. For example, the player can shoot down an apple from a tree, which Pac-Man will eat and makes him happier, while shooting Pac-Man in the face will make him irritated or depressed. Pac-Man’s moods will also determine how cooperative he becomes; for instance, making Pac-Man too happy will cause him to become smug and cocky, and as a result less willing to follow the orders of the player. Some sections of the game follow Pac-Man riding on a hang glider or in a minecart through “chase” scenes, which require fast-reflexes from the player. Pac-Man may sometimes encounter his enemies Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde, where he will immediately become frightened and run around the screen. Feeding Pac-Man a Power Pellet, stored in an inventory at the bottom corner of the screen, will transform him into Super Pac-Man and allow him to eat the ghosts. If the player visits the arcade, they can play the original Pac-Man. Finding three game cartridges will allow them to play Ms. Pac-Man in the SNES version, or Pac-Jr. in the Sega Genesis version.-
Wikipedia

My first question was- Pac-Man 2? Where is Pac Man 1? Here is my hypothesis- Pac-Man 1… Was Pac-Land.

Pacland is a very unique scrolling platformer that predated Super Mario Bros in the U.S. by a year! and we will be getting to this game soon!

Back to Pac-Man 2- It’s a point and click adventure. So, you don’t control Pac-Man, you make him look, or hit an object (or him) and get his attention and make him react.