82. Pac-Man Championship Edition

(Xbox360, Namco Bandai, 2007)
If you're reading this, you know who Pac-Man is. Launched in 1980, Pac-Man exploded onto the market and soon became one of the most dominating videogames ever made. Toru Iwatani and Shiego Funaki's baby has consistently made its presence felt, with some of the most instantly recognisable characters not only in videogames, but in any media.
The Pac-Man franchise launched an entire marketing bonanza, spawning sequels, horrible cartoons, merchandise, toys and a whole host of spin-offs and rip-offs. As long as videogame history is documented, Pac-Man will be there.
In 2007, Pac-Man C.E was released to Xbox Arcade, but in this age of military shooters, cynical heroes and downbeat endings, could Pac-Man really stand up to the test?

Are you kidding? Always bet on Pac.

Pac-Man C.E is nothing short of pure excellence, it takes a much loved, instantly playable classic and gives it a face lift, along with a host of new modes and interesting ideas. The game has a variety of visual effects and remixed music, it also fully encourages the classic "Score attack" style of play. In a world where most games see you blindly marching forward to "the next level" Pac-Man, like many games of his era, simply encourages you to better yourself at the game, to unrepentantly keep having "one more go" in an effort to top whatever your very best score is.

The new boards and styles also display a return to the classic Pac-Man tactics of yore, while I personally am not good enough to play the game as anything but a mad dash, Pac-Man has always been a game that can be played with mathematical logic, with the very best players operating the game with a confidence and style that is almost poetry in motion.

I cant say much more about this game, it is what it is. Pac-Man has received an update, in its presentation, its gameplay, its sound and even its science. C.E shows Pac-Man as addictive, as enjoyable and as panic-inducing as it was in its first inception.

Play Pac-Man C.E, work at it, live it, hone your craft and maybe, just maybe, you might attain god-like status, everyone will hate you, but they'll only be jealous...
.."Not even Helen of Troy had this much attention."