Pac-Man Championship Edition
Encyclopedia
is a 2007 video game in the Pac-Man series, developed by Namco Bandai Games
. The game was designed by Tōru Iwatani, the creator of the classic original 1980 arcade game
Pac-Man
, and it was Iwatani's final game before his retirement. Originally released on the Xbox Live Arcade
service for the Xbox 360
video game console
, Championship Edition was later released for the Android, iOS, J2ME
, Roku
, and S60
platforms, on the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation Portable
and PlayStation 3
consoles, and on Nintendo 3DS
as part of the retail game Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions
. A follow-up game called Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
was released in 2010, featuring new gameplay elements.
Like the original Pac-Man, the basic gameplay of Pac-Man Championship Edition consists entirely of navigating Pac-Man through a maze, eating dots, power pellets and bonus items (such as fruits, keys, and other objects), and avoiding the four ghosts that roam the maze as well. If Pac-Man is caught by a ghost, the player loses a life. Eating a power pellet causes the ghosts to turn blue, allowing Pac-Man to eat them and send them back to their home, where they re-emerge in their original form.
However, there are several major differences from its original counterpart, making Pac-Man C.E. a faster paced game. Each maze is divided into two halves. Eating all the dots on one half causes a bonus item to appear on the other side, and eating the item causes a new maze to appear on the other half. Players can also collect additional power pellets to increase their powered up time and continue earning maximum points for eating ghosts. The longer the player stays alive, the faster the game gets and the more points can be earned. As opposed to levels, the game is played within a certain time limit, with players attempting to get the highest score possible.
The game features six modes: Championship, which is the basic five-minute mode, two Challenge modes which affect the stage (such as increasing power pellet pickups or putting the maze in darkness) and three Extra modes featuring different mazes. The game also supports online leaderboards.
service on June 6, 2007. The announcement of the game spurred more purchases of the Xbox 360
in Japan. Pac-Man C.E. is also available on a disc titled Xbox Live Arcade Compilation that is bundled with the Xbox 360 Arcade console bundle, as well as on the compilation package Namco Museum
Virtual Arcade (in the latter however, it can't be accessed within NMVA itself; it must be accessed from the game library). Ports for iOS, J2ME
, Android and PSP minis were released on December 10, 2009, middle of 2009, late 2010 and December 1, 2010 respectively. The follow-up Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
was released on Xbox Live Arcade on November 17, 2010 and PlayStation Network on November 23, 2010. The original Pac-Man Championship Edition was ported to Nintendo 3DS
as part of a retail game titled Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions
in 2011.
. The top two scorers, Robert Glashuettner of Austria and Carlos Daniel Borrego Romero of Mexico, competed for the championship in a single five-minute round. Borrego was named Pac-Man World Champion and won an Xbox 360
console, specially decorated with Pac-Man artwork and signed by Tōru Iwatani.
Participants:
called it "The first true sequel to Pac-Man since Ms. Pac-Man
." Criticisms include a lack of a multiplayer mode, and an apparent relapse to patterns that had been in the original. As of April 14, 2009, the Metacritic
score is 83. The iOS port was criticised for its microtransaction strategy while the Android port was criticised for poor controls. IGN
criticised the PSPminis version due to the absence of online leaderboards and its inferiority to its sequel.
Namco Bandai Games
is an arcade, mobile and home video game developer and publisher based in Japan which is the product of a merger between the video game development divisions of Bandai and Namco. Namco Bandai Games is a wholly owned subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings and specializes in production and sales of...
. The game was designed by Tōru Iwatani, the creator of the classic original 1980 arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
Pac-Man
Pac-Man
is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
, and it was Iwatani's final game before his retirement. Originally released on the Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
service for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
, Championship Edition was later released for the Android, iOS, J2ME
Java Platform, Micro Edition
Java Platform, Micro Edition, or Java ME, is a Java platform designed for embedded systems . Target devices range from industrial controls to mobile phones and set-top boxes...
, Roku
Roku
Roku , is an American, privately held, consumer electronics company that sells home digital media products. The Company is based in Saratoga, California.- Company profile and products :...
, and S60
S60 (software platform)
The S60 Platform is a software platform for mobile phones that runs on Symbian OS. It was created by Nokia, who made the platform open source and contributed it to the Symbian Foundation. S60 has been used by mobile device manufacturers including Siemens mobile, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Panasonic...
platforms, on the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
consoles, and on Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo 3DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software...
as part of the retail game Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions
Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions
Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions is a collection of games from the Galaga and Pac-Man franchises for the Nintendo 3DS, by Namco Bandai Games. It includes six games, two of them which are developed specifically for the Nintendo 3DS for the collection...
. A follow-up game called Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
The game has received universal praise from critics and gaming websites, citing a big improvement over the original. IGN gave the game a perfect 10/10 and an Editor's Choice award, calling it "a master class in game design." GameSpot gave the game 9.0/10, praising the new elements which make...
was released in 2010, featuring new gameplay elements.
Gameplay
Like the original Pac-Man, the basic gameplay of Pac-Man Championship Edition consists entirely of navigating Pac-Man through a maze, eating dots, power pellets and bonus items (such as fruits, keys, and other objects), and avoiding the four ghosts that roam the maze as well. If Pac-Man is caught by a ghost, the player loses a life. Eating a power pellet causes the ghosts to turn blue, allowing Pac-Man to eat them and send them back to their home, where they re-emerge in their original form.
However, there are several major differences from its original counterpart, making Pac-Man C.E. a faster paced game. Each maze is divided into two halves. Eating all the dots on one half causes a bonus item to appear on the other side, and eating the item causes a new maze to appear on the other half. Players can also collect additional power pellets to increase their powered up time and continue earning maximum points for eating ghosts. The longer the player stays alive, the faster the game gets and the more points can be earned. As opposed to levels, the game is played within a certain time limit, with players attempting to get the highest score possible.
The game features six modes: Championship, which is the basic five-minute mode, two Challenge modes which affect the stage (such as increasing power pellet pickups or putting the maze in darkness) and three Extra modes featuring different mazes. The game also supports online leaderboards.
Releases
The game was originally released on the Xbox Live ArcadeXbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
service on June 6, 2007. The announcement of the game spurred more purchases of the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
in Japan. Pac-Man C.E. is also available on a disc titled Xbox Live Arcade Compilation that is bundled with the Xbox 360 Arcade console bundle, as well as on the compilation package Namco Museum
Namco Museum
Namco Museum refers to the series of video game compilations released by Namco for various 32-bit and above consoles, containing releases of their games from the 1980s and early 1990s...
Virtual Arcade (in the latter however, it can't be accessed within NMVA itself; it must be accessed from the game library). Ports for iOS, J2ME
Java Platform, Micro Edition
Java Platform, Micro Edition, or Java ME, is a Java platform designed for embedded systems . Target devices range from industrial controls to mobile phones and set-top boxes...
, Android and PSP minis were released on December 10, 2009, middle of 2009, late 2010 and December 1, 2010 respectively. The follow-up Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
The game has received universal praise from critics and gaming websites, citing a big improvement over the original. IGN gave the game a perfect 10/10 and an Editor's Choice award, calling it "a master class in game design." GameSpot gave the game 9.0/10, praising the new elements which make...
was released on Xbox Live Arcade on November 17, 2010 and PlayStation Network on November 23, 2010. The original Pac-Man Championship Edition was ported to Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo 3DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software...
as part of a retail game titled Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions
Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions
Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions is a collection of games from the Galaga and Pac-Man franchises for the Nintendo 3DS, by Namco Bandai Games. It includes six games, two of them which are developed specifically for the Nintendo 3DS for the collection...
in 2011.
World Championship
On June 5, 2007, the first Pac-Man World Championship was held in New York City, which brought together ten competitors from eight countries to play the new Pac-Man Championship Edition just prior to its release on Xbox Live ArcadeXbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
. The top two scorers, Robert Glashuettner of Austria and Carlos Daniel Borrego Romero of Mexico, competed for the championship in a single five-minute round. Borrego was named Pac-Man World Champion and won an Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
console, specially decorated with Pac-Man artwork and signed by Tōru Iwatani.
- Daniel Borrego (Mexico)
- James Rodgers (UK)
- Billy Mitchell (USA)
- Dwyane Richard (Canada)
- Huang Wei Hua (Taiwan)
- Reuben Anderson (New Zealand)
- Jason Gahler (USA)
- Kitayatsu Hiroaki (Japan)
- Timothy Balderramos (USA)
- Robert Glashuettner (Austria)
Reception
Pac-Man Championship Edition received mostly positive reviews by critics, with reviewers stating the gameplay was "fresh and exciting," "one of the best 'exclusive' pieces of downloadable/casual entertainment available," and that it was "nice to see a classic remade instead of simply repackaged." Jared Rea of JoystiqJoystiq
Joystiq is a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 that has since become one of the most successful sites within the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs. It is the centerpiece of WIN's own network of video gaming blogs, which also includes a blog dealing specifically with the popular MMORPG World of...
called it "The first true sequel to Pac-Man since Ms. Pac-Man
Ms. Pac-Man
Ms. Pac-Man is an arcade video game produced by Midway as an unauthorized sequel to Pac-Man. It was released in North America in 1981 and became one of the most popular video games of all time, leading to its adoption by Pac-Man licensor Namco as an official title...
." Criticisms include a lack of a multiplayer mode, and an apparent relapse to patterns that had been in the original. As of April 14, 2009, the Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
score is 83. The iOS port was criticised for its microtransaction strategy while the Android port was criticised for poor controls. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
criticised the PSPminis version due to the absence of online leaderboards and its inferiority to its sequel.
See also
- Pac-ManPac-Manis an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
– the 1980s classic original - Pac-Man Championship Edition DXPac-Man Championship Edition DXThe game has received universal praise from critics and gaming websites, citing a big improvement over the original. IGN gave the game a perfect 10/10 and an Editor's Choice award, calling it "a master class in game design." GameSpot gave the game 9.0/10, praising the new elements which make...
– a 2010 sequel featuring new gameplay elements - List of Pac-Man video games