Pac-Man Pinball Advance
Encyclopedia
Pac-Man Pinball Advance is a pinball
video game developed by HumanSoft and published by Namco
for the Game Boy Advance
. It was released in North America on May 2, 2005. It is part of the Pac-Man video game franchise.
The game switches from normal Pac-Man
gameplay to a pinball-style video game. Pac-Man Pinball Advance received negative reviews from critics, who felt that its gameplay was limited.
, who rolls up into a ball and continues to collect pellets much like they did in earlier notes. Like the other games in the Pac-Man series, there are four ghosts which wander the pinball tables after Pac-Man eats a power pellet.
The plot of the game focuses on the kidnapping of all the residents of Pac-Land by the four ghosts from the Pac-Man series, Inky, Pinky, Blinky, and Clyde. The plot is secondary to the gameplay of the game though, and mostly exists just as a premise to explain why Pac-Man is playing on a pinball table. The game does not contain a high scores table.
and GameRankings respectively. GameSpot
's Frank Provo heavily criticized the game for a lackluster graphics engine and its inappropriate physics engine. He called the lack of a high scores table "inexcusable". GameSpy
's David Chapman felt that the game managed to capture the feel of the Pac-Man series, but ultimately was a bland video game. PALGN
's David Low felt that the graphics and physics engine were adequate, but felt that the lack of content and the inclusion of only two pinball tables was the game's weak point.
called Super Pac-Man Pinball that was being developed by Zen Studios
. It was cancelled for unknown reasons.
Pinball
Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...
video game developed by HumanSoft and published by Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
for the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
. It was released in North America on May 2, 2005. It is part of the Pac-Man video game franchise.
The game switches from normal 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,...
gameplay to a pinball-style video game. Pac-Man Pinball Advance received negative reviews from critics, who felt that its gameplay was limited.
Gameplay
The game has two Pac-Man styled tables to play on, and both incorporate themes from the Pac-Man universe. The ball is Pac-ManPac-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,...
, who rolls up into a ball and continues to collect pellets much like they did in earlier notes. Like the other games in the Pac-Man series, there are four ghosts which wander the pinball tables after Pac-Man eats a power pellet.
The plot of the game focuses on the kidnapping of all the residents of Pac-Land by the four ghosts from the Pac-Man series, Inky, Pinky, Blinky, and Clyde. The plot is secondary to the gameplay of the game though, and mostly exists just as a premise to explain why Pac-Man is playing on a pinball table. The game does not contain a high scores table.
Reception
Pac-Man Pinball Advance received mediocre reviews from critics, who thought that there was a lack of content and sub-par graphics; it received a 52% and a 50.40% from review aggregate websites MetacriticMetacritic
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,...
and GameRankings respectively. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's Frank Provo heavily criticized the game for a lackluster graphics engine and its inappropriate physics engine. He called the lack of a high scores table "inexcusable". GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
's David Chapman felt that the game managed to capture the feel of the Pac-Man series, but ultimately was a bland video game. PALGN
PALGN
The PAL Gaming Network is an Australian based video game news and reviews website that focuses on the videogame industry and culture in PAL territories, particularly Australia and the UK. It was launched in 2003 by a group of PAL forum members on the IGN message boards who were disenfranchised by...
's David Low felt that the graphics and physics engine were adequate, but felt that the lack of content and the inclusion of only two pinball tables was the game's weak point.
Cancelled sequel on Nintendo DS
There was originally supposed to be a sequel to this game on Nintendo DSNintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
called Super Pac-Man Pinball that was being developed by Zen Studios
Zen Studios
Zen Studios is a software development company based in Budapest, Hungary. Primarily known for its pinball machine video games, the company worked with several franchises, including Marvel Comics, Ghostbusters, and Rocky and Bullwinkle.As of June 2011 Zen Studios is continuing to release...
. It was cancelled for unknown reasons.