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Game Information

Release Date: November 16, 2000
Developer: Mass Media
Publisher: Namco
Platform(s): Dreamcast, PlayStation, Game Boy Advance
Genre: Action
Players: 1-4

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Synopsis

They say it's tough to keep a good woman down, but in the case of the classic videogame icon Ms. Pac-Man, it's downright impossible! The yellow bombshell has been out of action for quite a while, but fans should be happy to see that Pac-Man's love interest is coming out of retirement for MS. PAC-MAN: Maze Madness on the Sega Dreamcast. Players will guide Ms. Pac-Man through 180 unique, fully three-dimensional mazes, in four different worlds each with new and unique enemies to outwit. Players who hunger for more challenge can invite up to three other friends to compete in multiplayer action in two unique games. Ghost Tag will see opponents taking the role of "ghosts" as they try to catch the fourth player munching away as Ms. Pac-Man, while Dot Mania will have players trying to eat more dots in each maze than their competition.

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Story

Ms. Pac Man lives in a place called Enchanted Castle. She and her doctor learn that evil spirits have taken over and want to steal the four Gems of Virtue (Generosity, Truth, Wisdom, and Courage). The princess of this castle has turned into a witch (Mesmerelda) by these spirits and wants these gems to take control of the four areas of Pac-Land. All four of these areas are guarded by force fields, but the doctor has created a device called the Pactrometer that allows Ms. Pac Man to go through these with ease. The doctor, while telling Ms. Pac Man where these gems are located, gets sucked into a mirror by the witch and now she is stuck with this device. On her journey to save Pac-Land, she is helped by holograms the doctor has installed in the device. As she is getting the last of the gems before the witch does, they encounter each other in the last one. Ms. Pac Man loses this battle and as Mesmerelda is leaving, she drops a key. This key is needed in order to control Pac-Land. Ms. Pac Man returns for another battle and this times wins freeing the princess from the spirits and restoring peace throughout Pac-Land.

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Gameplay

In single player mode, you run through the four sections of Pac-Land with numerous objects in the way such as blocks, mines, enemies, traps, and locked doors. Throughout each level there are dots to eat that will allow you to unlock those locked doors and makes you less vulnerable to enemies. There are also health packs lying around, keys, tools, and huge pellets. These huge pellets allow you to eat every enemy with no issues for a short period of time. In each level, there are a number of fruits you can collect that unlock secret side-missions for each level. There are about fifteen levels in the game that are pretty lengthy with makes for a game that won't be finished in a few hours.

In multi-layer mode there are three different game modes to choose from with four different character to choose from: Ms. Pac Man, Mr. Pac Man, Professor Pac, and Baby Pac. The first mode is Dot Mania. In this mode dots randomly pop out throughout the time limit (two minutes) and the first to reach eighty dots wins. There are specials that you can also pick up such as lightning, flame, speed shoes, and invincibility. Getting touched by a ghost will take off ten of your dots. The second mode, Ghost Tag, one player is the ghost and must tag the other before the time limit. For each player that is tagged, they turn into a ghost as well. Last one standing wins. If no one is left, the person that lasted the longest wins. In the last mode, Dot Bomb, one player will randomly be selected with a bomb over there head. The bomb will have a short timer and the player must tag another one to get rid of the bomb. If you are holding the bomb when the timer goes out, you turn into a ghost that can block players. Last one standing wins.

You can also play classic Pac-Man solo in this game. You know, the one where you look down and it is 2D. Self explanatory.

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Graphics

This game has extraordinary graphics. Although it doesn't take full advantage of the 3D (fixed camera angle), everything looks fantastic. Characters are very well designed, including the enemies, the levels have a lot of objects that all have had a lot of time put into, shadowing is great, and even the backgrounds surprisingly look well (they are very far in the distance). The only thing that will be annoying is the fixed camera angle. It'll make things on the side look blurry and will make things lag because it tries to fit everything in front of you. Nothing too major though.

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Controls

Controls are very simple here. Especially in single-player mode as you only need to move and jump. Even in multi-player mode nothing is really needed since there is no jumping. Analogs play a major role here.

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Ratings

Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 8.5/10
Controls: 10/10
Overall: 9.5/10