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Pac-Man (1980)

Developer: Namco
Publisher: JP: Namco/NA: Midway
Platforms: Arcade, Various
Release Date: JP: May 22, 1980, NA: October 26, 1980
Genre(s) Arcade
Arcade system Namco Pac-Man
CPU 1x ZiLOG Z80 @ 3.072 MHz[4][5]
Sound 1 Namco WSG (3-channel mono) @ 3.072 MHz
Display Vertically oriented, 224 288, 16 palette colors

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Synopsis (Wikipedia)

Pac-Man is a Japanese arcade game released in 1980 by Namco and published in North America by Midway. Bandai Namco have released numerous sequels and spin-offs, many of which have also been remade on multiple platforms, including home consoles and handheld devices. The first sequels were primarily released in arcades, while later titles were released on video game consoles.

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Plot

Inky is a ghost trapped by walls who wants to be free. He drifts endlessly over dots, both big and small. The dots hold no meaning for Inky, he sees only the inner walls of his prison, despondent in his existence while blessed by ignorance of what those large dots could cause. Inky makes up his mind, tears form in his eyes that never spill as he drifts towards the left of the screen, into the screenless oblivion.

Meanwhile Pac-Man, the wandering yellow sociopath is eating everything in sight. As the juice flows freely down his chin from the entire cherries he's devoured he sets his greedy eyes on a line of dots. Rounding a corner he sees it, the biggest dot he's ever known. It fills his vision. Consumes his mind. Pac-Man advances toward it hungrily.

Inky blinks his eyes, the sweet release he had anticipated denied to him as he finds himself back on the other side of the screen. He drifts onward as he contemplates the nothingness denied to him. He sees cherries ahead, his favourite fruit. Inky hovers over them longingly but cannot attain the juicy goodness below. Then before he could contemplate his latest tragedy; he appears.

Pac-Man had changed, the large dot had triggered something in him; a primal, violent instinct. Inky freezes for an instant, turns and flees. All thoughts of self-destruction leave Inkys brain as he finds himself confronted with the terrifying visage of death that is Pac-Man. Inky is scared, Inky wants to live! Pac-Mans dot-induced rage edges him on, a pair of cherries is pulled into his maw, the stones crushed between his jaws as he bears down on Inky. Inky turns to face his destiny.

Game Over.

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Gameplay

The player must navigate a yellow character called Pac-Man through a maze. The ultimate goal is to collect all of the white dots while avoiding the four ghosts: Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. Successfully collecting all of the dots will complete the stage. Being touched by a ghost will lose the player a life. Lives can be gained by earning an amount of points which are accumulated by gathering dots, cherries and consuming ghosts while empowered by a Power Pellet. The points needed for a life could be changed by the arcade by moving a switch on the inside of the machine.

I find this cat and mouse style of gameplay incredibly engaging and believe that the games lasting popularity is owed to the mental stimulation one gets from planning out routes, staying one step ahead of the ghosts while clearing out the map while setting up the best times to collect the Power Pellets for maximum impact.

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Controls

There is a joystick that you move in the direction you want Pac-Man to turn. It is simple and works well. Joysticks were popular in arcade gaming in the 1980s for their intuitive player-to-character interface.

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Graphics

The limited colours of the system are put to good use in differentiating the ghosts. The yellow protagonist stands out clearly against a black background which is important for the player to be able to track his movement. Four of the sixteen colours available are given to the ghosts which personally, I appreciate because it inspired the short story this review opened with.

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Final Rating

Pac-Man's popularity gave way to the 'mascot' culture of many games that followed and it's influence over the rest of gaming history is significant. The remakes being made to this day and the games place in gaming's culture speak to the powerful place this has in our minds.

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Overall:

Plot: 0/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Controls: 9/10
Graphics: 7/10
Overall: 8/10