Welcome to Modojo, 
Pac-Man Pinball Preview
Written by Modojo Staff on Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Pac-Man is ready and set to go on a pinball adventure that can be quite some fun. See what this is all about here...
It seems like Namco is mounting their good ol' 80's mascot Pac-Man for some kind of insurmountable comeback. Granted, he's always been around, whether cavorting through imaginary worlds in the enjoyable Pac-Man World series or playing some kind of variation of the arcade game that put him on the map well over twenty years ago. But this year will take the mascot in all sorts of directions, including a new platform game for home consoles, a couple of interesting Nintendo DS programs that will allow players to draw their own take on the hero before putting him to use, and Pac-Man Pinball, a game that turns the dot-chomper into a living pinball, just eager to be flipped.
Pac-Man Pinball Advance is the latest in a series of games that let you control the hero like never before, as a pinball that gets knocked around platforms. As you may recall, Kirby and Mario have done the same thing for their own respected games. However, Namco is promising that their own unique flavor of pinball design will make Pac-Man Pinball Advance stand out.
The game has a plot, actually. You venture through three different lands, separated by playfields on the pinball table, as you try to rescue members of your Pac-Family, including the likes of Ms. Pac-Man and Baby Pac-Man. Standing in your way, of course, are some bothersome ghosts who are ready to cause chaos as you try and save the day. This leads to plenty of challenging bonus rounds and mini-games that must be completed in order to proceed.
The game design looks to be pretty spiffy at this point, with just the right amount of Pac-Man decor without going into overkill. It's got a happy, colorful sort of look, and also some inventive touches with the design that involves the use of hot buttons and drop slots that make for some challenging shots. It also moves at just the right pace, so there's never any moments of "where the heck did the ball go." The graphics also show promise with some slick animation, especially with Pac-Man himself, who will have a few power pellet tricks up his sleeve (well, if he had a sleeve) to take down the ghosts and rack up some bonus points.
Pac-Man Pinball marks the first time that the chomper will be revisiting the glory days of flipperville since his two pinball excursions in the 80's, what with the stand-alone pinball machine and the video game/pinball hybrid Baby Pac-Man. However, this game looks to stand apart from those two by offering more play diversity and more fun as a result. Here's hoping Namco is up to the task to put the right touches to make you want to go waka-waka-waka all over again. Look for it this spring!
