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(RelSoft)
vvvvvvvvvvvv
"A QB Pac-Man made with the Pride of the Phillippines!"
The classic gameplay
of Pac-Man strikes again in QB, this time with a whole new maze format
and an entirely new artificial intelligence. As Pacmanoid, you must brave
through an entirely new kind of maze. But all the tradition of the original
Pac-man has been retained.
Eat power pellets
to find hidden strength, but stay weary of the prisons where the ghosts
are kept! You can even use the secret cheat codes to reach unforseen levels
of munching power. But it will take a true master to get a giant high-score
and earn your place among arcade legends...
| Graphics (n.)
The use of animation and visual effects to stimulate the senses |
vv
(Average) |
Average. The playing field for Pacmanoid is pretty standard and flicker-free, with the occasional graphics glitch here and there that hurts the graphics score a little. Another thing to watch for is the incessant flashing lights that occur whenever Pacmanoid eats one of the power pellets and enjoys invincibility for a limited time. It's fun to watch, but stare too long and you're bound to hurt your eyes. |
| Sound/Music (n.)
The smooth blend of atmospheric sounds and original harmonies |
vvv
(Good) |
Relsoft did a great job utilizing the limited capacity of PC speaker sounds to accomodate the arcade experience of Pacmanoid. You can't ask for more than from a QB Pac-Man clone in terms of audio than to have some original pellet-gobbling sound effects, among other things. Biting into ghosts while powered up will cause them to scream into their prison cells, while getting gobbled up yourself causes a surprising but fitting death sound effect. Very arcade-like. |
| Gameplay (n.)The precision of control and involvement of character within its universe | v
(Poor) |
Anybody who's ever played Pac-Man or his
millions of clones will be very familiar with the pack-and-play nature
of Pacmanoid. You start in a maze, where you to gobble all the pellets
on the screen while trying to dodge a couple of nasty ghosts. If you eat
a big pellet, you'll be able to eat up your predators for a limited time,
which is also central to getting plenty of bonus points and getting a high
score. Clear all the pellets in the level, and you'll proceed to the next
one. Pacmanoid has unlimited levels in this manner.
While Pacmanoid has good replay value thanks to the fact that it's a pretty well-done Pac-Man clone, this game may prove too familiar to gamers who have played the many Pac-Man derivatives already made for the PC. This isn't to say though that Pacmanoid doesn't it's own sense of individuality. The personality of the ghosts in Pacmanoid is more precise and aggressive, and as a result Relsoft limited the number of ghosts in the screen to two at a time (the original Pac-Man game for the arcades comes with four ghosts). |
| Story (n.)
The creativity and presentation of the game's critical plot |
(Very Poor) | Since Pacmanoid is based on one of the most famous videogame mascots of all time, it's pretty hard to stray far enough from the original formula while still maintaining a story of it's own. Originally is critical in this category, so like other QB Pac-Man clones, Pacmanoid doesn't quite make much of a climb in the Story department. |
| Replay Value (n.)
The timelessness of the gamer's delight, such that the experience can be repeated again and again |
vvv
(Good) |
The game's high point. Pacmanoid does superbly in this category because it's a Pac-Man clone that doesn't try to do too much, but has a calming enough flavor of gameplay that is easy to get into and a little to get out of. When the game gets frustrating, the cheat codes add to the replay value by giving you temporary, god-like powers. This comes in a bonus surprise when you're playing this game late at night and your reflexes are shot. |
| Challenge (v.)
To strike the mental nerve in such a way as to stimulate human thought and reflexes |
v
(Poor) |
The ghosts are pretty much programmed
to follow Pacmanoid according to his location on the screen. If Pacmanoid
is hiding in the lower-left corner of the screen, the ghosts will flutter
quickly down and left, occasionally changing direction according to the
maze. Because of this nature, going to the middle of the maze is probably
the worst thing Pacmanoid can do, since the ghosts can each cover one side
of the screen and trap you in that manner.
The key to getting really high scores in Pacmanoid is to be persistent. The AI does have a slight randomness to it, so once the ghost commits to one direction, take advantage and then go the other way. Pacmanoid doesn't really get much harder with each passing level and it's more of an endurance issue than a growing challenge issue with this game. |
| Fun Factor (n.)
The overall entertainment value as maintained throughout the adventure |
vv
(Average) |
What Pacmanoid does not capture is the
exact gameplay of the original Pac-Man, since there are variations in point
scoring, maze format, and many other subtle details that make Pacmanoid
somewhat unfamiliar but refreshing. Pacmanoid does manage, however, to
creative a somewhat addictive feel all it's own, since the different maze
and the number of ghosts on the screen force some new strategies in Pacmanoid
that would otherwise be moot in other Pac-Man clones. Skillfully moving
Pacmanoid around so that the ghosts trap themselves in the central wall
of the maze is not a strategy usually applied in any other Pac-Man clone,
and having two pac-seeking ghosts instead of four ghosts with a more random
AI changes things a bit.
All in all, the number of Pac-Man clones are still growing, to the point where every QB programmer has to make at least one Pac-Man clone in his or her lifetime to fully develop his or her skills. For the best Pac-Man experience possible, the top honors still go to Pac-Classic for capturing the full feel of the original Pac-Man arcade game. But Pacmanoid does come as being an average Pac-Man like game that has it's own merits in the field of addictive play. PacManoid Reviewed by Vance Velez |
| Players | 1 player | Genre: Platform Game |
| Rating |  |
To solve: N/A Final Rating: 12/35 |
To download this game, click here.
| Installation Tip
wTo play Pacmanoid, unzip the file and run "RELPAC.EXE". |