Pakacuda

The Good
If you were around in the Eighties, chances were that you heard of Pac-Man, Namco’s pill-popping success that led to many official ports being released on the popular home systems. Of the many bootlegs that came shortly afterwards, the one I am most familiar with is Piranha. It is set underwater and it was quite difficult, given there are no walls and the octopuses are more aggressive.

Another underwater-themed game is Pakacuda, released for early Commodore computers as well as the ZX Spectrum. You control a Barracuda who must go around eating fish scattered around the maze, while avoiding the octopuses that chase you around. You can turn the tables by eating electric eels, but you have limited time to eat your enemies. Whatever octopus is eaten gets respawned in one of the corners, so make sure you steer clear of these corners or else you will lose a life.

There are passages that you can go around, and warp tunnels on both sides of the maze allow you to confuse the octopuses. The way the passages are curved presents a challenge. Even though I had a bit of trouble getting out of them before I got trapped, I managed to get out after the first few tries and had no problem after that.

The octopuses themselves are drawn nicely, and behave the same way as the ghosts in Pac-Man. The Barracuda is also drawn nicely, as are the octopuses. The way the Barracuda opens and closes its mouth in quick succession is rather amusing. I like the sound effect that plays when you go around eating fish; it reminds me of the theme for “The Twilight Zone”. There is an ominous sound when you eat an eel.

The Bad
I can’t think of anything.

The Bottom Line
Pakacuda is an excellent take on the Pac-Man concept. Set underwater, you eat fish instead dots, avoid octopuses instead of ghosts, and turn the tables around by eating eels, not power pellets. The animations are brilliant, the graphics are good, and the sound is good as well. If you have played too much Pac-Man lately and want a different take on it, then give this game a try.