Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness

Moby ID: 6531
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Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness is a combination of classic Pac-Man (or in this case, Ms. Pac-Man) action, maze exploration and Sokoban-like puzzle elements. Players take on the role of Ms. Pac-Man and have to save Pac-Land once again. Although the game is in full 3D, players can only move along designated paths.

The four Wonders, mystical regions separated from the rest of Pac-Land by force fields, contains four Gems of Virtue: Generosity, Truth, Wisdom and Courage, each holding enough power to help keep Pac-Land safe from evil. However, an unknown enemy has transformed the Enchanted Castle into a haunted house, in turn starting a chain reaction of evil all around Pac-Land and the four Wonders. It is up to Ms. Pac-Man to enter the 3D designed worlds of the four Wonders and put the evil to rest for good.

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Credits (PlayStation version)

60 People (48 developers, 12 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 72% (based on 17 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.6 out of 5 (based on 20 ratings with 1 reviews)

Ms. Pac-Man has to learn new tricks

The Good
You are Ms. Pac-Man who must get four Gems of Virtue back from the witch Mesmerelda who has invaded the Enchanted Castle and turned it into a haunted house, and plans to use the gems to destroy Pac-Land. To do this, she must navigate through four worlds that have Pac-Dots for her to gobble up, while avoiding the infamous ghosts and other creatures. Some of these creatures have their own ways to hurt Ms. Pac-Man. There are other hazards to watch out for, including lava, electricity, broken bridges, and several others.

Unlike previous Pac games, with the exception of Pac-Man 2, you spend most of the time dealing with blocks and several things such as Pac-Doors, B-Doings, and switches. An holographic version of Professor Pac shows you how to use these.

You are equipped with a gizmo known as the Pac-Dot Radar. The Pac-Dot Radar is useful because it points to any dots that you may have missed, and indicates the direction that you are facing. You can ignore it for most of the time, but only use it when it still shows the Pac-Dots in your area. Another thing that is introduced are stars, which can be obtained by collecting each and every Pac-Dot and fruit in the level, as well as completing the levels themselves. A number of stars are required to enter bonus levels and progress through the game. This means that this game is addictive because it makes you want to complete levels again, for the sake of getting more stars.

The levels are long, and take roughly 30 minutes to complete. You can take as much time as you want, meaning that you can go back to previous areas if you feel that you have missed something. There is a time trial mode, where the game requires you to complete the level in a specific time, depending on you to take the shortest route through it. When I came across a puzzle which must be solved to get to the next area, I found out that all I had to do was move a couple of blocks that could act like stepping stones which lead to that area. Other puzzles include stepping on some buttons in the correct order to activate a door.

And for those who are sick of the normal levels, there are a few multiplayer games that can be played with one or more players. There are about five modes to choose from, and include Ghost Tag, Da Bomb, and Dot Mania. Of these, I prefer to play Dot Mania because I am too familiar with it, and there are power-ups that can help you win first place. You can also play the original, but slightly modified, Ms. Pac-Man if you want to take a trip down memory lane.

The four environments look amazing, with each environment set in Egyptian times, caves, and haunted houses. The structures that serve as the backgrounds are detailed, and some objects, such as waterfalls, water, and lava, help to create the feeling that the environments are real. Like in Pac-Man: Adventures in Time, all of the original ghosts are dressed up for the environments. They wear head scarves for the Egyptian era, for example.

The music and sound effects are excellent. When Ms. Pac-Man gobbles up Pac-Dots, it sounds just like the original game. The music that plays in the options and the level select screen is well done. The cut-scenes look like as if you are watching a cartoon show, where something good or bad is happening and your objectives are outlined.

The highlight of this game is playing the levels over and over again just to get more stars, as well as trying my luck at the last bonus level where the end credits appear one by one when you destroy some boats. Also, I like playing the very last bonus round where you have to find all the end credits by shooting rocks. When you finish the round, the credits that you have found are displayed, as well as those you have missed.

The Bad
The only thing that I do not like about Maze Madness is the health bar, which decreases if you come in contact with an enemy. It breaks the old Pac-Man rule

The Bottom Line
In conclusion, Maze Madness is more than just collecting Pac-Dots, and avoiding ghosts and other creatures. It is also about solving puzzles in order to access other areas in a level – more often moving blocks around to form stepping stones than pushing switches in their correct sequence in order to unlock a door. Stars are required to get access to bonus levels, but these can be obtained by collecting all the Pac-Dots and fruit in the level. The graphics and sound are amazing, and the levels can be played over and over again at your own pace, in the hope that you are able to collect all the Pac-Dots and the fruit, as well as obtaining a better high score.

PlayStation · by Katakis | カタキス (43092) · 2007

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Kartanym.

PlayStation 3, PS Vita, PSP added by Charly2.0. Game Boy Advance added by Arnoldo Schiphorst.

Game added June 3, 2002. Last modified October 8, 2023.