Pac-Man World 3

The Good
While Pac-Man is celebrating his 25th birthday, he is teleported to an unknown world. There, a friendly ghost named Orson tells him that he needs to put an end to Nefarious Scheme 57, a plan where Erwin siphons spectral energy from the Spectral Realm to power his army of robots in an attempt to take control of the world, causing the destruction of the world, Pac-Land, and the Spectral Realm.

Pac-Man World 3 takes place within fifteen levels that take Pac through junkyards, mountains, desert, and the ghosts' homeworld, among other locations. During Pac's adventure, Orson talks to him in the background, and the conversations between Pac and Orson add depth to the game. One of these conversations is about the spectral entities that appear from time to time, throwing about ten spectral monsters at him. I don't know how Orson is able to communicate with him, maybe there's a transmitter Pac is wearing that we don't get to see.

Pac-Man can use new powers to help defeat the creatures that he comes across. The Ribbon Loop, which is one of these powers, is more effective than others since you can circle around your enemies, and when formed, the circle will destroy them by closing in. You have a limited amount of time to use these powers to your advantage, so you really can't afford not to make mistakes. There are more powers, but I found them not to be effective as the Ribbon Loop.

The normal power up pellet is still in the game, but these are mainly used for eating the spectral monsters that I mentioned above. I enjoyed going around in circles, getting the numerous pellets, and eating the monsters. Also, if you walk up close to the entities, you can hear voices coming from it. This makes the game quite scary.

Also, the way Pac-Man has the ability to use Clyde and Pinky, two of his enemy ghosts, is also a good thing. Now with Clyde getting in his way, Pac can take a break from the spectral monsters. Furthermore, Clyde may die from running out of energy at the hands of the monsters, but at least he has unlimited lives. I enjoy listening to Clyde calling Pac-Man “Munchy”. It's as if he doesn't remember Pac's name at all. As for Pinky, she can see platforms Pac can't, and she can solidify any invisible ones for him.

The graphics in some of the levels are amazing, especially the levels that take place in the deserts and mountains. While I was trying to find my way toward the exit, I felt like moving up as high as I can and just stare at the horizon for five or ten minutes. The enemies that Pac encounters, the ones who have different attacks, look good. The spectral siphons you need to destroy in some levels look massive in the sky, even when you view them at long distances, and they are animated well.

The puzzles are challenging, especially in the last levels. They can take time to get used to. For example, in the level entitled “Spectral Zenith”, you have to wall-jump a series of platforms that appear on their sides, while navigating other platforms that disappear when you stand on them for too long. I believe that this puzzle is the toughest in PMW3, and it took me a few tries to master it. I had about forty lives by the time I reached the puzzle, so losing a few wasn't a problem for me.

The Bad
The mini-games, found when Pac-Man collects a Galaxian icon somewhere in each level, are not as spectacular as the ones in Pac-Man World 2, where the mazes look gorgeous and the screen has to scroll for Pac to travel from one side to the other. Here, the mazes are basically laid out the same, and each maze uses the same color. Furthermore, the game can sometimes be unresponsive when it comes to making Pac-Man turn a corner.

By collecting certain items within each level, players can unlock little bits of information regarding the history of Pac-Man. I felt that more levels could have been added instead of this, and these levels would probably introduce Pac to more dangers and even tougher puzzles.

The Bottom Line
Pac-Man World 3 was released just in time for Namco to celebrate 25 years of a well-known character. In the game's fifteen levels, Pac-Man has to learn new abilities in order to defeat any creatures that get in his way. Different powers can also be used against them, with the Ribbon Loop being more effective. While Pac proceeds through the level, Orson talks to him about his quest, and the conversations between the two characters add depth to the game. Pac's former enemy ghosts can help him get through the level, as long as they are charged up at their power stations.

The graphics are breathtaking, and the music is well composed. The puzzles are challenge, and they were enough for me to give the Pac-Man series a break for a while.

Bottom line: An excellent game.