Zappy Zooks

The Good
Although Namco’s classic game Pac-Man from the early Eighties was released on every platform you can think of, this didn’t stop unofficial clones from also appearing on the scene. Romik’s attempt, Zappy Zooks, is faithful to Namco’s game in terms of gameplay. You take control of Whirly who must go around a maze eating dots, and you have to avoid a number of “Zooks” – most of them having names ending with the “uke” suffix.

There is one feature that makes Romik’s games stand out from the rest, and that is the ability to customize the game before you start. The default number of Zooks is four, but you can make the game easier by reducing this. You can also select the difficulty level, choose whether you want to practice, and determine how Whirly behaves (whether he moves all the time or stops when you let go of the joystick). I love how Romik went all creative with this screen; you can pretend that the options are like a human body, and that you can actually move one of its limbs when you make a selection.

Graphically, the maze is quite colorful and its layout is identical to Pac-Man’s, warp tunnels and all. The Zooks look like spaceships, and that is probably how the word ‘Zappy’ ended up in the title – they zap around the maze. There is an annoying sound that plays throughout the game, but at least you can turn it off with the fire button.

The Bad
I didn’t like how Whirly looks. It reminds me of the symbol on the old USSR flag, with the middle part of it spinning around. Romik could not be bothered adding a sprite for a bonus item, but rather a number indicating how many points you get when you run over it.

The Bottom Line
Zappy Zooks is a great Pac-Man clone from Romik. Not only is it faithful to Namco’s game, but it has loads of customization. The enemies may have changed appearance, but that this should not stop fans of the yellow muncher from enjoying it as much as I did.