Pac-Man World 2

SUMMARY:
Upon hearing "PacMan," you would probably picture a little maze with yellow dots, and a circular figure with an opening and closing mouth taking on the appearance of a cheese wheel.

In fact, PacMan World 2 ((PMW2)) gives PacMan ((PM)) a whole different meaning.

In this action-packed 3D adventure game you're playing the part of PM. Upon finding out the golden fruit have gone missing at the hands of the terrible ghosts, you set out in search of the peace and harmony that was once a part of your village.

Starting out in the village itself, you will collect pacdots and fruit, aiming to collect everything in the level and earn a perfect score, 100%. As the game goes on the levels become more difficult, you will endure the bouncing trampolines in the woods, the slippery slopes in the snowy mountains, and the burning rocks in the volcano. As you become closer and closer to reaching your goal, you will have to skate on an almost impossible turf, jumping from one board to the next diagonally and even sideways.

In between each "area" ((those being trees, snow, volcanoes, underwater, etc.)) is a boss. In order to pass to the next level at the end of each area you are required to defeat a ghost. On the side of the ghost is a large machine at least 10 times as big as PM. On the side of PM is his "rev-roll" and his "butt-bounce." The bosses are relatively easy to beat one you get the hang of it. The bosses have just the right balance of entertainment and difficulty, making sure they're not completely boring or totally impossible to beat.

The graphics in this game are what can be expected from a GameCube game. Not totally horrible yet not the best. Making the characters and items 3D was done fantastically, the shining off PM's head gives the player the illusion that he's right in front of them as though her were an actual sphere, same goes for the pacdots. The bright color and little detail give it the effect of a world different from our own, which is exactly what it is.

In all, this 3D off-take of the classic PM games brings back all the characters and items; the special fruit, the horrible ghosts, and even a few surprise creatures that weren’t seen in the earlier games. I found this game relatively easy to beat, and certainly not hard to enjoy.