When I was a lot younger, I went through a phase that my parents would rather forget about. I went through my seriously hardcore Pac Man phase. From T-shirts to Pac-Man Fever albums, I was hooked like a crack addict. I’ve played a majority of the Pac-Man titles that have graced the arcades, consoles, and handheld systems. Now it’s 2002, and technology has been raised exponentially. Namco’s Pac-Man World 2 is the latest chapter, and Pac-Man isn’t just eating dots anymore.

Pac-Man can now jump, skate, roll, bounce, and a whole lot more. Sure, you can still consume power pellets and chomp ghosts, but in the current Pac-Man realm, it’s about 35% maze, 65% platformer. Pac-Man’s moves are an “in between Mario and Sonic” layout. Pac-Man can jump and power stomp like Mario, as well as spin dash like Sonic. Those are the basic moves, but Pac-Man has action levels which include in-line skating, ice skating, and maneuvering the Pac-Sub, which is very reminiscent of the Tails/Robotnik levels in Sonic Adventure 2.

Pac-Man World 2 cosmetically is very simple. Visually it’s not mind-blowing, but more pleasant than over done. There’s nothing here really pushing the hardware of the GameCube. The game does run at a steady pace, but there is some pop-up here and there.

I think Namco should be commended for the audio. A lot of the classic sounds from Pac-Man have been restored and upgraded for this title. The music is made up of excellent compositions. It’s just catchy video game music. Even the sound effects are good. From the gobbling and eating to the skating sound effects and music, everything sounds excellent.

The gameplay elements in Pac-Man World 2 aren’t all that original, but seem to borrow from many different platformers. Not to say it isn’t fun, because it is. Typically you’ll bounce around from area to area eating dots, fruits, ghosts, etc. It all feels very familiar, which is a good thing. One game this really reminds me of is the 7-up game Cool Spot. You can hang, swing, and utilize environmental elements to get to the next area or platform. The camera does get annoying at times, but if you’ve played any 3-D platformer, you should be used to the typical frustrations platformers have.

Namco has done a great job of bringing some of the classic flavor to Pac Man World 2. Sure, there’s an arcade so you can play the classic arcade versions of Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Mania, Pac-Attack, and Pac-Man World 2 Maze Arcade. You need to open these up by collecting tokens (original) that are hidden around the levels. Also hidden in the levels are Galaxian ships. These can be obtained by beating hidden Pac-Man World 2 Maze levels. Once you beat them, you can play these in the arcade. Even the little Dig-Dugs make an appearance as enemies, which their heads expand, and then explode. As an old-schooler, I must say these touches are much welcomed.

I’ve been playing this for 2 days, and I’m already 85% finished, so a long game Pac Man World 2 isn’t. The classic games are always nice to have, but if you have them on another machine, it’s no big deal. They are good ports of the originals. But you do need a lot of hidden tokens to open some of these games. For example you need 140 tokens to play Ms. Pac-Man (the most), and right now I have 60. Boo. Don’t buy this game to play the classics. They are merely an add-on, and the game will make you work to play them. (That is, until the codes hit.) If you just want to play the old-school versions go get an old SNES version, or even one of the new GBA versions.

I have to admit, I was totally surprised by Pac-Man World 2. It doesn’t seem to be a long game at all, but it’s really a good time while it lasts. The platform elements, albeit borrowed, are well done. If you like Pac-Man, I urge you to at least get to a video store and rent this game. If you’re a Pac-Man fanatic, there’s no reason you shouldn’t play it.