Pac-Man Championship Edition

It's an all-new game with dozens of new mazes, and a timed score-run that's all about managing risk and reward. [Sept 2007, p.68]

Behold - the finest score attack arcade game on Live Arcade since "Geometry Wars." [Sept 2007, p.96]

It takes everything that made the original game so compelling and makes it feel fresh and relevant all over again. It’s simple. It’s elegant. It is Pac-Man reborn.

Combining the old-school feel with new-gen intensity, Pac-Man World Championship is the best Xbox Live Arcade game since Geometry Wars.

It's more than a repackaged oldie, and is about as accessible as it gets. Put this game on in a room full of people, and everyone is drawn to it, especially the people who don't think of themselves as "gamers." That makes it legitimately something for everyone.

Pac-Man CE is not just one of the great XBLA games, it is one of the great games period.

Don’t let the Championship Edition name fool you; this is very much the first true sequel to the series and features fresh and exciting gameplay to reset your retro Pac-Man fatigue.

For the price tag of 800 MS Points, Pac-Man Championship Edition is priced right. The action is fun and simple to enjoy while keeping a traditional approach with a few presentation and gameplay upgrades.

Unless you value multiplayer competition, Pac-Man’s latest effort is one that is worthy of attempting, and may just allow you to become infected with ‘Pac-Man Fever’ once more.

New challenges keep you coming back for more.

It’s nice to see a classic remade instead of simply repackaged, especially when a great deal of respect has been paid to the original game in the reconstruction.

That’s what makes Pac-Man Championship Edition such a fun, challenging and ultimately addictive game. It compels you to keep coming back to best your previous high score and perhaps make an appearance on the Xbox Live leaderboards. That’s the sign of a great arcade experience and if you’re a fan of Pac-Man, you won’t want to miss it.

Pac-Man purists may balk at this new edition of the game, but CE can be a lot of fun for anyone who enjoys fast-paced arcade action now and again.

Championship Edition feels fresh and exciting. The classic feel of Pac-Man is still there, but the new features are well designed and fit in perfectly with the overall purpose of the Live Arcade. It's fast, exhilarating and fun.

Pac-Man: Championship Edition is a surprisingly fun retooling of the classic that may even find fans in those that didn’t care for the original. It’s just a shame it’s a tad feature-poor and a little pricey.

Pac-Man Championship edition is a welcome change for the Pac-universe. There’s enough variety, newness, and challenge to keep old fans and new players entertained for a long time. This is definitely a great example of the way that retro games should come to the Live Arcade.

If all retro games received remixes this compelling, you would hear gamers begging for them rather than bemoaning them.

It's a lot of fun to play, is fairly inexpensive, and you'll get a ton of hours of great gameplay out of it, not just for you but for the entire family.

If you are looking for a more traditional Pac-Man game, you will not find it with Pac-Man Championship Edition. However, if you are looking for an upgrade to the classic game with some twists, Pac-Man Championship Edition is for you.

Minor modifications to Pac-Man's basic gameplay mechanics have resulted in a new pace and intensity that the original lacked.

The stylish graphics look fabulous and gamers will enjoy posting scores to the online leader boards.

Pac-Man CE is a solid arcade title. It doesn’t revolutionize the game but it does add some new elements to keep it fresh. 800 points is a tad pricey for a game with slight variations on game modes, but at least you know what you’re getting into with Pac-Man.

Undoubtedly this is the definitive version of Pac-Man available on Xbox 360 Arcade.

Great to look at and the new mazes rock. [Aug 2007, p.103]

Filing stuff. [Issue#23, p.98]

This new take on an old favorite adds new, exciting elements to the formula without getting rid of what made Pac-Man so good in the first place.

When it's all said and done, this is the best Pac-Man game on XBLA. The flashy, neon graphics and increased speed make it unlike any Pac experience yet. Unfortunately, this wasn't the first Pac-Man game released on XBLA, meaning a lot of people just won't be willing to pay another 10 bucks to get the same game again.

The Xbox Live Arcade game’s only true weakness is the 800 point ($10.00) price tag. If there were a couple more modes, the original game was included or perhaps a multiplayer mode was added I’d recommend it for everyone. But at it’s current price, it’s just too much compared to other excellent games like UNO that are only 400 points ($5.00). Still, if you don’t mind the cost, it’s definitely worth a look.

What you're buying into is a fantastic celebration of a timeless classic, and one that does something genuinely interesting with the gameplay to make it relevant now. The problem is, basically, is that it's been put in totally the wrong price bracket for what is an impulse buy. A curiosity.

As it stands, if only because this is a fantastic reimagining of a game everyone has played, Championship Edition is amongst the top tier downloadable games on Xbox 360.

'Championship' mode though is an ingenious spin on presenting level-based gameplay in a whole new way as there is virtually no pause in the action. For all intents and purposes, Pac-Man has turned into a gruelling video game marathon. 'Championship' mode alone makes this download worth it for any serious Pac-Man fan.

If you still have Pac-Man Fever, this game is a must-own. Otherwise, just sample the remix with the free demo. [Sept 2007, p.76]