Pac-Man World 2

The ghosts have unleashed the evil Spooky. Pac-Man must save Pac-Land again.

NA release: 12th March 2002
EU release: 21st March 2003
JP release: N/A
Developer: Namco
Publisher: Namco
NGC Magazine Score: 70%
Mods Used: Widescreen Code

With Namco’s dislike of the N64, Nintendo gamers never got the first Pac-Man World. With it being much easier to port between the PlayStation 2 and GameCube, though, Namco not only supported it a lot more, but even developed multiple games for Nintendo.

The Pac-Man World games are a series of enjoyable 3D platformers. They don’t quire reach the heights of Mario or Banjo, but aren’t bad.

One thing I did like was how much it captured the feel of Pac-Man. There’s an obscene amount of pellets to collect in each level, often laid out in maze-like patterns. Instead of being tedious to collect, there is an oddly compulsive nature to them and I found myself wanting to collecting them – even though there’s not much of a reward other than getting a slice of health for every 50 you eat up.

There’s also a load of fruit hidden around the level. Like the pellets, these aren’t an annoying way to gate progress, but at the same time, there’s also no reward, it’s purely for a high score. Yet, even though I don’t care about high scores, I still wanted to hunt for them.

Pac-Man controls quite well, and the ledge grab helps with some of the more difficult platforming sections. His ground pound is quite satisfying to use as it makes Pac-Man bounce back up, and you can repeatedly pound the ground. You can also charge up a dash, although I found this to be a bit unreliable.

The camera works well for the most part, but sometimes it takes away some of your control or gets stuck so you can’t fully turn it around. Still, this only happens on occasion, so it’s still a lot of fun to make your way around the linear levels.

Also hidden in the levels are Galaxian keys, these open up mazes to play. These play like classic arcade Pac-Man, but each with its own layout and a visual style based on the level you’re on. They’re a great reward to exploring away from the main path, and you can also try for a high score by replaying them in the arcade in Pac-Village.

There are also a few levels that mix things up. The ice skating and rollerblade levels are fast paced and a lot of fun, although the underwater levels are extremely slow and tedious and go on for way, way too long – and they’re all in the row, with two swimming levels where you automatically move forward immediately followed by two slow arcade style shoot-em-up levels. They should have been spread out more to change the pace throughout the game.

One additional collectable hidden in levels are Namco tokens, which unlock some classic Pac-Man arcade games.

Pac-Man

It’s classic Pac-Man, a faithful port that was also used in Namco Museum.

Pac-Attack

A falling block puzzle game. You place ghosts, fruit and walls, and then put Pac-Man down in a position to gobble it up. It’s an interesting way to intergrade Pac-Man gameplay into a puzzle game, but I wasn’t fond of it.

Pac-Mania

My first impressions of Pac-Mania was that it was a version of Pac-Man that was far too zoomed in with an awkward isometric view. However, this version focuses much more on the chase aspects, and skilled use of the jump mechanic is vital to evading the ghosts. It’s a fun mix up to the classic Pac-Man formula.

Ms. Pac-Man

Like Pac-Man, this port is identical to what is seen in Namco Museum. It’s a better version of the original Pac-Man.

Overall, Pac-Man World 2 is a very enjoyable game. It looks great and the classic ditties being used for level completion is lovely. The rest of the music is a bit annoying (one level – Butane Pain – I had to check if it was playing wrong due to how bad it was, but it really is that bad), which is the only complaint with the presentation, as it looks lovely and the sound effects are satisfying.

Fun

And now it seems as if Pac-Man, suffering from some kind of mid-life crisis, actually wants to be his younger, more sucessful rival. Mario jumps; Pac jumps. Mario butt-slams; Pac makes a valiant attempt to do the same, despite having no discernible arse. Mario turns metallic and walks on the sea bed; Pac steals his idea as shamelessly as a gypsy rifling through and old lady’s biscuit tin. This isn’t the place to come if originality is something you value in your games collection, but it’s actually nowhere near as poor as we expected it to be.
Martin Kitts, NGC Magazine #78

Remake or remaster?

A remastered collection of 2 and 3 would be nice, as this still looks nice, so it doesn’t need a full remake as much as the first game.

Official Ways to get the game

There is no official way to get Pac-Man World 2.