Pac-Man: The Arcade Classic and Its Imitators

First thing's first, Pac-Man is awesome! It has always been awesome and it will remain awesome for all of time. Just look at the original game in the arcade. It's so simple, so...playable and...awesome and...it's perfect! And of course, with any huge success, there's going to be a slew of imitators. And with the Atari 2600, there's of course no shortage of imitation. So you have games like Alien and Mouse Trap. None of these games were exactly Pac-Man, but they were trying to be.

You even had games like Ms. Pac-Man, which was close, but not quite. Well...Eh, here we go. Uh...So this is Pac-Man, I guess. I'm kinda confused because, uh, it doesn't look at all like Pac-Man in the arcade. All right. I thought that guy was blue. Doesn't even play anything like the arcade. Pac-Man looks stupid, he has an eye, and his lips look weird. He doesn't move properly, neither do the ghosts, and they flicker. You can't tell if they are blue, or just flickering. I don't...What's going on?! This is, this is...Arrggh! You stupid freaking cartridge! Argh! Just die! You piece of – Okay, so thankfully, not all games are bad as that abomination. There is Lock 'N' Chase, which is by Mattel. It was on the Intellivision as well.

It's, um...You know...I don't, I don't know, either. This...honestly has never made much sense to me. You're a red thing and there's blue guys, I think they're – I'm gonna say they're security officers or something or policemen, and I'm a guy that's being chased and I have to get something that's locked up. You know, I don't know...You have these things that you can place different places. Like, there are pink bars, for some reason. And these little briefcase, locked up things that appear in the middle of the screen. And it of course has the little, uh, off to the side areas where you can go through and – And then you go through the door at the end of the level. Ahh...It's better than Pac-Man. But it's not better than the arcade Pac-Man – it's nothing compared to that.

I don't – whatever. Of course, now we have Ms. Pac-Man. Ms. Pac-Man well, just look at it. Look, she actually moves properly. Facing the way she's going. You got the bouncing fruit. It looks like fruit, and it's not a square. You have the ghosts that are blue, and you can tell they're blue. The maze actually looks similar to the arcade. The passageways actually work. And when you finish the one level, you get to another one, instead of just the same old map over and over again. It's Pac-Man. It's obvious that it can be done, so what the heck happened with the first one?

Now we have Mouse Trap. My first impression would be that this game is based off of the board game. But I don't really understand how. There's none of the aspects of the board game in this game. None of them. You just control a character and try to get to the end of the level. It's very simple, but it's also kind of boring. And the controls are not as smooth as some other games on the console. So if you're looking for a good game with Mouse Trap, I would say look elsewhere.

Next up we have Alien. Well, actually, they're not really chasing you. They just kind of wander around. You can avoid them. And you have a flamethrower or – something. I'll be honest, I've never seen the movie. Maybe you're Sigourney Weaver. I don't really know. Uh, but you can use that to get them to turn the other direction. Sometimes. As you can see, the dots aren't the easiest to get. You think you're over them and then you're not. Every end of the level you get to go to a sort of bonus level – thing. It's a mixture of Freeway and Frogger, I guess.

I've only gotten to the end like once. You die as soon as you touch anything, of course. And then you just go to the next level, and it repeats and repeats and repeats. I have not found too much great about this game, but it's not bad. It's very easy, in a way, to play and the controls feel solid. It's not a great game, but it's not a bad game. And anything is better than Pac-Man, so if I were to pick one winner, it would be Ms. Pac-Man. But I'm not picking that one, so I'm picking Alien because it's ALIEN, dang it!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enAahhh!First thing's first.Pac-Man is awesome!It has always been awesomeand it will remain awesomefor all of time.Just look at the original game in the arcade.It's so simple, so...playable and...awesome and...it's perfect!And of course, with any huge success,there's going to be a slew of imitators.And with the Atari 2600,there's of courseno shortage of imitation.So you have games like Alienand Mouse Trap.None of these games were exactlyPac-Man, but they were trying to be.You even had games like Ms. Pac-Man,which was close,but not quite.And then you have the mostinfamous game of them all, just about,is Pac-Man.Well...Eh, here we go.Uh...So this is Pac-Man,I guess.I'm kinda confused because, uh,it doesn't look at all like Pac-Man in the arcade.All right.I thought that guy was blue.It doesn't even play anything like the arcade.Pac-Man looks stupid, he has an eye,and his lips look weird.He doesn't move properly,neither do the ghosts, and they flicker.You can't tell if they are blue,or just flickering.I don't...What's going on?!This is, this is...Arrggh!You stupid freaking cartridge! Argh!Just die! You piece of–Okay, so,thankfully, not all games areas bad as that abomination.There is Lock 'N' Chasewhich is by Mattel.It was on the Intellivision as well.It's, um...You know...I don't, I don't know, either.This...honestly has never made much sense to me.You're a red thingand there'sblue guys, I think they're–I'm gonna say they're security officers or somethingor policemen, and I'm a guythat's being chasedand I have to get something that's locked up.You know, I don't know...You have these things that you canplace different places.Like, there are pink bars, for some reason.And these little briefcase, locked up thingsthat appear in the middle of the screen.And it of course has the little, uh,off to the side areas where you can go through and–And then you go through the door at the end of the level.Ahh...It's better than Pac-Man.But it's notbetter than the arcade Pac-Man–it's nothing compared to thatI don't– whatever.Of course, now we have Ms. Pac-Man.Ms. Pac-Manwell, just look at it.Look at that! It's Pac-Man on the 2600.I thinkthat is what it was supposed to be in the first place.Look, she actually movesproperly.Facing the way she's going.You got the bouncing fruit.It looks like fruit, and it's not a square.You have the ghosts that are blue,and you can tell they're blue.The maze actually looks similar to the arcade.The passageways actually work.And when you finish the one level,you get to another one,instead of just the same old mapover and over and over again.It's Pac-Man.It's obvious that it can be done,so what the heck happened with the first one?Now we have Mouse Trap.My first impression would be that thisgame is based off of the board game.But I don't really understand how.There's none of the aspectsof the board game at all,you know, like trapsand things like that.You are a mousewhich can turn into a dog.Go figure that one out.You go around a mazeand collectsomething? I dunno, cheese?And pick up dog bones,which gives you thedog transformation ability,which you can then eat the cats.Well, as a game, I guess it's really not that bad.In a way, it reminds me of Ladybug.And this is a factthat I wasn't aware of when I first tried it out.When you press the button onthe joystick, you turn into the dog,if you have a dog bone.But if you hold it down,you can actually switch the maze around.And that's where I get the Ladybug aspect from.So instead of going through theselittle gates, you're switching the gatesby pressing a button, so it's interesting.It's, it's interesting.That is about all that I can say about this game.Period.I'm not having too much fun reviewing it,so we're going to the next game.Okay, so now we haveAlien, based on the movie of the same name.20th Century Fox.And, uh...this is not Alien.This is Pac-Manwith a guy– you're Pac-MAN. Ha!And there's mouth – ahem – things.That are chasing you.Well, actually, they're not really chasing you.They just kind of wander around.You can avoid them.And you have a flamethrower or... something.I'll be honest, I've never seen the movie.Maybe you're Sigourney Weaver. I don't really know.Uh, but you can use thatto getthem to turn the other direction.Sometimes.As you can see, the dots aren't the easiest to get.You think you're over them and then you're not.Every end of the levelyou get to go to a sort of bonus level... thing.It's a mixture of Freeway and Frogger, I guess.I've only gotten to the end like once. You dieas soon as you touch anything, of course.And then you just go to the next level,and it repeats and repeats and repeats.I have not found too much great about this game,but it's not bad.It's very easy, in a way, to playand the controls feel solid.It's not a great game, but it's not a bad game.And anything is better than Pac-Man, soif I were to pick one winner, it would be Ms. Pac-Man.But I'm not picking that one, so I'm picking Alienbecause it's ALIEN, dang it!\n"