Pac-Man is a gaming icon. Even though what I am about to say might be hard for some of you to believe but many people might not know or even associate Master Chief, Jak, and various other gaming masterpieces with videogames. If you bring up the name Pac-Man many people will instantly recognize this videogame, which was made popular in arcades and by Atari decades ago. Since its release Pac-Man has undergone many different transformations and different genres through the years. For the first time in a long while, Namco has released a Pac-Man game with a very interesting twist, and it is called Pac-Pix. Read on to find out more about this game.

Before we get into what makes this game so unique, let’s first learn about the story as it plays an important role in this game’s “twist.” One day a wizard came up with an invention called “Ghost Ink,” and everything that is drawn with this ink turned into Ghosts. These Ghosts got into everything and caused havoc upon the world. Pac-Man came to the rescue and started taking down the Ghosts with his magic pen and trapped all the Ghosts into one final book. Before he could finish his task, the Ghosts captured him and put him on a piece of paper in that very book. Now players must take over Pac-Man’s quest and defeat these devious Ghosts. Are you up to this challenge?

What is really unique about this game is that you will be drawing the Pac-Man that will be eating the ghosts. First you must draw him in the direction you want to go, after you successfully completed a Pac-Man it will “come to life” start chomping in the direction you pointed it. You will be able to control your creation by blocking its way by drawing a line. The direction in which you drew the line (up, down, left, or right) will make it go that direction. In this sense it is the same as many years ago when Pac-Man was “boxed” in its environment.

As players progress in the game, they will have access to draw additional things that will help them in their quest to stop the mischievous ghosts. You will be able to draw arrows, and if you hit the enemy it will temporary render them immobile and gives you a chance to gobble them up. Another help in this game are the bombs. These will also render some of the enemies’ stationary for a time as well, and will also activate certain switches that might lead to some hidden goodies.

As with all other Pac-Man games there will be items that will appear in the game. These items will be in the upper screen, and players will have to fulfill special requirements in order to pick them up. Some of the items will give players a higher score while another is a crucial 1-up that proves to be very valuable in certain circumstances.

This game is challenging, especially for me, because I am horrid at drawing. I draw so bad that my stick figures look awful, so when I received this game I knew it was going to be a challenge before I even loaded it. Once I got into the game and practiced with the tutorials, I thought that it wouldn’t be as bad as I thought, until I got into a live game. I kept drawing the Pac-Man but nothing ever happened. Finally I found my method to the madness and got it figured out. Even though every single Pac-Man I drew looks severely disfigured, I had a blast watching them come to life as they ate the Ghosts.

I will tell you right now that it will take some time and patience to play this game. Once you figure out the balance on how to create Pac-Man, and get your groove in, you will have a blast with this game. When the timer is running low you will find yourself attempting to create Pac-Man that will not work and even though this will get your frustration high, just sit back and relax and you will find it much easier to get accomplished.

Pac-Pix is rated E for Everyone.

Gameplay: 7.9
Pac-Pix is really unique and at times challenging, especially for those gamers like me who are drawing impaired. At times it will get frustrating when you think you have a Pac-Man drawn, and it doesn’t spring to life.

Graphics: 7.7
The graphics for this game are really simplistic, and are made even more simplistic when you make your Pac-Man creations. Even though this is the case it really works for this game.

Sound: 7.3
The soundtrack is nothing special in any sense. It has some remixes of earlier Pac-Man games. The sound effects are the same as what you have heard many times throughout the years, which might bring a tear of nostalgia to your eye.

Difficulty: Medium
Pac-Pix can get pretty challenging at times, especially if you don’t draw the Pac-Man correctly it will not come to life and you will have to try again. This is the hardest part for me as I am not the world’s best artist, so I had many attempted Pac-Man illustrations that never had the breath of life bestowed upon them.

Concept: 8.1
I really like the new twist on Pac-Man, it made for some really interesting times and really goofy looking Pac-Man creations.

Overall: 7.8
Pac-Pix is a really unique spin on the Pac-Man franchise. Even though it can get frustrating and challenging at times, I think that you will find it to be pleasant to play and a nice change of pace from many other games out there.