Introduction:

Pac N Roll, the 2nd Pac-Man game released for the Nintendo DS. Also seems to have flown under the radar with most gamers.

Story:

An evil superghost named Golvis has arrived to terrorize Pac-Land. Golvis has captured the area hero, Pac-Master, as well as Pac-Master's family, by turning them into limbless and helpless balls. As Pac-Man, Pac-Master's hero apprentice, you also fall under Golvis' curse but manage to escape capture. With the assistance of a helpful fairy, you must take on Golvis and his ghosts across several different worlds in order to rescue each member of Pac-Master's family and restore everyone to their normal state.

Gameplay:

The gameplay in this game is INCREDIBLE! WOW! I went into this game expecting an unpolished and lackluster game, but What I got was truly the opposite. The controls are nice and simple, very basic. Use the stylus to roll pacman around. Hold the stylus on pacman to make to brake. Slide the stylus and hold it near the perimeter of the touch screen to give pacman a boost. The game is split up into 6 worlds, for a total of 21 levels, with an additional unlockable world. The main object is to just get enough dots in the level to complete it, but completists will want to collect every dot, as well as find all the hidden jewels. There are a total of 128 jewels, so it will keep you busy for a while. Once you have done that, you can go through the levels again under time attack, or challenge. Time attack is BRUTAL! I can only get bronze, and that's on the first level! really hard! Challenge has you doing a bunch of various things. Collect all the dots, eat so many ghosts, or avoid both entirely, all in a certain time limit. These 2 modes are a great addition, as the level layout for both differs from the main story layout. The best part of all though, is the original pacman, as an unlockable! Wasn't expecting that :P

I give the gameplay: 9.5/10

Graphics:

The graphics take on a view similar to pacmania, only with a n64ish feel to them. Overall they look ok, but nothing fancy. The graphics are not what make this game great however.

I give the graphics: 7/10

Sound:

The music in the game is beautiful. Namco always has produced great tunes. The sound effects are the ones you already know and love, from the beep collecting  dots, to eating fruit. The only thing this game could go without. VOICES! WHY OH WHY DOES PACMAN HAVE A VOICE! It's not even like he speaks, it's just grunts and squeals. A paragraph of text will be replaced with both of those instead of actual words. Very irritating

I give the sound: 8/10

Replayability:

The extra modes are a nice touch, but you may find them a chore to do after you complete the game. Bonus replayability points for having the original pacman though

I give the replayability: 7.5/10

Challenge:

This game has great challenge up to a certain level in world 5, where it just gets ridiculous. Enough to turn people off, up to that level though, and after it, the game offers steady challenge

I give the challenge: 6/10

Frustration:

Minimal frustration, EXCEPT for that one level. I'm giving it high frustration based on that level alone.

I give the frustration: 7/10

Value:

Overall, the value of this game is impressive. Although a little on the short side, It really is an enjoyable fresh-feeling experience. I picked it up for $20, well worth it.

I give the value: 8.5/10

Overall:

This game is probably the most fun I've had on my DS, right after Mario Kart. Really a unique game with tight controls, excellent music, and decent challenge, that anyone with a DS should look into.

I give Pac N Roll: 8.5/10

Conclusion:

It's Pac-Man Play it!

Written By: Nesmaster

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