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Pac-Man Championship Edition DX |OT| XBLA & PSN ... 'Modern classic' to say the least

WEGGLES

Member
shidoshi said:
I apologize if I'm reading this totally wrong, but are you saying that high scores were meaningless in a game like Pac-Man CE?
Not at all. Hence the quotes.

It was more to point out calling achievements dumb, and that high score matters is kind-of iffy as they are both 'meaningless' in the same way.

Obviously a high score is worth more, but to say one is completely dumb and the other super important seems odd.
 

RobbieNick

Junior Member
My God! This game is insanely fun. I've always been an old-school Pac-Man fan, but these Championship editions. Gobbling up a super-long ghost train is one of the most satisfying feelings I've ever felt in a game.
 

xbhaskarx

Member
Shig said:
The clock still moves at normal speed during it, so if you're doing it a lot it's gonna sabotage your ability to hang with the highest scores. Ditto for bombs, they halve your multiplier and put your speed down. The risk/reward system is tuned really well in this.

Aah, that makes sense.

saelz8 said:
Slowdown effect is NOT GOOD.

My only gripe with the game so far. Slowdown should be disabled on Expert.

This game is about leaderboard scores and there is a penalty for both bombs and slowdown, so it's not a problem.
 

Red

Member
RobbieNick said:
My God! This game is insanely fun. I've always been an old-school Pac-Man fan, but these Championship editions. Gobbling up a super-long ghost train is one of the most satisfying feelings I've ever felt in a game.
84 ghosts is my record. Gotta work on that.

My highest leaderboard score right now is 10 minute survival mode on Championship II. I'm 303 or something.

What a great game.

Tetris could do with a reboot like this.
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
Yay

au59S.jpg
 

epmode

Member
xbhaskarx said:
This game is about leaderboard scores and there is a penalty for both bombs and slowdown, so it's not a problem.
I don't think he's getting at that, though.

It's very possible to get slowdown even if heading right at that ghost is part of your plan and you'll be able to dodge in time. So you're actually penalized for a clever close call.

I haven't played enough to know how common this is in practice but it's definitely happened once or twice already.
 

Red

Member
epmode said:
I don't think he's getting at that, though.

It's very possible to get slowdown even if heading right at that ghost is part of your plan and you'll be able to dodge in time. So you're actually penalized for a clever close call.

I haven't played enough to know how common this is in practice but it's definitely happened once or twice already.
I'm not going to claim to be an expert or anything, but it seems to me that a high score is more dependent on maneuvering through huge chains of ghosts than it is managing tenths of seconds.
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
Crunched said:
I'm not going to claim to be an expert or anything, but it seems to me that a high score is more dependent on maneuvering through huge chains of ghosts than it is managing tenths of seconds.

I'm gonna have to agree with this. Time was a big factor in the other CE since one of the main strategies was to get to the 6 pellet board as quick as possible. I think there's a lot more things to worry about than accidental slow down effect. It's actually saved my ass a bunch of times so I see it as a benefit. The skill here IMO is to avoid using bombs at any cost.

I keep forgetting that back button serves as a quick restart. Instinct tells me to press start and go through the menus to restart the game...
 
Got my 800 msp rebate. Finished dinner and done watching a college hoops game I could not miss. DL'd the game earlier.

Sitting down now to dig in....
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
Shig said:
#1 on Junction, and by a nice margin too (+200k)! I'm sure it won't last, though.

DSC01243.jpg


The clock still moves at normal speed during it, so if you're doing it a lot it's gonna sabotage your ability to hang with the highest scores. Ditto for bombs, they halve your multiplier and put your speed down. The risk/reward system is tuned really well in this.


I'm right behind you on this leaderboard. I will beat it sometime tonight... :)

Btw

tINnY.jpg


PAC-MAN CE D-PAD DEFENSE FORCE!
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
MyEpitomeCliché said:
200/200 complete. Now, on to conquering the leaderboards. Love this game. Ghost Train buffet!

Is the maze visual achievement earned by just playing on each visual? For some reason I thought you'd have to play each maze with each visual, which would take a long time
 

Red

Member
Wario64 said:
Is the maze visual achievement earned by just playing on each visual? For some reason I thought you'd have to play each maze with each visual, which would take a long time
Yeah, just play A-H. You can mix and match (they don't all have to be on the same board).
 

vixlar

Member
Wario 64, is that a portable drum kit?

If so, the company that makes it should sell it as stand alone controller. It is so sexy. Too bad it doesn't have L&R.
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
vixlar said:
Wario 64, is that a portable drum kit?

If so, the company that makes it should sell it as stand alone controller. It is so sexy. Too bad it doesn't have L&R.

Yeah it is. Amazon had it for $10 a month or two ago. No triggers does suck but fortunately DX is still playable without them. Kinda limits the number of other games you can play though without the triggers


Madcatz makes it btw. I'm surprised they haven't exploited the controller.
 

WEGGLES

Member
Wario64 said:
Is the maze visual achievement earned by just playing on each visual? For some reason I thought you'd have to play each maze with each visual, which would take a long time
Just use each one once.

Best bet to clear it out quick is to do the first time trial over and over.
 
Yeesh I'm at the top of Junction again...for now.

Good lord it's like some kind of meta-game. I gotta keep switching modes and push myself until I hit the top spot.

All it takes is five minutes though..and I'm knocked off the mountain.

Starting to get friend requests :lol
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
Damn, I'm working on Junction right now. It's a GAF attack on this level.


My friends list is full, good thing cause I'd be annoyed with requests from random people
 

Adam Prime

hates soccer, is Mexican
Is this going to be a 'PSN' or a 'Minis' release on PS3...? Because I heard that it was going to be a PSP, but that's kind of confusing. Because you have:

PSP PSN games - Only playable on PSP

PSP/PS3 Mini games - Playable on both, don't have Trophies, are cheaper.

PS3 PSN games - Only playable on PS3, these have Trophies


... So which category is this game going to under? Is it going to be BOTH a separate PSP PSN and PS3 PSN release?
 

andymcc

Banned
PepsimanVsJoe said:
Yeesh I'm at the top of Junction again...for now.

Good lord it's like some kind of meta-game. I gotta keep switching modes and push myself until I hit the top spot.

All it takes is five minutes though..and I'm knocked off the mountain.

Starting to get friend requests :lol
I requested you, you asshole. :(
 
andymcc said:
I requested you, you asshole. :(

For serious?
Sorry 'bout that. Send me another request next chance you get.

I'm taking a well deserved break. I've got bigger problems right now(like my car's radiator)
 

pj

Banned
Got to #5 on championship II 10min. I'll probably be knocked down to #25 by the time I wake up tomorrow...
 
Adam Prime said:
Is this going to be a 'PSN' or a 'Minis' release on PS3...? Because I heard that it was going to be a PSP, but that's kind of confusing. Because you have:

PSP PSN games - Only playable on PSP

PSP/PS3 Mini games - Playable on both, don't have Trophies, are cheaper.

PS3 PSN games - Only playable on PS3, these have Trophies


... So which category is this game going to under? Is it going to be BOTH a separate PSP PSN and PS3 PSN release?

Minis game is a port of the original and has been in limbo since it was announced.
 
this game is fucking awesome. so so addictive. any tips though/ should i just round up pacman and get a huge congo line for as long as i can before i grab a power pellet?
 

SpacLock

Member
I'm now #16 in Championship II, but I plan on being in the top ten in a few. You guys need to compete on this board with me! We need more GAF representing on Championship II!
 

mollipen

Member
WEGGLES said:
Not at all. Hence the quotes.

It was more to point out calling achievements dumb, and that high score matters is kind-of iffy as they are both 'meaningless' in the same way.

Obviously a high score is worth more, but to say one is completely dumb and the other super important seems odd.

The problem is, achievements in Pac-Man CE were completely dumb, and high scores and leaderboards were super important.


Just played my first two games of DX, and... WTF. This game is utterly brain-breaking. Just like you had to learn how to really place CE, same is going to happen here. I have no clue how to begin coming up with real patterns/strategies yet, but I will. And to be honest, I'm just as excited for the fact that it seems like the original Championship board is in here, because that'll mean we can get runs for CE with real replays finally.

Well, I'll be excited if that board's main style of play doesn't include the upgrades, or if there's a way to have leaderboards for that stage in "classic" mode. Not that I'm not liking the new additions, though. I'm not sure what is more surprising: that they put bullet time in my Pac-Man CE, or that it worked so damn beautifully.

Edit: After playing for a bit more, not sure what to think yet. I think this is going to be a great game, but I don't know that it will be the utter classic CE was. CE just had this brilliant simplicity to it, and I'm wondering if DX has a little too much going on in it. Obviously I'm nowhere near the point to make an actual judgement yet, though, and it isn't like DX has forced CE off the market or anything. Just wondering at this point if I'm going to like it anywhere near as much as I loved CE.
 

Daigoro

Member
arg! i only got to play for 2 hrs yesterday before bed and i have 8 hrs of work to sit through before i get to go home and play again. im hooked!


so are the leaderboard on the short courses totally fucked already? i saw a few people on Championship II with a really low combined time for all short courses. maybe im missing something but some of those time seem wayyyyy low.
 

Sp3eD

0G M3mbeR
Played this tons today and really love it. One of the top games of the year for me.

However, the one thing I don't like is the bombs. They are completely pointless. They might as well just throw all my extra lives into the bomb count as it's almost impossible to die with that crutch.

There only real use I could see is in Time Trail where you can ram through a ghost hoard to get to the final apple.
 
shidoshi said:
The problem is, achievements in Pac-Man CE were completely dumb, and high scores and leaderboards were super important.


Just played my first two games of DX, and... WTF. This game is utterly brain-breaking. Just like you had to learn how to really place CE, same is going to happen here. I have no clue how to begin coming up with real patterns/strategies yet, but I will. And to be honest, I'm just as excited for the fact that it seems like the original Championship board is in here, because that'll mean we can get runs for CE with real replays finally.

Well, I'll be excited if that board's main style of play doesn't include the upgrades, or if there's a way to have leaderboards for that stage in "classic" mode. Not that I'm not liking the new additions, though. I'm not sure what is more surprising: that they put bullet time in my Pac-Man CE, or that it worked so damn beautifully.

Edit: After playing for a bit more, not sure what to think yet. I think this is going to be a great game, but I don't know that it will be the utter classic CE was. CE just had this brilliant simplicity to it, and I'm wondering if DX has a little too much going on in it. Obviously I'm nowhere near the point to make an actual judgement yet, though, and it isn't like DX has forced CE off the market or anything. Just wondering at this point if I'm going to like it anywhere near as much as I loved CE.

Been playing for the past 3 hours (mostly Champ II) and I have to say ... I agree.

There was an elegance to CE, and the thing about it was that it really built on the essence of Pac-Man but with a dual layer of extra challenge built in (time limit + setting up ghost combos). There's so much happening in DX that I'm sometimes left floundering for what to do next. It's not really anything to do with the graphics or sound, but with the FLOW of the thing. CE had flow, in spades.

The thing about DX is, it has flow, but I'm struck by how much it (seemingly) depends on PURE memorization. The patterns seem to appear more slowly than in CE, meaning that I'm already inside the next pattern just as it appears. If you don't have your next path memorized, you can take a wrong turn and run into a sleeping ghost or just generally fuck up your patterns for that side. And the live ghosts just ... follow you. They don't break out into individual patterns/personalities - which is a hallmark of Pac-Man gameplay and was carried over into CE.

I don't know exactly how to describe it. It seems like a bonus round rather than the clever of extension of the original game that CE was. It seems more one dimensional. Shidoshi - I know you've played a lot of CE. Do you agree with any of this? I'd be curious to see what other CE players think, too.

That said, I've only really played two courses. And I love the replays - should have been in the first game. Probably the best addition is the rank system. It's essentially a dynamic achievement system. As the community gets better, the ranks will be harder to obtain and maintain. Brilliant.

Speaking of achievements, you guys were right - they are too easy. I got five in my very first go round, three more in the next and had all 12 within an hour of turning it on. They were easy to get in CE but not THAT easy.
 

Nintaiyo

Member
Being able to double-tap "Select" to restart is great, but I've done it so many times on accident out of frustration. :lol
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
saelz8 said:
Slowdown effect is NOT GOOD.

My only gripe with the game so far. Slowdown should be disabled on Expert.
but the modes are geared at score chasing in time. Getting the slow down probably means you have screwed up your flow and are going to be punished with a points cap.
 

SpacLock

Member
catfish said:
but the modes are geared at score chasing in time. Getting the slow down probably means you have screwed up your flow and are going to be punished with a points cap.

Slowing down can effect your score by hundreds of thousands. If there wasn't a slow down when you're at max speed flying around toward sleeping ghosts, then you'd be toast my friend. If there wasn't sleeping ghosts on the puzzles then I'd agree, but I think it works out perfectly.
 
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