Page 30 - OSG Presents Classic Gamer Magazine #8

The Atari 2600 version's orange-and-blue maze, comprised of large dashes instead of small dots, is
the most obvious change from the arcade original. White ghosts flicker in and out of view, and the
fruit has been replaced by a rectangular "vitamin." From the protagonist's blocky appearance to a
chomping sound that's reminiscent of a thick rubber band being plucked, this isn't a Pac-Man you'll
soon forget. It's hard to pin down what's the most troubling aspect of the game: the garish look, the
irritating audio, or the loose controls. The eight included variants all influence the speed of Pac-Man
and the ghosts rather than add new ways to play. While the strength of the Pac-Man license made it
the best-selling cartridge on the console, the final numbers fell well below Atari's projections.

Considering the time of its release, the Atari 5200 version of Pac-Man is an excellent conversion of
the arcade game, with relatively close sound effects, intermission sequences, and color ghosts
(though their eyes are black and Inky is green instead of light blue). The maze has the same layout
as in the arcade, but with more horizontal space and a reduced vertical height, resulting in 16
additional dots to eat over the original's 240. It is also a bit more challenging than the coin-op game,
primarily due to a faster starting speed. Yet the biggest part of the challenge is taming the loose
controller, which can't handle the quick, precise movements required at higher levels. Note: The
Atari 8-bit computer versions of Pac-Man are identical to the 5200 version.

Though not as visually impressive as the 5200 version, Pac-Man on Intellivision is a solid port of
the dot-munching original, with bright, colorful graphics, intermission sequences, and the same
ghost-dodging gameplay you know and love. Easily the most noticeable change is the maze's smaller
size and revised layout (only 115 dots compared to the arcade's 240). Like the Atari 5200 version,
the four ghosts have black eyes and Inky is the wrong shade. In addition, the score is displayed on
the right margin instead of above the maze. The controls are surprisingly responsive, though Pac-
Man pros will find the challenge lacking.

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