Reviewed: September 6, 2002
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
Namco
Developer
Mass Media
Released: September 3, 2002
Genre: Party
Players: 4
ESRB: Everyone
6
7
6
7
6.8
Supported Features
Back in 1983 I was that jerk in the arcade that would monopolize the Pac-Mac machine for hours on end keeping others from playing it and the arcade owners from making any money. I’d insert my token and play that game for hours, and in the end I had memorized all the patterns and could hit that 3-million mark to shutdown the game until the attendant reset the machine. Yes, that was a summer wasted.
Pac-Man games are still around only now they are of the 3D variety. I spent many the carefree hour playing Pac-Man World on the PSX and with Pac Man World 2 coming to the Xbox I will probably lose even more of my life to that incessantly happy yellow circle, err…sphere. When Pac-Man Fever arrived for my GameCube I had no idea what to expect. I hadn’t been following this particular title and in all honesty I thought it was the standard maze/adventure fare we’ve seen in previous games. What a surprise!
Pac-Man Fever in actuality is a board game for up to four players. If you are short a few humans the computer will fill in nicely with some pretty good AI opponents. The core of the game is a giant living game board that is based on one of three possible themes like Medieval, Space, and Tropical, all designed as Hollywood movies sets. These themes dictate the visuals of the game board and also the selection of mini-games that will be randomized for that game session.
Games like Pac-Man Fever have been done before. One of my all-time favorite board games (and one of the few reasons I kept my 3DO for as long as I did) was a game called Twisted that had humans progressing through a spiral board landing on squares and participating in various challenges. More recently (and also one of my favorites) is Chef’s Love Shack for the Dreamcast which pits the kids of South Park on a game show full of mini-games and challenges, many of which reappear in unique variations in Pac-Man Fever.
Gameplay is simple stuff. Enter your name and pick your avatar (game character) that will represent you on the game board. My first complaint is the lack of characters to choose from. With four players required to play at all times the six characters offered lose their charm after a few games. Despite the game being called “Pac-Man” Fever, you will be able to play characters from Ridge Racer, Soul Calibur, and Tekken. With all of the characters available in past and present Namco titles I can think of dozens of characters they could have offered.You then pick the game length, which ranges from short (20-30min), normal, (45min), long (60min). Since four players are playing at all times the game length is pretty consistent. Even when computer controller players are playing you still have to watch.
Once the game starts you start moving along the colorful game board. There are no dice in Pac-Man Fever. Instead, you all compete in a mini-game, and depending on how you place you get to move 1-5 spaces on the board. Each space has various rewards or penalties. Some allow you to advance, some send you back, others spark one-on-one challenges, and others are bonus games to earn additional coins.
The core of Pac-Man Fever is the mini-games. There are over 30 in all with a set of core games available for any board and 8-9 board-specific games available depending on the theme you chose when setting up your game. Some games are the same with variations on the theme like hitting baseballs in space or hitting them in a castle.
All of the games are quite fun and vary in challenge level. There is a top-down racing game where you collect various fruit, plenty of variations of Hungry Hippo, a dart toss, bowling, a fishing game, a sprint race complete with hurdles, and so many more. Most of these are button mashers with only a few actually requiring any thought or strategy. A few games are actually team based, pitting two players against the other two with the reward being equally split.
In fact, lack of strategy is my only real complaint in this game. Since your character can only go up to five spaces on any given move it would be nice to see what those next five spaces are before participating in the next mini-game. Since your fate is not as random as a dice toss, it is feasible to actually plan on which space to land on by doing well (or poorly) in the mini-game, thus adjusting the number of spaces you move. As it is, if you are very observant, you might catch a quick glimpse of upcoming spaces when watching other players move during the previous turn.
While dictating your fate is fairly random you can pick and choose the players you “pick on” during the game. You can steal their tokens, challenge them to mini-games, or send them back along the board. I was impressed at the level of intelligence the computer seemed to exhibit in its choices. It showed no prejudice to human or other computer players. When stealing half of a player’s tokens it always went with the one who had the most. When challenging a player to a one-on-one mini-game it always picked the player with the fewest tokens. If a player got too far ahead they would send them back.
In the end, Pac-Man Fever is a race to the finish, but to win this race you need to perfect your skills at these games. Placing higher in these games moves you further faster and earns you valuable coins you can spend when you land in the Store space. Items available for purchase are much like cards you would draw in a conventional board game. You can purchase “move ahead” cards for yourself of “retreat” cards for your opponent. You can also buy raffle tickets, which come into play near the end of the game.
When you reach the end of the board there are four spaces with fruit raffles. Each raffle takes place once and it randomly picks one of the four players. If that player has previously purchase raffle tickets for that fruit you get additional tokens. When the game is finally over you get to spend these tokens and unlock the various mini-games allowing you to play them in their stand-alone mode in the Mini-Game menu. This is where it would have been cool to unlock/purchase additional Namco characters to play in the main game.
Pacing can be a bit laborious at times. You can’t skip the animations of characters moving along the board and you are forced to watch the computer players when they challenge each other or do the Token Bounce challenge.
Getting to the finish line first isn’t always about speed. The last few spaces act as filters that only allow you to proceed when placing in certain ranks (3rd, 2nd, 1st) during the mini-games. To actually get off the final space you have to place first in that round’s mini-game. So it’s quite easy to get to the end and get stuck if you hit a rash of games you aren’t that good at.
The opening pre-rendered movie is really good and introduces the various contestants. This is by far the most colorful game I have ever played on my GameCube. The colors are rich and vibrant almost to the point of over saturation. The game boards are rendered in full 3D allowing for the camera to move around in real-time catching the “action” from various angles. The spaces all have easily distinguishable icons so you know what to expect even before your character lands on his destination.
There is plenty of scenery to match the theme of the chosen board, both in painted backdrops and 3D construction surrounding the actual path of the board. You will often see the famous Pac-Man ghosts floating around in various outfits suited to the level.
The characters are exaggerated from their game origins, but are delightful in both appearance and animation. They each have their own unique walk and idle animations. Astaroth has a swagger as he lumbers across the board wielding his giant axe, while Tiger gets down with his ghetto pimp stride. Characters will even politely step aside as other pass them.
The mini-games share the same level of colorfulness and style. Some games are simple like the 2D dart toss while others are 3D and full of special effects like the air hockey type game in space or the Tron-like disc combat.
The overall presentation of the game is straightforward and accessible to adults and kids of all ages. The menus are easy to navigate and there are helpful status screens at the end of each round that shows each player and their location on the top-view of the game board.
The music is an upbeat variation of the Pac-Man theme and even though it does get repetitious it never seems to get annoying. Special effects are all done very well but are often washed out by the music. None of the characters have any dialog so there is no speech to be heard of. Bottom line is that the sound and music are perfect for the game it supports but doesn’t really excel in quality or content.
Pac-Man Fever is a board game and as such can be played and enjoyed until you are tired of it. It’s conceivable to unlock all of the mini-games in just a few trips through the main game – fewer if you have multiple human players for all these games. Adults and teens will probably tire of this title quicker than the younger crowd, but it will still delight anyone who plays it whenever they play it.
Pac-Man Fever is one of those games you will want to have on hand when friends come over and you need some good multiplayer rivalry. If you have a large family this is a great diversion for the kids and even the parents, and will keep them occupied for countless hours.
Admittedly, the game is lacking in both scope and variety for any type of serious sustained gameplay. When Nintendo releases Mario Party 4 later this year Fever will probably slip into the bargain bin, but until then you won’t find a more fun or enchanting party title than Pac-Man Fever for your GameCube.