Review - Pac Pix (DS)

Format: Nintendo DS
Publisher: Namco
Producer: In-house
Genre: Oddball
Origin: Japan
Reviewer: Sideath

I'll be frank. I only bought this game because there really aren't many not abysmal games for the Nintendo DS. Super Mario 64 DS and WarioWare were both defeated, and Yoshi Touch and Go was losing some of its shine. It seemed fun to draw Pac Men (is that just one word?) and see them scuttle across your DS - for around four hours.

In E3 2004, Namco did show Pac Pix on the Nintendo DS. And at the time, it looked like a tech demo - something to show off the DS's 1337 skillz. And yes, it still looks (and plays) like a tech demo - something to show off the DS's 1337 skillz.

The main game revolves around you drawing Pac-Men, then leading them about the map, munching up ghosts. The later levels (there are 12 in total) add some originality, making bumps, different enemy types, and different 'gestures' (such as drawing an arrow and a bomb). But still, the actual level doesn't really change - just an empty bottom screen and a 'road' across the top screen in which Pac Man can go across.

Pac Men, when drawn large, are slow. When drawn small, are fast. You find that your Pac Men get gradually smaller and smaller as you continue through the levels, are there become more things to bump into! But still, this is as far as the tactics go. Manipulate Pac Man by drawing lines in front of it, and he dies if he goes off the screen.

Anyway, this works fairly well, but after four hours of repeatly drawing Pac Men on the screen, it does lose some of its shine, and the bare bones of it purely being an exaggerated Tech Demo shine through.

So, yes, it is a tech demo, but a competent one.

Six out of ten