Pac-Man for a New Generation

A champion was crowned this week at the first ever Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championships.

At the end of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the first ever Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championships in New York City Tuesday, 27-year-old Carlos Daniel Borrego from Pachuca, Mexico was crowned world champion by achieving the top score of 222,160 in the final match.

"It feels great to be the first-ever Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Champion," Borrego said. "It is a thrill to hold the title and to have won it by playing on the new game. This is amazing, and I want to dedicate it to my family and Mexico!"

The new game Borrego speaks of is none other than Namco Bandai's latest installment in their storied Pac-Man franchise, which first ignited a firestorm of video game addiction way back in 1980 when arcade games were still in their relative infancy. But unlike previous Pac-Man games that have been ported and re-ported on nearly every console system imaginable, this brand new re-invention of the original promises to be the first time that the enigmatic Pac-Man and his ghost adversaries will run along a set of never-before-seen mazes.

Titled Pac-Man Championship Edition, this brand new Xbox 360 game has been made available on Xbox Live Arcade starting today. In addition to revamping the look and feel of Pac-Man through graphics in HD resolution, the game will also feature six new game modes:

Championship Mode: The same exact mode used to determine who would win both the Pac-Man World Championship and all of those delicious Quiznos subs.

Challenge Mode 1 (Patience and Reward Course): Gamers will be challenged by Patience mazes, which contain less power pellets, and Reward mazes, which contain more.

Challenge Mode 2 (The Darkness Course): Pac-Man is nearsighted! Only the surrounding areas around Pac-Man and his enemies become visible in this mode, as the entire rest of the map has been completely shrouded in darkness.

Extra Mode 1 (The Freeway Course): This mode features absolutely insane speeds for out-of-control action, but plenty of straightaways in the tunnels.

Extra Mode 2 (The Manhattan Course): These mazes have been inspired by the streets of Manhattan, to commemorate the location of the first Pac-Man World Championship.

Extra Mode 3 (The Overall Course): This mode gives you 10 minutes to run through all of the combined special game modes.

Of course, the game also features the usual bells and whistles of Xbox Live Arcade titles, including leaderboards and achievements.

Pac-Man Championship Edition can be purchased, starting Tuesday, for 800 Microsoft Points.

For more computer gaming news, visit GamePro. Story copyright © 2007 IDG Entertainment. All rights reserved.

Related Links:

• Go back to category Games to read more reviews and articles.
• Go back to Software Magazine's main page.