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Pac-Man

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic (by 6 people)   Your rating: 1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic

Ranked #288 in Games, #8327 overall

Rated G. (Control what you see)

Pac-Man Appreciation

 

Pac-Man was a video game character conceptualized in the the late 1970s by game developer Toru Iwatani. A portion of Pac-Man's design inspiration came from the sight of a pizza missing a slice.

Pac-Man Basics... 

The video game involves a yellow circular character with a rapidly opening and closing mouth, as the player guides it through a maze, eating pellets and avoiding the four colored ghosts (Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde) that wander around. Four larger "Power Pellets," sometimes called "Energizers" or "Power Pills" exist in the four corners of the maze. When eaten, the four ghosts flash blue, and Pac-Man is able to eat them - turning them into a pair of wandering eyes that make their way back to the center square, and re-form into ghosts. The maze can be exited on the left or right side, resulting in Pac-Man (or a ghost)'s re-entry to the opposite side. Bonus point fruit items appear on occasion, and add significantly to the player's score once eaten. A level is complete when all of the dots on the screen are completely eaten.

The video game was later ported to home console, PC, and portable systems from Atari, to Nintendo, and Sega. It also had several variants, such as Ms. Pac-Man and Super Pac-Man.

Pac-Man not only became an iconic video game, but also a staple in 1980s retro-cultural history. The franchise spawned hundreds of merchandising opportunities, and endless "clone" version games that were popularized both in shareware and on the internet.

Watch footage of the Pac-Man arcade game 

For being such an old and elementary game, Pac-Man still fares well to this very day. Extremely playable and hard to stay away from, it featured a very stylish, colorful playing field and an almost hypnotic handful of sound effects.

Pac-Man: the 80s Cartoon and More 

Hanna-Barbera released an animated series for Pac-Man in 1982 as a part of ABC's Saturday morning cartoon lineup. Featuring Pac-Man, Mrs. Pepper Pac-Man and Baby-Pac, the setting takes place in Pac-Land, an area inhabiting a forest full of trees that sprout power pellets. The family was constantly pestered by an evildoer named Mezmeron, who was the "boss" of the ghosts: Blinky, Pinky, Inky, Clyde and female ghost Sue (who was actually a new ghost, featured in the Ms. Pac-Man game). In each episode, the ghosts attempted to steal energizer pellets from Pac-Land, but failed, thanks to Pac-Man.

The cartoon series inspired a marketing blitz across a whole line of TV commercials: most notably, that of the Chef Boyardee line of canned pasta, and General Mills' marshmallow Pac-Man cereal.

:: Watch the intro to the 1982 Pac-Man cartoon
:: Watch the closing credits of the 1982 Pac-Man cartoon

:: Watch an Arby's commercial for Pac-Man glasses, from 1980
:: Watch the 1985 commercial for Pac-Man Cereal
:: Watch the original 1987 Chef Boyardee commercial with Pac-Man

Pac-Man variants: Ms. Pac-Man 

Pac-man's "better half" gets her own arcade game: Ms. Pac-Man, which was arguably as popular as the original series that spun it off. Very similar in nature to Pac-Man, this game featured 6 different layouts for levels. Additionally, ghosts behaved more randomly than they did in Pac-Man, and bonus point fruit moved around the playing field, rather than sitting still in a given spot.

Aside from these aesthetics, Ms. Pac-Man has a distinct pink bow, lipstick, and a Marilyn Monroe-style mole. Just like her counterpart, Ms. Pac-Man had a breakfast cereal, as well.

:: Watch the original 1982 commercial for the Ms. Pac-Man game

Pac-Man variants: Super Pac-Man 

In Super Pac-Man, gameplay was much different than in the other series. Rather than having to eat a field of dots, Super Pac-Man required you to 'unlock' wall segments with keys, and eat the fruit or objects within the walls to complete the level. Beyond your standard Power pellet, were special Super pellets which would vastly increase Pac-Man's size as he became Super Pac-Man. In this mode, he was invulnerable to ghosts and did not need keys to enter locked areas.

The arcade console for Super Pac-Man also included a big "SUPER" button. When pressed, Super Pac-Man experienced a significant speed boost.

Pac-Man variants: Pac-Mania 

In 1987, Namco released this brand new twist on the Pac-Man franchise; a "2.5D" arcade version of the game, with an interesting isometric rendering of the game field and characters. In Pac-Mania, the rules were basically the same: eat all of the pellets, avoid the ghosts, eat an Energizer to vanquish the ghosts...plus, the addition of the "jump" ability.

The game field was vastly larger, as your character was centered on the screen, and it was sometimes unclear as to where the remaining pellets were located without a little exploration. A handful of interesting stages were included - one of which appeared to be constructed of Legos. Two new ghosts were introduced, which would also jump if Pac-Man attempted to jump over them, resulting in a lost life.

Plug & Play Pac-man on your TV set! 

What a great concept! All you need is a TV - these game-filled controllers have RCA inputs that will get you playing within seconds! Officially licensed by their original developers, these handheld emulators are an incredibly good time-waster and a total blast from the past...they even accurately imitate the feel of the original joysticks that graced arcades everywhere during the golden age of arcade.

Jakks / Namco Arcade Classics Plug and Play TV Games

Plays: Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Galaxian, Rally-X, and Bosconian

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Amazon Price: (as of 07/25/2008)
List Price: $29.99

Jakks Atari Classics 10 In 1 TV Games

Plays: Gravitar, Asteroids, Real Sports Volleyball, Centipede, Adventure, Pong, Missile Command, Breakout, Yars' Revenge and Circus Atari

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Amazon Price: (as of 07/25/2008)
List Price: $19.99

Jakks Ms. Pac-Man TV Game

Plays: Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Pole Position, Mappy and Xevious

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Amazon Price: $19.79 (as of 07/25/2008)
List Price: $19.99

Activision 10 in 1 TV

Plays: Pitfall, Atlantis, River Raid, Spider Fighter, Crackpots, Freeway, Tennis, Boxing, Ice Hockey, and Grand Prix

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Amazon Price: (as of 07/25/2008)
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Jakks Super Pac-Man TV Game

Plays: Super Pac-Man, Original Pac-Man, plus four additional Pac-M

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Amazon Price: $34.99 (as of 07/25/2008)
List Price: $19.99

Pac-Man Arcade Game Consoles 

For those looking for the ultimate addition to their game room, you can't pass up a Pac-Man or Ms. Pac Man stand-up console unit! These are exact replicas of the originals - except manufactured today, and in brand new condition!

Pac-Man 25th Anniversary Arcade Game

A special 25th anniversary edition, this beloved arcade game machine features three games in one: Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga. This authentic arcade game machine delivers fun straight from the 80s! It work just like those you used to play decades ago, except you don't have to pump it full of quarters!

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Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Ms. Pac Man Upright Arcade Game

Pac-Man's better half gets her very own arcade game: experience it with this Ms. Pac Man Upright Arcade Game. In this gem from the golden age of arcade games, Ms. Pac Man gobbles up dots in a maze while avoiding the ghosts that patrol the many corridors and alleys. This essential cabinet for any arcade game fan features all of the original hardware and programming, for a true classic arcade experience in your game room or den.

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Pac-Man T-shirts 

A bunch of great retro t-shirts are available for Pac-fans:

Pac-Man - Retro Ringer Ladies T-Shirt

This pretty cool black t-shirt features a classic Pac-Man arcade marquee design centered on the chest, with red short-sleeve rims and collar.

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Pac-Man - Logo Ringer T-Shirt

Classic and simple - this white ringer with black collars displays the first Pac-Man and Ghost cartoon concepts, with the game logo above it.

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Pac-Man Fever T-shirt

Go retro with this vintage Pac-Man shirt; yellow on brown. Displays a distressed "Pac-Man Fever" with a Pac-Man logo.

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Vintage Pac-Man Ghost T-shirt

This black t-shirt features a distressed Pac-Man blue ghost on the chest.

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Pac-Man Back in the Day Hooded Sweatshirt

This brown hoodie features a classic Pac-Man and Ghost design, with the subtitle "Back in the Day..."

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Pac-Man Apparel 

Pac-Man belts, belt buckles, and more! As new stuff hits the market, it will be added here:

PAC-MAN CHASING GHOSTS BELT

It doesn't get more retro than this: this officially licenced, 100% rayon Pac-Man belt adjusts via the center clip and features a marquee of ghosts and pellets.

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Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Namco Pac-Man Ghost Belt Buckle 86-106

This officially licenced Pac-Man metal belt buckle resembles the popular "scared ghost" icon.

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Usually ships in 2-3 business days

Rare Pac-Man Interchangeable Buckle For Seatbelt Belts!

Modeled after seatbelts from the 80s, this interchangeable belt can be used in any car and features a retro Pac-Man design, stating "push my button."

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New Guestbook 

jeannine0@sbcglobal.net

there was a pacman game that use to jump over bliny pinky ect that is the name of that game . and can we download that on the computer or buy it .can you please email me back thank you

Posted July 22, 2008

Vintage Pac-Man Memorabilia 

Check out what's ending today on eBay: original Pac-Man collectibles...all of that stuff you didn't need back then, but wish you hadn't thrown away!

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