MAME ROW #97 - Pac-Man Plus

[mediamogul]

I scored higher with 25690 in half the amount of levels by taking a more aggressive approach towards eating ghosts, but the trade-off was that I spent my lives more quickly. I love a good challenge, but I think I'm gonna leave my score here and get back to learning the ins and outs of Atari's puzzle game, 'Klax'. I've really been enjoying the beautifully detailed arcade original, but find myself playing the 2600 version a lot too. Turns out, it was the very last official 2600 title to be released. It's amazing to me that a genre largely associated with the 90s is represented on hardware that was born out of the 70s. I doubt any console will ever have that kind of staying power again.

[VictimRLSH]

Just tried playing Klax on the 2600, a very good port considering the console's crippling limitations. As for Pac-Man Plus, I can't even break 10K on that. :(

[mediamogul]

@victimrlsh said in MAME ROW #97 - Pac-Man Plus:

Just tried playing Klax on the 2600, a very good port considering the console's crippling limitations.

Yeah, it's extremely anemic, but it's unbelievable they were able to work in all the complex game mechanics and have them function accurately. Another newer generation game port that didn't fare nearly as well is the 2600 version of 'Double Dragon'. When people call out 'E.T.' as being the worst game ever made, I'm quick to point out that, while it's no prize-winner, it's not even the worst game on the system.

[Fruitybit]

@mediamogul Crikey- well played! Worthy of an Oasis Extra Life:)

[thelostsoul]

@mediamogul said:

It's amazing to me that a genre largely associated with the 90s is represented on hardware that was born out of the 70s. I doubt any console will ever have that kind of staying power again.

I couldn't resist to this. The NES Classic outselled all other consoles like Switch and PS4 last month (June 2018). I know, this is not exactly the same position as 2600, but still largely same games and hardware emulated. I don't want go into detail, as it is not relative to this topic (I should play Pac Man too...).

[youxia]

@thelostsoul Well, "last month" are the key words in this news item :)

[mediamogul]

@thelostsoul said in MAME ROW #97 - Pac-Man Plus:

I couldn't resist to this. The NES Classic outselled all other consoles like Switch and PS4 last month (June 2018).

The 2600 may have had the longest development lifespan, but I'd definitely say that counts as staying power too. A friend and I were talking about the Classic outselling the current consoles last night as we were driving to pick one up. It's a great achievement and really highlights just how popular retro-gaming has become. I saw on IGN that some people don't think it should be classified as a console and are angry that it's being included in the sales metrics. I imagine these are all current-gen gamers who's fundamental belief in reality was shaken by a 30 year old console outselling the modern contenders.

[GtBFilms]

@mediamogul

That's an excellent score!

I managed to improve mine a little but no-where yours I'm afraid.

16890

[mediamogul]

@gtbfilms said in MAME ROW #97 - Pac-Man Plus:

I managed to improve mine a little but no-where yours I'm afraid.

That's still very impressive. This has to be the most brutal Pac-game out there. Speaking of which, as I mentioned above, 'Jr. Pac-Man' is my personal favorite in the series. Being a big Pac-fan yourself, which is yours? Fair warning; the only answer i won't accept is 'Professor Pac-Man'.

[VictimRLSH]

The reason why retrogaming is so huge now is that most contemporary games are some variety of 'broken'. I have a PS4, but have bought a grand total of 4 titles. I'm hoping Kingdom Hearts III 1) comes out before I die, 2) doesn't suck, and 3) isn't bogged down by stupid amounts of DLC and isn't an unplayable mess like both Star Wars Battlefront games.

It all comes down to FUN, bulls**t-free gaming. You can't get that anymore, there is just too much baggage with it.

[GtBFilms]

@mediamogul

I think my favourite is still the original. Everything after just seemed like an attempt to milk some more out of the franchise.

I hadn't heard of Pac n' Pal until the MAMEROW, and actually I really like that too, even though it probably overcomplicates the simple 'anyone can play' game mechanic.

I think nostalgia also plays a bit part. I remember PacMan in the arcades, but more than that I remember all the hand-held electronic games and home computer versions, which never quite managed to match the arcade game. Either the maze was wrong, or the ghosts weren't quite right, or I remember one handheld (Tomy) where pacman didn't actually turn round, and you had to eat the dots in a certain direction.

I think that long-running quest to be able to have a decent version of the arcade classic in the home (and the regular disappointment as efforts missed the mark) meant that now, when I can have an arcade perfect version on the PICADE under MAME, makes it a big thing for me.

I don't have the same experience with the sequel PACMAN games, as I don't remember the same level of attempts to produce an accurate home version. I guess either they weren't as big in the arcades, or home gaming had moved on to other things by then.

[mediamogul]

@gtbfilms

Sometimes nothing beats the original. Although a shadow of the arcade experience, my brother had a Nelsonic Pac-Man watch that I was very jealous of.

[obsidianspider]

MAME ROW #98 is live