Retro Game: Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures

Overview

Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures throws the maze formula out the window for a completely unique and quirky side-scrolling adventure. In this game, you don't actually control Pac-Man. Instead, you act as an unseen observer, armed with a slingshot, trying to influence the often stubborn and emotional hero to complete a series of everyday tasks that inevitably go wrong. It's a character-driven puzzle game that's unlike anything else in the franchise.

Background

Released by Namco for the Sega Genesis in 1994, this game was a bold and strange experiment. It attempted to build a world and personality for its iconic hero, giving him a family, a home, and a range of cartoonish emotions. The game's design is based heavily on interactive cartoons, where the humor comes from Pac-Man's reactions to the world and your attempts to guide him. While its indirect control scheme made it a divisive title among fans, it remains a memorable and fascinating part of gaming history for its sheer creativity.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Pac-Man 2 is entirely indirect. You control a cursor and interact with the world by "looking" at things or shooting them with a slingshot. Shooting an object might get Pac-Man's attention, while shooting Pac-Man himself can change his mood, snapping him out of a funk or making him angry. Pac-Man's mood—which can range from happy to sad to furious—directly impacts how he interacts with his environment, and solving puzzles often requires getting him into the right state of mind. The main quest involves helping him with simple errands that lead to a larger adventure against the Ghost Witch of Netor. As a fantastic bonus, players can find hidden game cartridges within the adventure that unlock a full, playable version of the original arcade classic Pac-Man and, exclusive to the Genesis version, a brand-new game called Pac-Jr.