Pac-Man isn't that bad

[Skud]

I bought a 2600 a couple of days ago, I became interested in the system after reading about how Pac-Man for the 2600 was a major contributor to a video game crash in the 80s because it was such a bad game.

 

I admit the ghost/monster flicker is pretty bad, but apart from that I think it's a really sweet game. I'm playing on a newer model CRT TV, flicker might not be so bad on an older model?

 

It bears little resemblance to the arcade though, is that why people think it sucks?

Edited October 6, 2012 by Skud

[Necron99]

I think people were expecting the arcade game at home and were really disappointed to get a poorly done remake that flickers. your right though, it isn't the worst game but it definitely could have been improved on....and has on AA a few times!

[AAirhart]

Wasn't really close to the arcade at all. Sounds weren't even close, maze wasn't close, tunnel in the wrong place...and that flickering. The 800 and 5200 versions weren't too bad..but for 2600 versions..Ms Pacman was superior.

[sqoon]

I got Pac Man shortly after release and never considered it sub-par. Considering it on its own merits, not comparing it to arcade or other home ports, is the key. The 2600 version is fun and challenging in its own right.

[totengott]

I cant complain about it...i liked it

[AAirhart]

I can understand the disappointment from people at the time who were used to playing it in the arcades. The games are not comparable.

[akator]

At the time people complained that the mazes weren't the same, flickering was a problem, and the sound effects were weak. Most of that could be overlooked, because those same issues were common with many 2600 arcade ports.

 

For many, the biggest turn off was the colors. Most 2600 arcade ports at least got some of the colors right, or as close as possible given the 2600's capabilities, but with 2600 Pac-Man the colors were completely wrong.

 

As mentioned previously, there are several 2600 Pac-Man hacks and revisions in these forums that fix most complaints. If any of these had been applied to the original release, especially the color corrections, I suspect people would remember it more fondly and rank it as one of the greatest 2600 games.

 

There also appears to be a general consensus here on Atari Age that blaming 2600 Pac-Man for the crash is hyperbole. It was a profitable game for Atari, but history has been rewritten to claim that it was a disaster because the myth is more interesting than the truth.

[Cynicaster]

The hit detection is was ruins the 2600 game. You just *nick* a ghost and you die. The arcade allowed you to rub shoulders with the ghosts, which made for some great tension.

[AAirhart]

The game definitely sold.. I have at least 100 copies of it..if not more. Also a few with later dates on the labels. The game was a huge disappointment..but the only alternative at the time was to buy the arcade machine.

[davyK]

In the day I thought it was OK...I wasn't really all that keen on arcade Pacman back then. The cart was nowhere near the disappointment that the vanishing ship in Defender was (although I played it to death!)

Edited October 6, 2012 by davyK

[Unbeliever]

Well, I remember getting this...and I loved it. Now, I knew very well that it wasn't even close to the arcade version, and Ms. Pac-man blew it away shortly after that, but I wouldn't be without one for my rather meager 2600 collection, and I look fondly on the box/artwork as well. It's just a game I personally have to have in my collection, with a spare loose copy to play. It gets some good attention when I go through my "rounds" of Atari gaming.

 

The hit detection, as stated, is aweful. One little scratch and it's game over, Pac buddy. Makes it more challenging, however. I have several version of Pac-man, and love them all, but Pac-man for the 2600 holds a special place in my collection and still gets played today.

[AAirhart]

I still prefer a walk to the garage

 

But my son seems to enjoy the 2600 version. ok...that's Ms Pac..guess he doesn't like it either

[high voltage]

I liked it a lot, played it for hours on end, but then I never played the arcade version, so I couldn't compare the two.

 

Pac-Man was a huge seller for Atari.

 

As for being a major contributor to the crash....that is utter rubbish, the crash was in 84, Pac-Man was released April 82.

 

Some idiots put this about years ago, and it seems to be internet folklore nowadays. But that's all it is.

Edited October 6, 2012 by high voltage

[sqoon]

I still prefer a walk to the garage

 

But my son seems to enjoy the 2600 version. ok...that's Ms Pac..guess he doesn't like it either

 

That kid is in a diaper and understands how to make Ms Pac move around the maze? Astonishing....

[AAirhart]

I have taught him well.

[Armonigann]

Obviously not, he's holding the joystick sideways.

[IHATETHEBEARS]

I think people were expecting the arcade game at home and were really disappointed to get a poorly done remake that flickers. your right though, it isn't the worst game but it definitely could have been improved on....and has on AA a few times!

 

This is pretty much it. I remember getting the game when it first came out and driving back home in my grandparents' car, anxiously anticipating getting home and trying it out. To say it was a disappointment was an understatement. But I played it a lot nonetheless. And soon I mastered it and could play it to 100,000 before simply quitting.

 

Had there been no arcade version to compare it to, I probably would have thought a lot more highly of this game.

[sqoon]

Something I have always wondered about with VCS Pac Man, is what did Namco think about Atari's translation? Obviously, it was Pac Man in name only, and was Namco OK with that?

 

As for the 'it wasn't like the arcade' people, tell me that kept you from playing and liking titles like Donkey Kong, Battlezone, or Zaxxon.

[AAirhart]

Obviously not, he's holding the joystick sideways.

gangsta style

[+nanochess]

Wasn't really close to the arcade at all. Sounds weren't even close, maze wasn't close, tunnel in the wrong place...and that flickering. The 800 and 5200 versions weren't too bad..but for 2600 versions..Ms Pacman was superior.

You're right. Ms Pacman was clearly superior and even fun.

 

Every time I put Pac-Man on my Atari 2600 I cannot understand how Atari could leave it out the door without polishing it a little more!

[Gregory DG]

I liked 2600 Pac-Man back in the day... Wrote an article about it...

[Dauber]

Thing is, I played the HELL out of the 2600 version of Pac-Man...because as a 9-year-old whose parents would rarely take him to the arcade, that's all I had. (BTW, the tunnels being on the wrong parts of the maze -- that's because the basic design of the maze was actually rotated 90 degrees. That's also why the ghosts come out of the side of the pen rather than the top.)

 

Collision detection, yeah, that was pretty damn strict...but it added more to the strategy, don'tcha think? I love the marketing verbiage that Atari came out with saying that you could surprise your friends at the arcade by being good at Pac-Man because you've been practicing at home! HA!! Yeah, different strategy! You could still come up with maze patterns, though.

 

Don't like the colors? Flip the "TV Type" switch to B/W. (Can't do that on my 7800, obviously. ) Trust me, it'll look WAY cooler.

 

I also think the scoring makes more sense. Yeah, it's all arcade score divided by 10...but that's the point. Every score on the arcade version -- including Super, Ms., Jr., and Plus -- was a multiple of 10, meaning there was that unchanging 0 in the 1's column, so it was pretty useless when you think of it.

[fiddlepaddle]

Obviously not, he's holding the joystick sideways.

 

That's because everything including the chair and TV are glued to the wall.

[Velvis]

To those saying that Atari Pacman had nothing to do with the crash because it came out in 82 and the crash happened later, you need to remember that part of the backlash was from people who dropped $35, $40, $45, $50 on cartridges that sucked. I would imagine dropping that kind of money back then (even now) and getting burned on crappy games, you are FAR less likely to do it again. Be honest there are a ton of horrible 2600 games. Back then you didn't have the resources to be able to read instantaneous reviews, there were a couple of magazines that would either be "fluff" reviews because they were advertisers and/or available months after the release. How many times are you going to buy games that suck? I also think its safe to assume that buying a top tier title (Pacman) from the premier software company and make of the console (Atari), you might feel safe throwing your money at a game sight unseen. To be burned by Atari Pacman hurts even more, than a noname game from a no-name company. Something was expected and it was far from delivered.

 

Pacman for Atari was awful. Even if you can remove it from the arcade version. It's still awful. The sounds (BONK, BONK, BONK), the colors, the graphics (the chopping pacman animation is awful). But with that said it was sold as "Pacman" which makes the whole debacle even worse.

 

Personally I think its the definition of a "Cashgrab" and it came back to bite Atari in the arse.

 

I was 11 when it came out and I distinctly remember finding Atari Pacman in a video store. I asked the salesman to hold me a copy and he said he could "only for 2 hours." I raced back home on my bike to convince my parents to drive me there and spend their ~$40 or so bucks to get it for me. (and $40 for us was a decent amount of cash for a videogame back then.)

 

Even with my 11 year old-strongest rose colored "Atari" glasses, I knew instantly Atari Pacman was a turd of a game. It was such a let down and disappointment. I am sure if I was a few years older to understand how it was a cashgrab by Atari and/or I spent my own money I would have been pissed.

 

Just my two cents.

Edited October 7, 2012 by Velvis

[Cebus Capucinis]

Mm, yeah, no, it actually is pretty bad. Try Pac-Man 4K and see!