Attention Pac-Man Haters

[phitter]

Just curious for some input – why was Pac-Man so maligned? I know it did not look much like the arcade version but what did people expect?

 

Personally, all I ever expected was that the Atari VCS version of an arcade game would resemble the arcade game, not that I would be tricked into thinking that I was playing the arcade version in my family room.

 

Pac-Man does not make my top ten but I thought it was a pretty good game back then and I logged innumerable hours playing it.

 

-phitter

[Atariboy2600]

Just curious for some input why was Pac-Man so maligned? I know it did not look much like the arcade version but what did people expect?

 

Personally, all I ever expected was that the Atari VCS version of an arcade game would resemble the arcade game, not that I would be tricked into thinking that I was playing the arcade version in my family room.

 

Pac-Man does not make my top ten but I thought it was a pretty good game back then and I logged innumerable hours playing it.

 

-phitter

 

And you think that crasy look at this,

 

The best-selling Atari 2600 games that have sold more than one million copies worldwide.

 

* Pac-Man (7 million)

* Space Invaders (6 million)

* Pitfall! (4 million)

[Lord Thag]

Well, part of the problem is retroactive. With games like Ms Pac and Jr Pac, and hacks like Pac Man Arcade and Hack 'em, it's obviousl that the original game is a slapped together mess. That being said, I usued to play it often back in the day. I never loved it (and felt it was a slapped together mess even then), but it still was decent fun occasionally. I'd give it a three out of five.

[Dauber]

I'm on record as saying that I loved (and possibly STILL love) the VCS Pac-Man, but even when it came out, I wondered:

 

- why they didn't even TRY to match the color scheme of the arcade;

 

- why there was a rectangle instead of a fruit/Galaxian man/etc. (I understand NOW, of course...)

 

- why the scoring was arcade divided by ten (which actually makes MORE sense -- notice how it is impossible in the arcade version to have a ones digit of anything but zero)

 

- why the sounds didn't attempt to sound remotely like those of the arcade

 

- why the tunnel was moved to the top and bottom of the screen

 

- why the ghosts were interchangeable

 

- why games 2 and 6 were the same (is there a hack available that makes game 2 play as it's documented?)

 

But you know what? I personally loved it and played the snot out of it.

Edited September 19, 2007 by Dauber

[Christophero Sly]

A lack of visual fidelity to the arcade is the least of this game's problems. It's the gameplay and technical shortcomings that really drag it down. By all apperances it is a perfunctory effort. The flicker and washed out pastel colors are nauseating; the gameplay is stiff and slow; the collision detection is pitiful; the cramped, generic maze is a chore to navigate; the atrocious sound effects (Bonk Bonk Bonk, Puck Woo!, etc.) aren't even synched to the animation; there is no attention to detail (rotating body, fruit bonuses). It was an insult that Atari released this sub-standard game.

[godzillajoe]

I hated the fact that if the ghosts barely touched you, you died.

 

In the arcade, you could have a ghost overlapping you a bit and still turn the corner to escape

 

And the maze was pathetic.

 

That said, I still played Pac-Man for hours as a kid.

 

I think most of the vitriol is retroactive based on MAME or later versions.

 

That game came out 25 years ago and now that everyone has seen what games are capable of today, we retro-fit our expectations on the poor old 2600.

 

I mean you have to remember that COMPUTERS had 16k MAX back then, no hard drives, no dedicated 3D graphics cards etc.

 

Was anyone really 11 years old at the time and not excited to own the cart no matter how bad it seems now?

 

Did those people like ANY Atari games?!

 

They're all missing something.

[goodwill_gamer]

i've always liked pac-man. i really like the sound. i like the colors, too.

[Video]

Well, face it, Untill Ms Pac-man came out, the fact is, nobody knew the atari COULD have gotten a lot closer to the arcade. Pac-Man was actually very nice in relation to the games of the time. In fact, if you lived at the time, you know people didn't complain about the lack of similarity between pac-man, and the arcade...untill AFTER ms pac-man came out.

 

Yes, it's slow, unless you play it on setting 7 I believe, which kicks it up faster than MS Pac-Man actually. This is actually the only way I play it, cause it's actually fun with a little speed in it.

 

The maze is poorly designed, or maybe people say that cause they die to much? I don't know, I never had a problem with it myself, though it seems all four corners are exactly alike (though wasn't the arcade version of Pac-man also the same in four corners? Or close anyways)

 

THe colors are off, but that's no surprise at all. As longa st he maze isn't the same color as the background, it'sll still get the point across (actually, an invisible maze would make for a fun variant I imagine) BTW, if you flip the color switch to B/W, the maze is white and the background is black

 

And the ghost flicker, but that actually looked cool to me back then, I understand it's a limitation of the system now, but back then, I thought it was intentional, to give the ghosts a transparent look.

 

Honestly, Pac-Man, was, and still is one of my favorite games of the system. It's one that will always make it into the system, every time I play. I can't say that about many games, just Pac-Man, Pitfall 2, Video Pinball, and Skeleton.

 

The fact of the matter is, if Pac-man had been called something else, like Chomp, or Home Pac, it would have been a great game, and survived Ms-Pac man with no bashing, the real reason people diss it isn't because it's a bad game, it's because it's called Pac-man.

Edited September 22, 2006 by Video

[Kid Ice]

The fact of the matter is, if Pac-man had been called something else, like Chomp, or Home Pac, it would have been a great game, and survived Ms-Pac man with no bashing, the real reason people diss it isn't because it's a bad game, it's because it's called Pac-man.

 

It's true that the thing was just SO DISAPPOINTING compared to the arcade game, and that's probably the reason it's so hated even today. But it is in no way a good or great game; it still controls poorly, it has tons of flicker, and is comprised almost totally of squares (yeah all Atari games are that way, but Pac Man and Surround are the ones that realllyyy look that way). Think of the Pac Man clones like Alien and Lock and Chase...those games were much better.

[TomBrazil]

When I was a kid, I always liked pac-man one way or another... I thought it was cool no matter what.

 

So, here's my homage:

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=94044

 

[ATARIPITBULL]

Well, part of the problem is retroactive. With games like Ms Pac and Jr Pac, and hacks like Pac Man Arcade and Hack 'em, it's obviousl that the original game is a slapped together mess. That being said, I usued to play it often back in the day. I never loved it (and felt it was a slapped together mess even then), but it still was decent fun occasionally. I'd give it a three out of five.

 

I agree with what you wrote, but I would only give it a 2 out of five.

 

[+remowilliams]

Wait let me check...

 

 

 

Nope, it still sucks

[Recycled]

Well, face it, Untill Ms Pac-man came out, the fact is, nobody knew the atari COULD have gotten a lot closer to the arcade. Pac-Man was actually very nice in relation to the games of the time. In fact, if you lived at the time, you know people didn't complain about the lack of similarity between pac-man, and the arcade...untill AFTER ms pac-man came out.

 

 

 

Well, I waited and waited for this thing to hit the stores. The department store employees were probably getting annoyed being asked if they had Pac-Man yet by so many kids. I finally got it (paid full price) brought it home.....and absolutely hated it. That, coupled from what I was reading about the Colecovision in Electronic Games magazine made me give up on the 2600 all together at that time. Which....I can only blame myself for.....after 20 or so years later discovering all the excellent games that came out for the system that I missed, it is now my favorite console. Anyway, it's NOT a retrospective dislike for me....I've always disliked it. I didn't even know there was a Ms. Pac-Man until a few years ago when my interest in the VCS was rekindled by the PS2 Activision comp. Sorry, but it's still on my shitlist.

[Breakpack]

Well, face it, Untill Ms Pac-man came out, the fact is, nobody knew the atari COULD have gotten a lot closer to the arcade. Pac-Man was actually very nice in relation to the games of the time. In fact, if you lived at the time, you know people didn't complain about the lack of similarity between pac-man, and the arcade...untill AFTER ms pac-man came out.

 

 

 

Well, I waited and waited for this thing to hit the stores. The department store employees were probably getting annoyed being asked if they had Pac-Man yet by so many kids. I finally got it (paid full price) brought it home.....and absolutely hated it. That, coupled from what I was reading about the Colecovision in Electronic Games magazine made me give up on the 2600 all together at that time. Which....I can only blame myself for.....after 20 or so years later discovering all the excellent games that came out for the system that I missed, it is now my favorite console. Anyway, it's NOT a retrospective dislike for me....I've always disliked it. I didn't even know there was a Ms. Pac-Man until a few years ago when my interest in the VCS was rekindled by the PS2 Activision comp. Sorry, but it's still on my shitlist.

 

I'd recommend Jr. Pac as it's one of the best Pac games and really pushes the Atari envelope

[ewomack]

I didn't really HATE it, but it was a let down.

 

1. The ghosts that blink so furiosuly my brain hurt

2. The annoying "clank" that rattles my spine every time I eat a "tablet"

3. The fact that nothing whatsoever happens when I complete a level

4. The bland box "bonus pill"

 

The whole game seemed rushed to market. They could have programmed a much better game.

[Breakpack]

I didn't really HATE it, but it was a let down.

 

1. The ghosts that blink so furiosuly my brain hurt

2. The annoying "clank" that rattles my spine every time I eat a "tablet"

3. The fact that nothing whatsoever happens when I complete a level

4. The bland box "bonus pill"

 

The whole game seemed rushed to market. They could have programmed a much better game.

 

 

Welcome to AtariAge!

[Urchlay]

I was one of those kids who didn't get a 2600 when they were popular... "Everybody else has one" wasn't very convincing to the parents

 

I remember when 2600 Pac-Man first came out, one of my "rich kid" friends got it. We played it for hours, but we both knew it could have been better... Even the spoiled rich kid knew better than to complain though (he wasn't too rich to get a switching).

 

Then in '81 I finally got a "console" of my own: an Atari 400 with... Pac-Man! A *much* nicer Pac-Man than anyone else had... and after playing the 400, I like to think they all got just a little jealous (it was their turn, after all...)

 

When I finally got a 2600 of my own (in like 1989-90), it also came with Pac-Man, and I thought "I'll never play this crappy game, I wish I'd gotten something good instead"... so I decided to play it, just for a laugh, and discovered that I actually liked it.

 

Not as much as Atari 8-bit Pac-Man, but it did hold my attention for a while.

 

I agree that 2600 Pac-Man was crappy because it was a rush job. Ms Pac-Man shows us what was possible, even back then. Still, it's a playable game, and those were hard to come by when you were saving up your lunch money to buy games.

[Crazy Climber]

I like the 2600 Pac-Man for nostalgia. Me and my sister used to fight over playing this game we loved playing it sooooo much. Did I mention we where 8 and 5 years old. Now that I'm older it's not a favorite of mine anymore. The game was slapped together and does suck. I pop it in now and then for a little trip down memory lane and if could ever get my deadbeat sister off the couch to come over to my house and visit I'm sure we would play a few rounds as well. A lot of games are like this now for me, take Amidar for instance. I used to play that game every day as kid, now I can't stand it...it makes me angry Some games are meant to own for nostalgiac purposes only if you ask me

[jpfalcon2003]

That game just was plain awful. Vitamins? Where was that in the arcade. I never played it on the 2600 before, but I know not to put myself through that torture either.lol

[JacobZu7zu7]

That game just was plain awful. Vitamins? Where was that in the arcade. I never played it on the 2600 before, but I know not to put myself through that torture either.lol

 

 

I enjoy all the 2600 Pac-mans. My least favorite is Jr. Pac-man ironicly.

Even if 2600 Pac-man is nothing like the arcade, its still fun for me.

Unique sound and graphics.. shame there's no color ghosts and different mazes to work with.

Because the ONE maze in this game is good.. but gets a little old.

Just a few days ago, I got my highest score ever.. on Game 1.

[Urchlay]

shame there's no color ghosts and different mazes to work with.

 

The ghosts are different colors, or would be if they didn't flicker at 15Hz. Try playing the game in an emulator and pause it (if you use the Stella debugger, you can advance one frame at a time).

 

Only having one maze isn't really a flaw, since arcade Pac-Man only has the one maze...

[Inky]

I still hold by my theory that 2600 Pac-Man started out as a generic maze-chomper game, and then Atari got the Pac-Man license, and slapped it on the generic game.

 

And its is a n enjoyable game once in a great while.

[Room 34]

I still hold by my theory that 2600 Pac-Man started out as a generic maze-chomper game, and then Atari got the Pac-Man license, and slapped it on the generic game.

Isn't the history of this game pretty well known? I thought they got the license, stuck Tod Frye with the task of cranking it out in short order, and he did so... with a vengeance.

[Inky]

I still hold by my theory that 2600 Pac-Man started out as a generic maze-chomper game, and then Atari got the Pac-Man license, and slapped it on the generic game.

Isn't the history of this game pretty well known? I thought they got the license, stuck Tod Frye with the task of cranking it out in short order, and he did so... with a vengeance.

 

 

Oh yeah, its well known. And what you said has been established.

 

 

But my version of the events make the game more playable.

[kirin jensen]

Just curious for some input – why was Pac-Man so maligned? I know it did not look much like the arcade version but what did people expect?

 

Personally, all I ever expected was that the Atari VCS version of an arcade game would resemble the arcade game, not that I would be tricked into thinking that I was playing the arcade version in my family room.

 

Pac-Man does not make my top ten but I thought it was a pretty good game back then and I logged innumerable hours playing it.

 

-phitter

K.C. Munchkin beat 2600 Pac-Man's ass like pair of bongos, that's why.