I was never a fan of Pac-Man when it was the arcade favorite. In fact, I turned my nose up at that single-sticked maze game. I was doing my best to master multi-button games with lots of destruction and challenge. It was only in my later years that I felt nostalgia for it and began to play where I could find it. I was oddly a fan of Ms Pac-Man from the start. Go figure.

I had high hopes for this newest entry in the Pac-World. Having played some previous versions on various platforms, I expected a lot from Pac-Man All Stars. In this version, you can choose from one of four Pac players: Pac-Man, Ms Pac-Man, Professor Pac or Pac-Man Jr. 

The simple blue maze is gone, and instead of a run-along game like Pac-Land, this is more of a 3-D world wherein your objective is to collect as many pellets as you can-- while your opponents do the same. If playing alone, the other 3 players are the CPU. In multi-player mode, you play against whoever-- plus the computer if less than 4 humans play. Racing around these little panoramas is easy enough, though I did not like using the arrow keys for navigation. Pellets appear when a player touches a "magic flower" that appear and disappear throughout the terrain. Then, it is a mad dash to get as many as possible before your Pac friends snatch them all up.

Yes, the ghosts are there, but they are very different. Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde have been humbled. You can no longer kill them by collecting a power pellet, and they can no longer kill YOU. Instead, if you run into one, you merely slow your movement for a few seconds. No real harm done. They are more of a nuisance than a genuine threat. There are power-ups and bad things to avoid. The power-ups give you speed, make you stronger, allow you to steal other player's pellets and etc. There is a wizard hat that will cause bad things to happen (to everyone usually)-- avoid them. Having not read the manual too well, I was chasing down the hats like a fool before I figured out bad things happened when I did!! 

The worlds range from a deep forest and laboratories, to icy terrains. The play never changes, though. As to be expected, if you run on ice, it is slippery and you don't move fast. If you run through mud... you get the idea. There are challenge screens (Ghost Gang worlds) which pit you against the ghosts themselves. Again, not very thrilling. 

Though I was not an early fan of Pac-Man and his fuzzy ghosts antagonists, I grew to adore the game and the simplistic nature of the experience. I enjoyed Pac-Land even more. None of that buzz is here. With the potential to have a lot more to do, the game plays like a confused version of Crystal Castles (you old gamers know what I am talking about!). There is not much replay here, and it is almost a chore to want to succeed. One more thing concerned me...  who the heck is Professor Pac and what does he teach??!!! 

Gameplay: 6
Not much addiction here. I found playing a few worlds was enough at each sitting. There was not enough adventure or fun to keep me interested for long. Each world plays much like the one before. Some environmental elements were different, but otherwise it is just more of the same-- running around and collecting yellow pellets while avoiding ghosts and hats. 

Graphics: 6.5 
Probably the best thing about the game is the graphics. Though simple by some standards, the colors were good and the worlds had a appropriate mood to them. The 3-D rendering of the Pacs was good, and the landscapes were very nice. It would have been nice to be able to change your Pac's color so it was easier to distinguish between the others when things get chaotic. It's rough when four yellow round things are all moving within the same few square inches. 

Sound: 6
The sound wasn't much better than the original mono blips and music with the arcade original. Not terrible, but a waste of potential. It would have been great for a Gameboy type platform, but on a PC?? My sound card and speakers were unchallenged.

Difficulty: Medium
Not really hard, but using the keyboard to move around warrants some complaints. The objectives are simple, but avoiding your fellow Pacs and ghosts isn't always easy. 

Concept: 5 
It does not feel like a lot went into designing the game-- tactically. It feels like a tired effort to continue a franchise by name only. Can anyone say "Jaws IV"?

Multiplayer: 
Any way you try it, you play against someone. Whether the PC or players on a LAN or the Net, you are not alone against the ghosts. I did not try it, but I imagine multi-player may add some much needed fun to it. It would be refreshing to go head to head (one of the game options) with some live opponents in the quest for pellets. 

Overall: 6
Very much of a disappointment. The names and premise is there, but it is still empty and unfulfilling. I did not find myself wanting to rush back to the PC for another chance at new levels. I saw one, and saw them all. May they need to take the franchise in a totally different area. Or, at least put the Pac in some new situations. How about Pac-Blaster... where you go around killing Ghosts a la Quake?? That round, smiling yellow ball lugging a rocket launcher through darkened hallways saying "Here Inky and Blinky... come and get some". I can see it now.......