Last November, Namco released a new PAC-MAN title to the Arcade masses called PAC-MAN Battle Royale. The game borrowed some gameplay mechanics from PAC-MAN Championship Edition, but for the first time in a PAC-MAN game, it allows for 4 players to go head-to-head against one another. As exciting as the game sounds, I have yet to play it as most of the arcades that I grew up going to have all closed and either turned into other small mom & pop stores, or a Starbucks. That’s why when I heard Namco released PAC-MAN Battle Royale onto the iPad, I was really excited. But of course, there’s a catch.
PAC-MAN Battle Royale for the iPad IS the game from the Arcade, but it’s only a short demo to give you a taste of what the game is about. 4 players can gather around the iPad and control their colored PAC-MAN around the level. When a PAC-MAN eats a power pellet, they become large and can not only eat the ghosts in the level, but that PAC-MAN can also eat the other players. The game ends once all of the PAC-MANs are either eaten by another player, or they are beaten by a ghost. Once the game ends, an image comes up telling players to play PAC-MAN Battle Royale in the Arcade as well as including a link to PAC-MAN’s fan page.
PAC-MAN Battle Royale on the iPad can certainly be a fun experience, but it’s unfortunate that it only acts as a demo to the full Arcade game. Namco could certainly deliver PAC-MAN Battle Royale on iOS, Android, WP7 and other mobile devices and offer online play so not only could you play against friends locally, but other PAC-MAN fans around the world. We’re meeting up with Namco later today to hear about some new games they’re working on. Hopefully a full PAC-MAN Battle Royale game will be announced, or at least a new PAC-MAN Championship Edition.
PAC-MAN Battle Royale (FREE) – [iTunes Link]