PAC MAN HD is a disappointing installment in the retro franchise.
Building on the classic
Gameplay in PAC MAN HD sticks to the original formula of helping the iconic yellow character feed his never ending appetite. The object is still to have Pac-Man eat all the dots, or "pellets", on screen. The ghosts (Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde) from Pac-man's haunted past are back to harass him and stop his feeding frenzy.
There are blinking pellets located on the fringes of the map that, when eaten, turn the ghosts edible causing them to flee. Delicious fruits also appear in PAC MAN HD that can be gobbled up for more points.
Controls
Controlling Mr, Ms, or Baby Pac-Man can be done three different ways. The first (and default) way is by flicking your thumb in the direction you intend Pac man to go. The second is by using an onscreen joystick. The final is by using four directional buttons that appear at the bottom of the screen. The third option, the buttons, provides the most control, however all the controls are incredibly clumsy, and you'll find situations where you head the opposite direction directly into those pesky ghosts.
Just to make sure that it wasn't a case of a problem with my fingers and coordination, I had a couple of other people in the office tested it and they faced the same difficulties that I did.
Keeping the classic feel
The graphics of PAC MAN HD are a definite improvement on the originals, but calling it "HD" would be a stretch. Yes, the graphics are improved when compared to their original counterparts, but at the end of the day very little has been improved graphically other than a higher pixel count.
Not much has changed in terms of the music and sound, but that’s not a necessarily a bad thing and it still works for the game.
The verdict
PAC MAN HD brings the look and feel of the classic games, but very little otherwise. It falls especially short due to frustrating controls.
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