New Pac-Man on XBLA

By Robert Purchese Published 6 June, 2007

Fresh mazes and everything.

Today's Live Arcade offering is a championship edition of Pac-Man featuring the first new mazes in more than 26 years. (On a related note, we've got a competition running to give copies away, along with Live subscriptions and cameras. Ooh.)

But back to the story - in Championship Edition, the mazes have been redesigned to fit today's high-definition displays, you see, and have thicker walls to suit high-speed pellet gobbling. They'll even change as you play, adding a new and dynamic challenge.

It's this competitive side of Pac-Man, brought out most recently by the hunt for the world's best player, that forms the basis of this Championship Edition.

There's six new game modes to get stuck into, each with a time limit between five and ten minutes. There's a patience and reward scenario that strategically offers less pellets, and a darkness course that only lights the area around Pac-Man. You can also zip around a super high-speed course in Freeway mode, or traverse Manhattan in a replication of the street map. Or, if you can't decide on one of those, there's a mix-and-match of each in The Overall Course.

On top of all that, you can expect updated graphics, leaderboards, and the usual assortment of 200 Gamerpoints.

Pac-Man is game about giant alien zombies that attacked the Earth when dinosaurs were alive, prompting numerous scientific studies resulting in Vidal Sassoon hair care.

Pac-Man Championship Edition will cost you 800 Microsoft points. Or nothing, if you win our competition.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (30) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • thes #1 5 years ago

    800 points! Hmmmm....

  • chrisjm #2 5 years ago

    no deal!

  • Uncle_Fishboy #3 5 years ago

    deal!

  • theguyfromspark #4 5 years ago

    Alien Zombies eh? Was that sentence put there to see if anyone actually read the article all the way to the end? A bit like an exam question?
    Edited by 1 at 06/06/07 @ 10:52

  • captainrentboy #5 5 years ago

    I like how on Monday Microsoft were saying that they had Earth shattering, revolutionary news, and that they would share it with all of us on Tuesday. The guys on the Xbox forums were going crazy beforehand trying to guess what it was....Funnily enough none of them guessed it would be this :)

  • Beano #6 5 years ago

    800 points for a Pac-Man game ?... Should be 400 points IMO.

  • quantumsheep #7 5 years ago

    Where's Space Giraffe???? =(

  • menage #8 5 years ago

    Better than I expected somehow. But 800 points is a joke. No way!. 200 tops!

  • gizmo #9 5 years ago

    No Thanks.

  • jonsaan #10 5 years ago

    That sounds great. Shame I don't have a 360 anymore. I wonder if they will bring it to the DS?

  • #11 5 years ago

    800 points LOL

  • homerramone #12 5 years ago

    Greedy robbing bastards ! (Yes I KNOW I dont have to buy it - That dont make em any less greedy).

    Jetpac got a major revamp AND came with the original version, and it was 400 pts. That wouldnt have been quite so bad, but 800 points. They can keep it !

  • SBfistfun #13 5 years ago

    Jesus, scraping the bottom of the barrel now

  • Machetazo #14 5 years ago

    At least there's new DLC (and a mega-fixey free title update) for Small Arms now...

    "Title Update features:
    New options enable the in-game display of player indicators and Gamertags to help players navigate moments of intense action. Performance enhancements: Improved frame rate and reduced tearing. Smarter leaderboards: More efficiently and accurately track player positions. Tighter weapons balance: Based on user feedback, provides for the best gameplay experience. Bug Fixes And an assortment of upgrades that resolve issues related, but not limited, to Achievements and Xbox LIVE Multiplayer."

    http://ww w.gamesindustry.biz/content_pag...

    If you already have the game (all 800 points of it, tee-hee!) then, by paying another 250, you can get two new maps to fight it out on, along with two new combatants. All of which can be previewed http://fo rums.gastronautstudios.com/view...
    ^ there. :)
    Edited by 1 at 06/06/07 @ 11:31

  • peteb #15 5 years ago

    800 points is waaaaay too much, they wont get it from me. especially since ive had 200 points mysteriously drop off my total and i didn't download anything. that ever happen anyone? (and no i wasn't drunk and downloading stuff this time sadly...)

  • MrBiggles #16 5 years ago

    As MS said yesterday, this will change gaming history.

    what a bunch of pricks

  • Beano #17 5 years ago

    "As MS said yesterday, this will change gaming history. "

    They really claimed that?... incredible funny if true :)

  • dr_shambles #18 5 years ago

    800 points for this?!

    £6.99 for Tekken Dark Resurrection.

    This is Living indeed. ;-)

    I think Sony have got it right with PSN. Quality not quantity.

  • GamesConnoisseur #19 5 years ago

    I tried the trial and it is indeed a great new take on Pac Man, and the time limit is a great idea so that everyone would compete to get highest score possible within 5 minutes by juggling whether you should gobble ghosts, or instead go for that rare fruit or perhaps just clear out a final set of pills so the whole new set of pills will then appear and so on.

    Worth no more than 400 points as it is at least equal of Jepac Refuelled for the new take on the same game with hi def graphics basically!!

  • Darren #20 5 years ago

    There's no consistency in the quality of the games on XBLA is there? It seems to be more miss than hit if you ask me... there's no excuse for tat like this and Mad Tracks, especially at £6. It's like Microsoft don't care about the quality just so long as they have something to release every Wednesday.

    The PS3 might not have many downloable XBLA game equivalents but when you look at Tekken Dark Resurrection, which costs the same as Pac-man Championship, and decent freebies like GT HD, you have to wonder what on earth Microsoft are smoking!!!

  • BBIAJ #21 5 years ago

    Darren, I thought the initial prices for Sony's stuff on PSN was just temporarily cheap, to snare you in, and it will be cranked up at a later date?

    So by all means, sing their praises for now, just don't expect it to last forever.

    Sony need to recoup their loses somehow you know...

  • GamesConnoisseur #22 5 years ago

    PSN is indeed offering special discount only for a 'limited period', so will be interested in what will be their normal prices. Tekken and GT are indeed valuable download but Tekken is a quick rehash of PSP game and costed them virtually little but does highlight the advantage they have with their ranges of back catalogues (PSP and PS1), GT accepting it is a free download but would have hoped for more.

    Back to subject, I initially thought Pac Man CE would be just recycled rubbish but have to say am impressed with the game but not so impressed with the price point.
    Edited by 1 at 06/06/07 @ 12:52

  • bonker #23 5 years ago

    Sorry but there's something wrong about releasing new 'maps' for Pac-Man.

    It's actually making me shudder just thinking about it ...

  • SeesThroughAll #24 5 years ago

    "As MS said yesterday, this will change gaming history. "

    If it had been someone from Sony saying this, the press would be all over them.

  • Beano #25 5 years ago

    Anybody got at link to a article where MS claims the new Pac-Man will change gaming history?
    Edited by 1 at 06/06/07 @ 14:44

  • Dermoth #26 5 years ago

    What happens if you already shelled out 400 points for the original Pac Man on XBLA? Do you get a discount?

    (I only have the trial version, which has been sitting on my hard drives for months. I imagine that if I'd paid to unlock it I'd be MURDEROUSLY LIVID about this news).

    Not as livid as if I'd bought a PS3, though, OBVIOUSLY.

  • Beano #27 5 years ago

    Found it:
    [link url=http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/200 7/06/04/major-xbox-announcement-coming-tomorrow/
    ]http://ww w.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/06/04/...[/link]

    FUNNY!

  • GamesConnoisseur #28 5 years ago

    According to the link above, the annoucement wont have come yet! So I dont think that Pac Man CE is it! Still they seemed to realise that they had hyped it and tried to bring it down a bit by saying not a big thing but still cool!

    We ll see

  • smelly #29 5 years ago

    Downloaded demos of pacman and ms pacman last night.

    Both play like shite on the 360 pad. The analogue stick is useless for it, and the dpad too "floaty".

    I lost track of the number of times i pressed a direction on the pad and pac didnt go there.

  • ScottyXTUK #30 5 years ago

    Totally agree Smelly, the pad is useless for this game. I'm fed up with all the drivel that gets put on XBLA these days. OK so it's not a bad game but 800 points?? Ripping off greedy bastards. I'm sick of all the picture packs etc that they release and cost money....ffs why don't they ever give anything away free?

    I don't mind paying for things but it's all a question of VFM. £6.50 for a rehash of a game that is older than Rod Stewart's latest bird is a pisstake to be honest.

    I got Xevious the other week, more fool me, what a pile of shite. Then realised I can get the EXACT same game on my PC for nothing via an emulator, as you can for most of the old arcade games. I will not be buying anymore of this tat that's for sure. Shame on you Microsoft you money grabbing wankers.

  • Shill #31 5 years ago

    I agree, 800 points is taking the piss.

    There are some good games on XBLA if you can get past the drivel. Castlevania SOTN proving excellent value for money. I hope Prince of Persia will also prove to be worth the 800 points.

    Sensible world of Soccer live and Bomberman live are the games I'm most looking forward to.