Every generation of consoles has a selection of a few games which, despite their initial performance, inexplicably become cult classics, fondly remembered by many who've played them. For the 6th generation of consoles, there may be no better example of this type of title than Pac-Man World 2. The Pac-Man World series was a decent success in its own right-PMW2 was the highest selling in the series at 1.8 million copies-but there's something about this specific title which drew a lot of players in way back 2002. Perhaps it was the iconic main character in its first fully-fledged 3D adventure that captured people's attention. It certainly scratches that nostalgic itch for many players, but its reputation as a cult classic is, unfortunately, setting an expectation that its gameplay doesn't quite live up to; Pac-Man World 2 just feels a bit too surface level.
The first thing that longtime fans of this title are likely to talk about is its music, and it's not hard to see why. Pac-Man World 2 has a surprisingly joyous, charming soundtrack, with each zone having a central theme that gets remixed in each level. In fact, presentation as a whole is in this game's favor; Pac-Man's design makes a surprisingly smooth transition to full 3D, and the levels, while slightly generic, do their job in filling the screen with a colorful landscape. It's a pretty basic 3D platformer, but a relatively well polished one, and most of the levels are fun enough to complete, with some notable standouts in both directions. PMW2 is at its best when its being unique and introducing new ideas, rather than relying on typical platformer tropes, so levels like Blade Mountain, Haunted Boardwalk, and the forest zone stand out as particularly enjoyable. In each level there's hundreds of fruits, tokens, and pac-dots to collect, which is a nice way to encourage exploration, as some are hidden away in clever ways. These all lead to collecting Namco tokens, certain amounts of which allow you to play some retro Pac-Man games in the arcade. Pac-Man super fans might appreciate it, but they're generally lesser-known spinoffs which aren't the most interesting-still, it's a thoughtful addition to what otherwise would be a cosmetic collectable.
There's also a Galaxian in each level, which when collected, brings you to a 3D-style typical Pac-Man maze. This is a nice idea in concept, but in reality, you get 3 lives to complete each one, so there's no real chance of you failing; after the first couple, the novelty is likely to wear off. And if that doesn't deter 100%ers, this should; this is probably one of the most unsatisfying and frustrating games to 100% of the PS2 library. It starts off simple enough, sure, but around halfway through, you're likely to realize it's nowhere near worth it, and the sooner the better. Not only is collecting every dot, token, and fruit without dying a painstaking enough challenge on its own, but pair that with the frequent checkpoint bugs which force level restarts and the abundance of auto-scrollers later on, and it becomes way beyond not worth it. And that's more impactful for a 3D platformer than possibly any other genre, because without 100% completion, this game is quite short. In fact, it's tremendously easy-aside from one boss level-and there's no pleasant middle ground between its any % walk in the park and its 100% mind-numbing torture.
The game doesn't do itself any favors with its level design in the later half, either; the water levels are all exceedingly unexciting, and the ice levels-save for Blade Mountain-have some really annoying physics. The game's physics in general are a bit of an issue here, and it can sometimes feel like the game is working against you, but controls are overall decent. The game's biggest mechanical flaw, though, is undoubtedly its camera system. On straightaway paths it will feel fine and admittedly that's most of the game, but any sharp turns, any open areas, anytime you need to be looking at something behind you, it feels really bad. You can technically control it, but the controls aren't good; it almost feels alien. In fact, most of what goes into making the hardest boss so hard is that you can never look where you want to go. It's not a super common issue, but when it does come up, it's extremely frustrating.
Pac-Man World 2 probably wouldn't have been the success that it was without its super recognizable mascot, but then again, that probably goes for every game. But its probably remembered more for that reason. It has more annoying than enjoyable about it, but the game is sort of fine, but it barely has a personality. Its mascot could have been anything, and the game would barely have to change to accommodate that. It's a somewhat competently made game, and there's some fun to be had here, but there's plenty of 3D platformers that can give you everything that Pac-Man World 2 has to offer (and more), as well as offering a sense of identity-and that goes a long way.
The first thing that longtime fans of this title are likely to talk about is its music, and it's not hard to see why. Pac-Man World 2 has a surprisingly joyous, charming soundtrack, with each zone having a central theme that gets remixed in each level. In fact, presentation as a whole is in this game's favor; Pac-Man's design makes a surprisingly smooth transition to full 3D, and the levels, while slightly generic, do their job in filling the screen with a colorful landscape. It's a pretty basic 3D platformer, but a relatively well polished one, and most of the levels are fun enough to complete, with some notable standouts in both directions. PMW2 is at its best when its being unique and introducing new ideas, rather than relying on typical platformer tropes, so levels like Blade Mountain, Haunted Boardwalk, and the forest zone stand out as particularly enjoyable. In each level there's hundreds of fruits, tokens, and pac-dots to collect, which is a nice way to encourage exploration, as some are hidden away in clever ways. These all lead to collecting Namco tokens, certain amounts of which allow you to play some retro Pac-Man games in the arcade. Pac-Man super fans might appreciate it, but they're generally lesser-known spinoffs which aren't the most interesting-still, it's a thoughtful addition to what otherwise would be a cosmetic collectable.
There's also a Galaxian in each level, which when collected, brings you to a 3D-style typical Pac-Man maze. This is a nice idea in concept, but in reality, you get 3 lives to complete each one, so there's no real chance of you failing; after the first couple, the novelty is likely to wear off. And if that doesn't deter 100%ers, this should; this is probably one of the most unsatisfying and frustrating games to 100% of the PS2 library. It starts off simple enough, sure, but around halfway through, you're likely to realize it's nowhere near worth it, and the sooner the better. Not only is collecting every dot, token, and fruit without dying a painstaking enough challenge on its own, but pair that with the frequent checkpoint bugs which force level restarts and the abundance of auto-scrollers later on, and it becomes way beyond not worth it. And that's more impactful for a 3D platformer than possibly any other genre, because without 100% completion, this game is quite short. In fact, it's tremendously easy-aside from one boss level-and there's no pleasant middle ground between its any % walk in the park and its 100% mind-numbing torture.
The game doesn't do itself any favors with its level design in the later half, either; the water levels are all exceedingly unexciting, and the ice levels-save for Blade Mountain-have some really annoying physics. The game's physics in general are a bit of an issue here, and it can sometimes feel like the game is working against you, but controls are overall decent. The game's biggest mechanical flaw, though, is undoubtedly its camera system. On straightaway paths it will feel fine and admittedly that's most of the game, but any sharp turns, any open areas, anytime you need to be looking at something behind you, it feels really bad. You can technically control it, but the controls aren't good; it almost feels alien. In fact, most of what goes into making the hardest boss so hard is that you can never look where you want to go. It's not a super common issue, but when it does come up, it's extremely frustrating.
Pac-Man World 2 probably wouldn't have been the success that it was without its super recognizable mascot, but then again, that probably goes for every game. But its probably remembered more for that reason. It has more annoying than enjoyable about it, but the game is sort of fine, but it barely has a personality. Its mascot could have been anything, and the game would barely have to change to accommodate that. It's a somewhat competently made game, and there's some fun to be had here, but there's plenty of 3D platformers that can give you everything that Pac-Man World 2 has to offer (and more), as well as offering a sense of identity-and that goes a long way.
NOWITSREYNTIME17
1 year ago