Adam Wolf

IGN

Can the Pac hold his own in the world of racing?
by Mark Bozon

August 8, 2006 - When the series began back in 1992, Nintendo's Mario Kart franchise took off. This simple kart racer, featuring the loveable Nintendo cast we all know and love, has been the basis for more than it could have ever imagined. Not only did the spin-off launch the idea that Mario and the gang should participate in every sport and activity out there, it also encouraged companies to begin (we don't want to say whoring… but…) whoring out any and every character into the kart racing genre. Out of the seemingly never-ending list of spin-off titles, Crash Bandicoot seems to the biggest violator, actually debuting a new racer near every Mario Kart launch, going as far as to copy the design's hook (C'mon… "Crash Team Racing"? Do us all a favor and just call it Crash Double Dash). While it's easy to poke fun at the competition, Mario Kart opened the door to an entertaining genre of gaming, and if imitation is the best form of flattery, Nintendo fans can't complain too much.

It might be easy to do the same to Pac-Man World Rally, Namco's take on the arcade racing genre, but it wouldn't be entirely fair. Yes the game is a mirror design of the Mario Kart series, containing weapon blocks, power-slides, and even the token "left, right, left, right" super boost. At the same time, arcade goers have the team over at Namco to thank. After all, one of the most solid Mario Kart designs, Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix, was developed by Namco and published by Nintendo. With Nintendo putting that much faith in the people behind Mr. Pac, maybe we should too. In fact, after a few hours of gameplay with Pac-Man World Rally, we can see why Namco was the logical choice for Mario Kart Arcade, as the console heir to the game is slick, well designed, and pretty freaking fun.

Pac-Man World Rally takes a very similar approach to arcade racing, inspired a ton by previous iterations of the Mario Kart brand. The game, developed by Smart Bomb Interactive, takes a ton of elements from the Mario Kart world, such as the aforementioned power-slide and speed boost, and adds a Pac-Man twist to the experience. In original arcade spirit, Pac-Man World Rally is still all about collecting fruit and pellets, adding a bit of spice to the otherwise "been there, done that" design. Fruit, for example, is used as entry tokens into shortcut areas, with gates only opening if the approaching racer has a correct fruit icon to spare. In addition, the oh-so-classic power pellets make a return as well, allowing racers to fill up a tiny gauge at the upper-right of the screen by driving over the tiny yellow spheres. Once enough pellets are collected, the driver can morph himself into a giant Pac-Man rocket car, simultaneously turning all the opposition into slower moving ghosts (which are unable to use items, power-slide, or boost in any way) ripe for the chomping.

Aside from fruit and pellets, a few other gameplay additions are included to keep the game from being too much like its original inspiration. Though the classic power-slide has always been an important part of any arcade racer, Pac-Man World Rally turns up the intensity even further with two new additions to the formula. For starters, the slide can be powered up over five different levels, each extending the length of the boost if successfully pulled off. Along with the boost, an overall power-slide meter is also displayed next to speedometer and item icon, which banks the overall time a player is engaged in a slide (speed boost or not). When the bar is filled, a separate support item is awarded, which can be used to put up defensive or offensive auras around the driver. These items can be used at any time, and can even be collected in a cache for later use. And trust us… you'll need them, as the racing can get a bit rough.

We'd go as far as to say "too rough", but we'll leave final judgment for our review. The amount of firepower on the track is extremely high though, and if racers don't make use of the support items gained from power-slides, they'll spend as much time flipping through the air as they will driving on the track. Pac-Man World Rally's arsenal is comprised of a few different drop items, as well a free shooting and lock-on bomb. Even when using the shots that don't lock-on, however, the projectiles are huge, so the likelihood of hitting an opposing driver is very likely. If you're stuck in third or fourth out of eight, expect to get rocked a ton from firepower.

As a final note though, we have to say Pac-Man World Rally has some seriously rewarding moments. The track design includes some great concepts (such as an awesome haunted level, a super-confusing fun-house, and a fierce castle design with tons of traps), and the music was surprisingly strong, offering orchestral scores and some Pac-Man inspired techno riffs as well. The visual presentation doesn't quite hold up to games like Mario Kart: Double Dash, but the overall gameplay is truly what matters, and it has been entertaining so far. Be sure to look out for a few new gameplay videos on the way soon, as well as a final review in time for the game's release.