Pac-Attack: Головоломка про Пакмана

1993 puzzle video game

Pac Attack (パックアタック, Pakku Atakku), also known as Pac Panic''''', (パックパニック, Pakku Panikku) is a 1993 falling tile puzzle video game developed and published by Namco for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. Versions for the Game Boy, Game Gear and Philips CD i were also released. The player is tasked with clearing out blocks and ghosts without them stacking to the top of the playfield — blocks can be cleared by matching them in horizontal rows, while ghosts can be cleared by placing down a Pac Man piece that can eat them. It is the first game in the Pac Man series to be released exclusively for home platforms. Pac Attack is an adaptation of the 1992 game Cosmo Gang the Puzzle, which was released for arcades worldwide and the Super Famicom in Japan. Music was composed by Hiromi Shibano with cover art designed by Greg Martin. To promote the game's release, a contest was held in GameFan magazine that awarded cash prizes to players who submitted their highest scores. Critical reception for the game was mixed: while some disliked its lack of replay value and inferiority to other games such as Tetris and Columns, others praised it for its addictiveness and clever usage of the traditional Pac Man gameplay. It has been ported to several systems and included in a number of Pac Man and Namco compilations for multiple platforms. A reskin of Pac Attack was created for the Nintendo DSi's DSiWare download service titled Korogashi Puzzle Katamari Damacy, based on the Katamari series.

Pac Attack is a falling tile puzzle game, often being compared to games such as Tetris and Columns. The player drops down formations of blocks and ghosts onto a vertical oriented playfield, the objective being to score as many points possible before the pieces reach the top of the screen. Blocks can be cleared by matching them in horizontal rows that touch both ends of the playfield; however, ghosts can only be cleared by placing down a Pac Man piece, which will eat any ghosts in his path. Developed by Namco Hometek, the North American console division of Namco America, it is an adaptation of the 1992 arcade game Cosmo Gang the Puzzle, released for arcades worldwide and the Super Famicom in Japan. The soundtrack was composed by Hiromi Shibano, while the cover art was designed by Greg Martin. To help promote the game's release, Namco hosted a contest in GameFan magazine where players could submit their scores to win prizes, the grand prize being a $500 gift certificate. Some European and Japanese releases were titled Pac Panic. The Genesis version is also included as an unlockable in the 2001 PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube compilation Namco Museum, alongside the arcade game Pac Mania, and in the Game Boy Advance game Pac Man Collection the same year. The Namco Anthology 2 remake is an unlockable extra in Pac Man World 2. An iOS “demake” of the game, featuring graphics from the original Pac Man arcade game, was released in 2010, later delisted from the App Store in 2015. The SNES version of the game was included in the 2022 PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch video game compilation Pac Man Museum+ as an unlockable title. Despite being an emulated version of the original game, the game was modified to replace the Ms. Pac Man and Baby Pac Man characters (who appear as cameos on the game's high score table), in favor of the Pac Mom and Pac Sis characters, created for the collection. While it hasn't been officially stated why the changes were made, it is assumed to be tied to Ms. Pac Man's ongoing AtGames dispute. A Katamari game based on the gameplay of Pac Attack was released on the DSiWare service for the Nintendo DSi called Korogashi Puzzle Katamari Damacy (ころがしパズル塊魂, Korogashi Pazuru Katamari Damashii) made by Namco Bandai Games in 2009. Hatsune Miku was licensed to perform the ending theme.

Pac Attack was met with a divided response from critics; while some praised its simplistic gameplay, colorful graphics, and unique usage of Pac Man characters, others criticized its lack of replay value and inferior quality to other puzzle games available, notably Dr. Mario and Tetris. The Sega Genesis version has a 70% rating on aggregator site GameRankings, while the SNES version has a 66%. GameFan was the most positive towards it in their review, favorably comparing it to Tetris for its addictiveness, multiplayer modes and interesting premise for a puzzle game. Sega Visions magazine liked the Game Gear's portability and interesting usage of the Pac Man character, saying that it was "sure to keep you busy." In a 1998 retrospective review, AllGame stated that the Game Gear version's simplistic yet addictive gameplay, multiplayer mode and clever usage of the Pac Man gameplay made Pac Attack one of the best titles for the system. Reviewing the iOS "demake", TouchArcade especially praised the game's Puzzle Mode for its unique gameplay, while also liking the game's "sharp" graphics and responsive controls. Japanese publication Famitsu stated that the game was not as refined as titles such as Tetris or Dr. Mario, criticizing its gameplay for being bland and not having much replay value. Reviewing the Wii Virtual Console release of the SNES port, Eurogamer stated that the game's lack of depth and simplistic gameplay made it a hard sell compared to other similar falling tile games on the market. IGN had a similar response, saying that players should instead wait for other similar games to hit the Wii Shop Channel for its frustrating gameplay and lack of replay value. In a retrospective review, Hardcore Gaming 101 found the game inferior to other puzzle titles such as Dr. Mario and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, saying the multiplayer mode and gameplay became repetitive after a while, saying that the Puzzle Mode was the only part that had any replay value.