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Continuing from their success earlier this year with Pac-Pix,
NAMCO have now built a stable of ideas around the unique nature
of the NintendoDS. Being Pac-Man’s 25th
Anniversary, it’s hardly a surprise that the second of these
initiative exercises comes in the form of a Pac-Man title
once again .Having had a play-test earlier this year at E3
2005, 
I was quite sure what to expect from what seems to be NAMCO’s
big NintendoDS Christmas release. All The Pac-Men in Pac-Land
have been turned into Pac-Balls by the Ghosts, and it’s up to
the son of Pac-Man to save Pac-Dog, Pac-Baby and others…
The title is simple and addictive, yet quite difficult to
explain. A Pac-Man appears on the Touch Screen in all its little
yellow glory, while the top screen displays your avatar and the
arena in which you have been placed. The objective of the game
is quite simply to reach the exit at the other end of the arena
whilst avoiding pit-falls and enemies and travelling through a
maze constructed around your abilities. Although the title
sounds, and often feels, as if it where to follow the
traditional Platforming rules, the movement is the key here; the
Touch Screen-hosted Pac-Man controls all movement of your
avatar. Stroking the Stylus  across the Touch Screen in any
direction will move you upper-screen based avatar in the
direction stroked, at the speed stroked. With a similar feel to Pokemon
Dash, stroking repeatedly in quick succession will cause
your character to speed-up into a sprint and placing your Stylus
flat onto the Touch Screen will bring your Pac-Ball to a
grinding halt. The solitary special move that you have at your
disposal executes a dash attack. By dragging the Stylus across
the entirety of the Touch Screen and stopping on the red-line
around the edge, your avatar will spring in the direction you
drew with a blue flash around him, and a small amount of
increased power.
The Levels are staged through seven Worlds, with five
Levels in each. The easier Levels are clearly introduction
Levels, but with the ease of the Level design right through to
the seventh world, it’s not difficult to see the title as a
bit of a breeze. Once a Level has been completed in Story Mode,
it can then be played through in either Time Trial or Challenge
Mode; a seemingly shallow attempt at adding gameplay-extending
content in a title where it is so sorely needed. With seemingly
few unlockables and limited replay value, the longevity of the
title is certainly a cause for concern.
As a simplistic title with reasonable polygon employment
and frankly unnecessary special effects, Pac’N Roll is
a title that both at once makes a play for Nintendo’s approach
of substance over style while downplaying any influence this
opinion has had over NAMCO’s NintendoDS development team. What
exactly should be demanded for a title such as this? 3D Level
design never encounters any errors or bugs in the way that many
PSP titles seem to, however, how demanding can a small  group of
columns, a flat surface and a 2D backdrop be on a processor as
meaty as the NintendoDS’s? The sound is, at best,
insignificant. Crystal-clear yet instantly forgettable, Pac’N
Roll is better played with your own Custom Soundtrack -
generated from the stereo in the same room.
Pac’N Roll is a title that’s incredibly hard
to classify. It may be short, repetitive and seemingly more
in-line with the NintendoDS’s Launch Line-Up of burst-based
inspirational gameplay as opposed to the recent languishing of
those titles when compared to the likes of Nintendogs, Advance
Wars: Dual Strike and CastleVania: Dawn Of Sorrow –
but there’s nothing inherently wrong with the game. Its fun,
original, addictive and, later in the game, provides a
challenge. However, it’s certainly a mixed-bag. Anyone
interested in the progression of the industry or even anyone
who’s ever played Marble Madness or Spindizzy
will be enthralled with NAMCO’s latest NintendoDS effort,
however, this rapt will only last for a comparably brief period.
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