arcade

Okay, I've played this game since it came out to the arcades in 1980. SO, I am a fan. The original game is completely faithful. It offers two slight variations. You can play it full screen with the entire maze in view which makes for better strategy but is awfully small on the GBA or you can scroll the view as you much your way around the maze. PacMan Arrangement is a hyper fast and addictive version that offers great game play. PacMania is beautiful to look at and offers the option of jumping over the ghosts in a 3D maze. Graphically the games are ideal, especailly the Mania version. Great detail with no objects that are too small on the display. The PacAttack game is a great tetris clone with some nice Pac twists thrown in. This cart has not left my GBA since it came home. It offers solid game play that wont disappoint the PacMan purist and offers some lesser known versions that are lots of fun! Replay value is great!

I really love the Pacman game for GBA than the one I had for my CGB.This Pacman comes with four different games that are equally fun and intriguing to play. One of my favorite games is "Pacman Arrangement," which has a variety of cool mazes and music to go along with it. It also happens to be the only game I can beat! "Pac Attack," my other favorite games,is very similiar to Tetris. The hardest game for me to conquer is the hip, colorful 3D "Pac Mania." The mazes in this game change different themes every two levels and gradually become larger. The cool thing is that PacMan can *jump* over the ghosts- but they can jump too! No matter how many times I try, I can never get past the board with the orange roof, and when I quit my thumb is quite sore...Last, but definetly not least, is the original "PacMan." That's always fun and challenging.

Ever since I've worked at this summer day camp, Pac-man (along with Ms. Pac Man) were my favorites among their choice of arcade machines in the game rooms. Thus, bringing it back further to my nostalgic Atari days. No buttons; just the turn of a joystick. While the GBA unfortunately lacks that periphal, Pac-Man Collection offers 4 good games ranging in difficulty and strategy.

Pros:
- The Classic Pac Man game and the short-lived Pac-Mania
- A chance for Pac-Mania to shine with superb graphics
- Passwords for puzzle mode in Pac-Attack, allowing you to continue the last level you completed
-The settings menu. Need more lives? More levels? Feel free to splurge.
-All the sounds and cut-scenes

Cons:
-Because of the GBA's shape, the Full Screen and Scroll for Pac-Man aren't too great, since Full Screen shrinks the gamefield down considerably and Scroll only shows half at a time. Pac-Man is best when you can see the whole field in good detail
-Pac-Mania offers too-many-deaths since you can't really see ghosts coming from the bottom of the screen
-Pac-Arrangement is fun but the game ends quickly
-Pac-Attack's Normal Mode is tough; stick with Puzzle Mode

Although I wish the original Pac-Man had more level variety like Ms. Pac Man, this is still a must-have for the retro-gamers who actually played an Atari. Pretty cheap, too. So chop down on a must-have for your GBA!