Previous Next

OK kiddies, let's play a little game. I'll start describing the scenario of this cute little original game by Bubble Bus, and you tell me when you think you can guess the game before it loads All right? Here we go:

"Living in a haunted mansion isn't much fun, especially when the ghouls take over. Muncher man must gather up all the food before the ghouls get him!"

No, Muncher Man does not come from Munich, and I don't know why he doesn't get his food from the nearest McDonalds. Maybe he's a trendy veggie? I see you're going to need further clues.

Muncher Man's house looks suspiciously like a maze, with lots of little round bits of food in it (Not yet! Wait a bit). You have to wander about the maze, eating the food, and avoiding the ghouls (now you can start guessing).

When you eat a special pill (left over from a previous police raid), you can chase and eat the ghouls (but go easy on the spirits), getting a large bonus from your local exorcist as you do so.(You must have it by now). Fruits pop up in the maze at random

What do you mean, "I haven't got it yet?" Insert tape in ear, press any key and re-read from start. This flippin' well is Pac Man, however deceptive the picture of the dinosaur might be on the cover. Mind you, with names like Classic Muncher, Back Man, or Ghost Gobbling or some such, waddya expect? Asteroids?

You certainly don't get many hints from the loading screen - there isn't one. Another missing link is the sound effects - not exactly stunning, to say the least. At least you can use your own idea of keyboard and/or joystick layout. The sneaky bit that got me at the end of the first screen was that they went and changed the maze around. You don't see that on many Pac Man clones, though this one certainly swiped enough memory for several different maps.

If you're into being grabbed by the ghoulies in the hedges with some fruit, then you could do worse than buy this one. Bubble Bus are currently running a competition on the high scores. The prize, more software. But don't let that influence you unnecessarily.

Simple ideas are often the best and you don't get much simpler than Pac Man. Bubble Bus may call this Classic Muncher, but no one else will. Still, I don't think they need to worry about Atari Coin-Op taking them to task. Coin-Op is still owned by Warner Bros which isn't, as litigation happens, Mr Tramiel's outfit.

The game [oh that - Ed] is what you'd expect, the sprites are smooth, the gameplay a shade different to the arcade version but it is essentially the same thing. Graphics acceptable, sound unadventurous but all in all it is a reasonable Pac Man. The question is: do you want to play a late '70s game in the late '80s?

Software history lesson #37: Pac-Man was invented in Japan, was bought by Atari and is probably the most profitable arcade game ever. The name derives from 'pacu', the Japanese verb to eat and not - as is often claimed - from Alfred Packer, the last American cannibal.

Part of the reason for the success of Pac Man was the non-violent theme, making it popular with girls. As is the Americans' wont, a huge culture grew up around Pac Man with parades, a hit record and high score charts.

The reserved Brits didn't take to the game in quite the same way, but still it is surprising that this is all that remains of a video legend. A nifty cheapo game to bring back memories.

As this is unashamedly a rip-off of Pac Man, I'm going to be ruddy critical of it. If you rip stuff off, you've got to do it right.

While loading, you get one of the "No Expense Spared Loading Screens plc." specials, that is, none at all. It's been said that games are best left without loading screens, as it takes quite a while to load 'em in, but some message would be welcome.

The mazes are different, but a wee bit on the small side. On the plus side, it's all very smooth and colourful. Sound could have been a bit better though.