Namco Hometek Inc. announced that it is celebrating Pac-Man's 25th birthday with the release of Pac-Man World 3 this fall. The latest iteration of the classic series will be available for the PlayStation 2, the Xbox, the GameCube, the PSP and PC.

The world was first introduced to Toru Iwatani's yellow dot muncher in 1980. Shaped like a pizza missing a slice and making a wocka-wocka-wocka sound, Pac-Man exploded onto the video game scene and never looked back. 25 years later, Pac-Man has starred in dozens of games and has been the inspiration for more than 400 different products from cereal to watches to air fresheners and even a cartoon.

"Pac-Man helped launch video games into the mainstream, and as he turns 25 this year, we are happy to see that he continues to have an enduring appeal," said Garry Cole, Executive Vice President of Namco Hometek Inc. "We're delighted that today's generation is still able to experience the magic of Pac-Man with Pac-Man World 3."

"Like all of us, Pac-Man has evolved over the years, changing with the times," said Toru Iwatani, creator of Pac-Man. "People love Pac-Man because he's simple and cute and most important fun."

But enough with the quotes already. We're interested in the game itself. As for the story behind the game, in a mad search for power, evil genius Erwin creates a machine that can penetrate into the world of the Ghosts...the Spectral Realm. But now the Spectral Realm is collapsing into the real world, and this will bring about a massive catastrophe that will plunge the world into a state of devistation for years to come!

After mysteriously having been transported out of Pac-Village and into this strange and different land, it is up to Pac-Man to uncover Erwin's plot and save the world. Along the way, Pac-Man will meet a host of unexpected "old friends," and in order to defeat the ultimate enemy, he might just have to turn his old foes into allies!

While combining contemporary platform game mechanics with traditional Pac-Man play principles, Pac-Man World 3 features Pac-Man staples including Power Pellets, Pac-Dots, Pac-Chains and fruit while adding new elements such as a Pactrometer, power-up smoothies and several new special moves. Players will even get to play as Pinky and Clyde (the ghosts), who each have distinctive special abilities.