A lot has been said about 'the connectivity matter', the possibility to link a Game Boy Advance to a GameCube via a cable. The innovative concept has been welcomed by some, criticized by many, but most of all it has been ignored by the developers' imagination. Many gamers bought the cable for Metroid Prime and Zelda, leaving it gathering dust after unlocking the original NES Metroid and trying the Tingle tuner once or twice. EA has given their full support regarding the connectivity, but judging from their latest games their developers haven't got a clue how to use it other than encouraging players to buy two versions of the same game.
Fortunately Shigeru Miyamoto had started a project in cooperation with Namco to show the peripheral's potential. Using one of gaming's ultimate classics, they show how Nintendo's invention can revitalise an ancient concept.

 

Ghost in the clamshell:

Setting up is easy. The Game Boy Advance (SP) and Cube are connected via the link cable in controller socket 4. Depending on the number of players, one to three controllers can be inserted in the other sockets. A Game Boy Advance game is not required (it is possible EA!)

The player holding the GBA has the entire Pac-Man maze on his screen and plays the game as usual – I assume everyone reading this knows how Pac-Man works. The other players watch the TV-screen and each control a ghost. They have a limited view of the maze, making it harder to locate Pac-Man. Ghosts can collaborate in chasing Pac-Man, but the one that eventually catches him gets to take over the GBA and play Pac-Man in the next round. The GBA is constantly passed along, leaving all cables tangled after ten rounds – some Wavebirds would come in handy with this game. If a player manages to eat every dot in the maze with Pac-Man, he gets to continue as Pac-Man.

Before the game starts, players can set the number of points that has to be achieved. When playing as Pac-Man, eating dots, fruits or ghosts (they can be eaten after Pac-Man eats a big dot) earns you points. Ghosts earn points by catching Pac-Man.

 

Balance of power:

In fact this is just Pac-Man with smart ghost (assuming that the intelligence of your friends exceeds the A.I. of the original Inky, Blinky and Winky, or whatever they're called). When playing with less than four players there are neutral ghosts, who can be made allies by touching them.

The game is incredibly balanced. A lot of features see to it that the battle is exciting and fair every time you play. Pac-Man has the advantage of higher speed, of the big dots that make the ghosts temporarily vulnerable and of the view of the entire maze. The ghosts outnumber Pac-Man and can track him by the flashing trail that follows him. They can also eat fruit to increase their range of vision for a while.

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In addition to this, there are a number of small modifications to level both sides. Examples: ghosts move slower after moving though a warp zone or after Pac-Man eats a big dot, there is a small radar on the TV screen and when there are less than 25 dots remaining, they disappear from the TV screen. The scoring has also been carefully balanced. The result is a game that features two different teams who are very equal to each other, so true skill, collaboration and understanding of the game are required to win. I wish Mario Karthad been fine-tuned like this.

A gift horse:

For variation, five new arenas have been added along the original maze, each with another visual style. It's nothing fancy though. The graphics do their job well, but the sound contains some very annoying effects. You could of course turn the sound off, but then you'd have to miss Mario's commentary. Oh, well.

Pac-Man vs. is a free giveaway with some games and it seems to be designed as such. The game has no options and no single player mode. It's a lot of fun to play, but not for long periods of time. For a quick multiplayer session, this is perfect.

 

Final Say:

Pac-Man vs. is one of the few games that do something interesting with the GBA-GC link-up. It's a simple twist on a proven concept, but very well balanced to provide a superb multiplayer experience. Let's hope it's a forerunner of a lot of amusing applications to come. Though there is no doubt linking enhances Pac-Man's gameplay, as a standalone game it's still rather limited. It's an excellent free giveaway or budget-priced product, but not worth buying a game for if you don't really like it.