Platform: Arcade
Region: NTSC-U
Country: United States of America
Developer(s): General Computer Corporation
Publishers(s): Midway Manufacturing
ReleaseDate: 1982-01-13
Players: 2
Co-op: No
Ms. Pac-Man
Ms. Pac-Man is a 1981 arcade maze chase video game developed by General Computer Corporation and released by Midway Manufacturing in the USA on January 13, 1982. Ms. Pac-Man is the second game in the Pac-Man series and the first game in the Pac-Man series to be developed without Namco's involvement. The gameplay is very similar to that of Pac-Man. The player earns points by eating pellets and avoiding ghosts (contact with one causes Ms. Pac-Man to lose a life). Eating an energizer (or "power pellet") causes the ghosts to turn blue, allowing them to be eaten for extra points. Bonus fruits can be eaten for increasing point values, twice per round. As the rounds increase, the speed increases, and energizers generally lessen the duration of the ghosts' vulnerability, eventually stopping altogether. Differences from the original Pac-Man The game has four mazes that appear in different color schemes and alternate after each of the game's intermissions are seen. The pink maze appears in levels one and two; the light blue maze appears in levels three, four, and five; the brown maze appears in levels six to nine; and the dark blue maze appears in levels 10 to 14. After level 14, the maze configurations alternate every fourth level. The first, second, and fourth mazes have two sets of warp tunnels, as opposed to only one in the original maze. The walls have a solid color rather than an outline, which makes it easier for a novice player to see where the paths around the mazes are. The orange ghost is called Sue, rather than Clyde; her color was later changed to purple in Pac-Land to differentiate her. The ghosts' behavioral patterns are different, and include semi-random movement, which prevents the use of patterns to clear each round. Blinky (red) and Pinky (pink) move randomly in the first several seconds of each level, until the first reversal. Inky (cyan) and Sue (orange) still use the same movement patterns from the previous game to their respective corners, again until the first reversal. Instead of appearing in the center of the maze, the fruits bounce around the maze, entering and (if not eaten) leaving through the warp tunnels. Once all fruit has been encountered, they appear in random sequence for the rest of the game, starting on the eighth round; a 5000-point banana can be followed by a 100-point pair of cherries. When Ms. Pac-Man makes contact with a ghost and dies, she spins around, or as the back of the flier says, "she dramatically swoons and falls" rather than folding in on herself as the original Pac-Man did. The three intermissions follow the developing relationship between the original Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man (from when they first meet to having a stork drop off their baby). The latter served as the basis for Baby Pac-Man and is referenced in Jr. Pac-Man. The slowdown applied to the ghosts in the warp tunnels only applies for the first three rounds in this game. The sound effects and music are all new.
Trailer: YouTube
ESRB Rating: E - Everyone
Genre(s): Action
