Pac-Man
In the world of video game clones, most people will point to Doom as the most cloned game of all time. But, likely that title is held, or at least challenged, by the one and only yellow dot gobbler, Pac-Man. The first time I played Pac-Man outside the arcade was on a clone, Snakman, released for the Commodore VIC-20. As an aside, that particular one was interesting because, whether it was a bug or a feature, you could actually go into the box at the center of the maze where the ghosts appeared and chomp them as they reappeared after eating a power pellet, since they would materialize as killable as long as the power pellet was active. So, as Namco’s celebration of Pac-Man’s 45th Anniversary comes to a close, let’s take a quick look at 10 Pac-Man clones released for the Commodore 64. As a side note, this list only includes titles released during the original lifespan of the C64, and doesn’t include any official conversions of Pac-Man or its sequels.
10. Pacman (public domain, Donald G. Burden)
First off is a public domain release from 1983. While this version is well done, it runs much faster than the original game, making the overall gameplay that much more difficult. The real claim to fame for this version, however, is the screen orientation. It is presented with the screen rotated 90°, as the original Pac-Man would be in the arcade. This forced users to set their bulky CRT monitors or (more likely) television sets on their side, a feat that wasn’t necessarily easy back in the ’80s. Modern displays make this much easier to accommodate, but it definitely would have limited the audience at the time.
9. Pakacuda (commercial, Comm*Data)
Pakacuda
Pakacuda was, as you can probably tell from the title, a fish-themed Pac-Man clone. This 1983 release tried to do something a bit different with the formula. It changed the maze design, making it less of a maze and more of a series of columns of items to clear. You are a barracuda, swimming the maze, eating small fish, trying to evade the pursuing octopi. If you eat an electric eel, you are temporarily able to dispatch each octopus. Interestingly, this version doesn’t even emulate the original’s sound effects, which may have been a mistake, since the sound design here can best be described as irritating. A largely forgettable entry.
8. Dot Gobbler (commercial, Mr. Computer Products)
This 1983 release is notable because, instead of using hardware sprites for the player and ghost characters, the programmer opted for a custom character set for everything. This is likely because it was a port of the VIC-20 version, which lacked hardware sprites. This doesn’t make the game inherently bad, by any means. It does give the game a jerky, more LCD-like movement. One feature of this version is a speed selector that lets you set the game speed to your liking.
7. Chomper Man (commercial, Victory Software)
Chomper Man (blackout)
This clone is one of the first on the list to do something truly unique with the tried-and-true Pac-Man formula. Another 1983 release, Chomper Man changes the maze design by increasing the thickness of the maze walls, making the playfield look more like a city block with streets and alleys. The basic mechanics of chomping dots and avoiding ghosts remain. Instead of power pellets, you pick up “ghost repellent” to dispatch the pursuing spooks. Where this one really stands out is the level progression. Each maze must be completed 3 times to proceed to the next. The first two times are normal, but for the third go-round, the maze is blacked out, leaving only the dots, the ghosts, and your character visible. Making your way around the maze becomes much harder as you gobble the dots showing your way, like eating your bread-crumb trail as you go. A true challenge.
6. Munch Man 64 (commercial, Solar Software)
1983’s Munch Man 64 is a classic case of “less is more”. This is a bare-bones clone of the original, with no attempts to introduce new character designs or gameplay elements to make it stand out. Colors vary slightly from the Pac-Man we know and love, but it’s clear what they’re going for. The game plays smoothly, without any hitches or hiccups. The sound effects are unobtrusive. It just plays nicely. The only real criticism is that it uses a single maze design for each level, but even that can be forgiven when the result is the equivalent of comfort food for your gaming palette.
5. Pac-Family (commercial, Star-World Software)
Pac-Family
Pac-Family is an intriguing late-in-life C64 release from 1993. While it may look like a standard, well-designed clone at first, this one has a lot more going for it. For starters, you are facing 6 ghosts in each maze as opposed to the 4 from the original. These can be dispatched by eating a power pellet, per usual. But, also roaming the maze, is a spider. The spider cannot be dispatched and must be constantly avoided. Along with the spider, you will also see a number of small, green Pac-Man-looking characters roaming the maze. As you gobble dots in order to clear the maze, these little bugger will leave dots behind them, effectively erasing your progress as they go. Fortunately, if you can catch them, they can be eaten at any time during the game. All of these additions make Pac-Family a particularly frantic entry into the Pac-Man clone space.
4. Monster Munch (commercial, Atlantis Software)
Monster Munch is a 1984 clone that, like other clones, doesn’t appear to be much different from the arcade original. The character designs mimic the original. The maze design, while somewhat different, isn’t that far removed from the ones in the arcade. Instead of fruit appearing in the center of the maze to collect for bonus points, a large question mark pops up occasionally that will give you the bonus. It doesn’t seem to last quite as long as the fruit of the original, so you need to be a bit more vigilant in order to get those bonus points. The twist with Monster Munch is that dynamite sometimes appears instead of the question mark. If you don’t get there to eat it before the fuse runs out, it will explode into two different roaming items: a flashing orb that can be collected for points, and a red, fiery orb that will chase you down. You cannot gobble this, regardless of whether or not you grab a power pellet. Your only chance of survival, short of being able to clear the maze, is to eat that dynamite in time. An explosive twist, to be certain.
3. Snackman (public domain, John McCarthy)
Snackman
Snackman is an immediately playable 1987 Pac-Man clone that appeared on many cover disks, tapes, and public domain collections. McCarthy was developing the game for commercial release, but the pre-release version was leaked into the public domain. Once this happened, John stopped development on the game and left it in the public domain, where it quickly became one of the most popular PD Pac-Man clones of all time. John would later return to it and release a “sales” version of the game, but if you played Snackman, you more than likely played and fell in love with the public-domain pre-release version. It wasn’t unusual for unreleased software to become top-notch public-domain software, and this was no exception.
2. Munch Mania (commercial, Mastertronic)
This 1984 release is notable for being part of Mastertronic’s £1.99 Series, which you could find at newsstands as a quick pick-up-and-play tape, and is generally remembered as one of the better commercially available clones. The game plays nicely, if a bit on the fast side. The playfield seems much more open than the original, with more space between dots and fewer twists and turns to the maze. One of those releases where, if you got a few hours of enjoyment from the game, it was worth 2 quid.
Pacmania
1. Pacmania (commercial, Mr. Chip Software)
Not to be confused with Namco’s 3D-isometric take on their original, Pacmania was developed by Shaun Southern, developer of classics like the Kikstart series, Trailblazer, and Formula 1 Simulator. Released in 1983, this was one of the first truly successful Pac-Man clones for the C64. It is also notable for being released on the VIC-20 and ported to the Commodore 16 and Plus/4 in 1985, making it one of the few clones to appear on Commodore’s entire line of micros at the time. The gameplay was, again, standard fare for the most part. Gobble dots, avoid ghosts, grab a power pellet, and eat the ghosts. Super-smooth gameplay, nice speed balancing speed and difficulty quite well. Shaun’s twist is three icons with a large, red “H” on them. Running over one of these will transport you to a random location in the maze. It adds an interesting challenge to the maze munching. A worthy entry in the gallery of Commodore 64 Pac-Man clones.
The post 10 Pac-Man Clones for the C64 for Pac-Man’s 45th appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.
