Ms. Pac-Man

• Release Date: 1983
• Genre: Action
• Style: Maze
• Similar Games: Jr. Pac-Man (Arcade), Jr. Pac-Man (Commodore 64/128), Lady Bug (Arcade), Mouse Trap (Commodore 64/128), Mouse Trap (Arcade), Super Pac-Man (Arcade), Jr. Pac-Man (Atari Video Computer System), Pac-Man (Atari Video Computer System), Mouse Trap (Atari Video Computer System), Pac-Man (Game Boy), Pac-Man (Intellivision), Pac-Man [Tengen Unlicensed] (Nintendo Entertainment System), Lady Bug (ColecoVision), Mouse Trap (ColecoVision), Pac-Man (Atari 5200), Pac-Man (Sega Game Gear), Pac-Man (Texas Instruments TI-99), Pac-Man (NeoGeo Pocket Color)

Game Description

One of the better ports of the era, Ms. Pac-Man has much of the charm and appeal of the 1981 arcade classic, including cute intermissions, a nice rendition of the theme song, solid controls (surprise, surprise), white-eyed ghosts (as opposed to the empty-stare ghosts in the 5200 version of Pac-Man), and four accurately designed mazes (even though they are square instead of rectangular). Sure, Ms. Pac-Man has a craggy mouth, and the action is a little slower than the original, but this is one game Atari 5200 owners should not miss.

Review: Overall

Riding on the strengths of Lady Bug, Mouse Trap, Oil's Well, and Pepper

II, the ColecoVision is generally thought to be superior to the Atari 5200 in terms

of maze games. Ironically, the greatest arcade maze game of all time, Ms. Pac-Man,

never made it to the ColecoVision, but it is available for the 5200. Unfortunately,

speed, one of the things that made Ms. Pac-Man such a great arcade game, is missing

from this version. The ghosts are fast enough, but Ms. Pac-Man herself moves along

as though each dot she eats briefly slows her down, making the character sluggish and the

animation choppy, even in the later rounds. She speeds up some as you progress through

game, but not enough for this jaded gamer.

Another problem with this game lies with the Atari 5200's pesky non-centering

joysticks. These too-flexible controls are not a problem with free-roaming games such as

Missile Command or Centipede, but they don't work well for games such as this

that demand precision movements.

On a brighter note, the graphics match the arcade game pretty well. Ms. Pac-Man

isn't quite as round as she should be, and her mouth is a little craggy, but the game has a

nice overall look to it. The sound is very good: the game even includes the animated

musical intermissions. However, if you've already got the 2600 version of the game,

which has better controls and gameplay, you shouldn't knock yourself out hunting down

the 5200 version.

Ms. Pac-Man is based on a very solid formula, that of maneuvering around a maze,

gobbling up dots while avoiding ghosts. It worked for Pac-Man, and it works for this

game. If you can forgive its faults, you'll manage to have a pretty good time playing

Ms. Pac-Man for the 5200.

Review: Enjoyment

After playing the arcade game and the 2600 port, you'll wonder why this game couldn't have been sped up a bit.

Review: Graphics

Ms. Pac-Man could stand to be cleaned up a little, but this is a cute and colorful game.

Review: Sound

The sound effects and musical numbers are fun.

Review: Replay Value

If you've already got the {!2600} version, don't bother with this one, unless ugraded graphics and sound effects are more important to you than gameplay.

Review: Documentation

The manual, which folds out into a poster of sorts, is attractive and informative.