XBLA to get Pac-Man Championship Edition tomorrow @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on June 05, 2007

News: Namco Bandai has reinvented the Pac-Attack at the Pac-Man world championships.

The Pac-Man World Championship is going on right now in New York and Microsoft plans to celebrate by announcing a new Pac-Man game for the Xbox Live Arcade that will be released tomorrow. Titled Pac-Man: Championship Edition, the game includes new timed modes, HD graphics and "new mazes that dynamically change shape during gameplay."

Microsoft has also boasted that this game will include the first new Pac-Man mazes in 26 years. But while the original Pac-Man did come out in 1980, there have been plenty of new mazes released since then. The whole point of Ms. Pac-Man was that it was "Pac-Man, with new levels!" But I digress, this is still pretty cool news for Pac-fans.

There will be six new timed modes in Pac-Man: Championship Edition and they are:

The Championship Mode: This is the main game mode designed by Namco Bandai Games and Iwatani specifically for the championship round of the Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship. This mode Ц as well as all others within the УPac-Man Championship EditionФ Ц features redesigned mazes with wide maze walls and a widescreen configuration to better enable high-speed game play. Timed limit of five minutes.

Challenge Mode 1 (Patience and Reward Course): This mode is an evolution of the Championship Mode. Patience mazes strategically offer fewer Power Pellets and Reward mazes provide a large number of Power Pellets Ц providing unique challenges and rewards for the player. Timed limit of 10 minutes.

Challenge Mode 2 (The Darkness Course): In this mode, only the area directly around Pac-Man and the Ghosts is visible and the maze walls are completely hidden. Timed limit of 10 minutes.

Extra Mode 1 (The Freeway Course): An extremely high-speed mode for advanced players, this mode features warp-speed Pac-Man and Ghosts and plenty of tunnels. Timed limit of five minutes.

Extra Mode 2 (The Manhattan Course): A mode inspired by the streets of Manhattan Ч the home for the first-ever Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship. Timed limit of five minutes.

Extra Mode 3 (The Overall Course): A mix of all other modes resulting in extreme mazes for the most devout Pac-Man fans. Timed limit of 10 minutes.

The game will also have the standard complement of leaderboards and Achievements and it will be available for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).