Is Pac-Man Overrated?

Please welcome the gaming icon and the legend!
Iiiiiiits Pac-Man everyone!

Pac-Man is the arcade game which was released by Bandai Namco in 1980 to much critical acclaim.  Pac-Man quickly solidified its place in the hearts of gamers everywhere.  This was probably due to the simplistic game concept and easily recognizable shape of the ghosts and Pac-Man himself.

If you are somehow unfamiliar with the concept of Pac-Man, let me summarize.  Or rather, let me show you.

Below you will find a link to the fully playable Google doodle which was released during the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man in 2010.  This controls identically to the original game.  All you have to do is use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move Pac-Man to eat all the dots whilst avoiding the colored ghosts on-screen.  Simple enough.

If you would like to play it, try the link Here.

Anyways, on to our main article:

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Many times I have heard people say that Pac-Man is the "greatest game ever," or that it is at least an amazing game, and this kind of irks me.  Usually these people are middle aged people who have nostalgia towards the game, as it was probably the first game that they felt any sort of connection to.  Given, its hard not to love the little yellow pie shape whose only reason to exist is to eat, and he will always hold a special place in my heart.

But when we really get down to the finer details, does Pac-Man really hold up as an excellent game anymore?  I mean, there is certainly no denying that even to this day, Pac-Man is fun to pick up and play, but as you continue playing, you may find yourself quickly becoming bored.

You continuously play on a single stage through the whole game.  No matter how many levels you finish, you will still be presented with the same blue-bordered stage, with the same dots, and the same ghosts.  The only variation comes in the form of little cutscenes (If you finish two levels in the doodle above, you can see one of them), and the other is a collectible item which appears on the screen which changes in appearance as you progress throughout the game.  Other variations, such as the speed of the ghosts and Pac-Man add a little more difficulty to the game as you progress, but this is about it.

Part of the first Pac-Man cutscene

Pac-Man doesn't really make us feel any deeper emotions either.  All the greatest games make us think, and maybe feel deep empathy for the characters, such as in Bioshock (Read my review here).  But maybe it is just the simplicity that people find endearing about Pac-Man.  He's just a simple fellow.  Feed him, and he is happy.  Who can't relate to that?

Pac-Man doesn't really have anything that other games don't these days.  In fact, there have been numerous Pac-Man rehashes, each of them with similar but deeper game mechanics (My favorite being Pac-Man Arrangement).  Yet when you think about how terrible games were back in the day of Pac-Man's release, it would have certainly been a breath of fresh air.  Colorful characters, fun design, and sounds that keep your blood pumping with excitement would have made this game really popular at that time.  Not to mention a lack of blood and gore, thus being more welcoming to non-gamers.

In conclusion, I believe that yes, Pac-Man is overrated, even astronomically so, but that doesn't detract from the enjoyment I have when moving around that one, silly little maze while dodging colorful ghosts.  Although there are many many better games out there, Pac-Man will always hold a place in the hearts of countless gamers.

Do you agree with my conclusion?  Or am I completely wrong?
Let me know what you think in the comments below!