When the Nintendo DS was first unveiled at E3 2004, attendees got a chance to play several tech demos and early versions of games to experience for themselves the kind of gameplay that they could look forward to with the new touch screen interface. One such game was Pac N Roll. It was a simple demo in which you had to use the touch screen to roll Pac-Man through a 3D maze, avoid ghosts, and munch up any power pellets you found along the way. It was easily one of my favorite DS demos at the show.

E3 2005 has come and gone, and once again Pac N Roll remains one of my favorite DS games of the show. Namco did a good job of turning what was once a simple demo into a full-fledged game. Although there were only four playable levels at E3, the game displayed a total of twenty-five levels spread throughout five worlds.

Perhaps one of the best aspects of Pac N Roll is its controls. Its one of those games that is so simple and intuitive to control that its easy for someone to just pick it up and play. A large 3D Pac-Man against a plain background resides on the bottom screen, while the actual game screen is displayed on the top. By simply sliding your stylus anywhere on the touch screen, Pac-Man will roll in that direction. The rolling is also affected by how level the ground is. Its obviously going to be a lot more difficult to try to roll Pac-Man up a hill than it would be to roll him down one. If you just place the stylus in the center of the touch screen, it acts as a brake and will stop Pac-Man from rolling. If you drag the stylus around from this stopped position, he will only roll as far as your stylus travels. The only other form of control in the game besides rolling with the touch screen is the D-Pad, which is used to move the camera around.

 

The goal of each level is to simply get to the end. Throughout some of the levels are check points which will only let you pass if you have collected enough Pac-Pellets. The levels contain various obstacles and puzzles like floating platforms or ghosts. If you get touched by a ghost, youll see him on the bottom screen circling Pac-Man. You then have to tap the ghost to stun him. The longer he stays on, the more energy he will take. Pac-Man can only get hit three times before he dies, so its a good idea to try to get the ghost off fast. It seems that the ghost is affected more by how rapidly you hit it with the stylus, rather how many times you hit it total. Once you get the ghost off of Pac-Man, it becomes stunned long enough for you to roll away. The only way to actually defeat a ghost is by gobbling up a Power-Pellet, which of course turns them blue so that you can eat them. When you eat your first ghost, you get a bonus of five pellets. Every ghost you eat in a row doubles the amount of pellets you obtain. The first is five, then ten, then twenty, etc.

One of the biggest changes from the 2004 demo is the inclusion of hats. These hats are very similar in function to the hats found in Super Mario 64. There were two types of hats in this demo, and its unknown if there will be more. The wing hat makes Pac-Man roll faster and gives him the ability to roll over small gaps. However, it also makes him weak to wind, which could easily blow him right off the level. The armor hat makes Pac-Man roll slower and fall faster, but also allows him to be hardly affected by wind. The hats are a nice inclusion and help to add a little depth to the gameplay.

Overall, Pac N Roll seems like its going to be a very unique gaming experience. The touch screen controls are perfect for both casual and seasoned gamers. At E3 2005, Namco also confirmed that the full original arcade version of Pac-Man would be included on the DS card. Look for Pac N Roll to hit stores this August.