Graphics: 7
Ok, as much as I love this game (and I do border on obsesed), I can only hand out a seven here. The grachics do the job that they have to do, but come on, it was '79 in Japan when it came out. For their time the colorful graphics were amazing. And all the nice touches like the ghosts changing color or how their eyes pointed where they werte going were cool.

Sound: 9
Everyone knows the Pac-man theme. It's still catchy. The sound of munching down the dots was so well designed that it almost sounds like part of the background music and the sound of eating fruit or a ghost still brings a chuckle to my face. Some of the sting of dying was even taken away by the cool little tune that accompanied it. The only point that was lost was so because of the actual background music, just a siren over and over and over, if you're not die-hard Pac-man like me... this can get annoying really fast. Besides that little flaw, near perfect sound.

Gameplay: 9
So simple and yet so complex. The idea seems easy, run through the maze, eating dots and don't get killed. The ability to turn the hunted into the hunter via a power pill was your only offense against the ghost monsters. But those ghosts were clever devils. Sporting one of the earliest AI's each ghost had a distinct personality. Blinky followed you relentlessly. Pinky tried to cut you off at the pass. Inky was easily scared away. Clyde was the oddball, he just moved randomly to throw a little unpredictability in. Must of the times you die you'll find yourself falling victim to the Blinky/Pinky Combo of Doom. There is stragety and quick paced action, the only drawback being that there is only 1 maze, and 256 of it. Overall, a picture of a well balanced game that offered challenge while still being accessible to anyone.

Overall: 10
I admit I may be a little biased on this one, but I think that Pac-man is one of the greatest, most fun to play games ever created. Rushing through the maze, with nothing but your wits to protect you. Tricking the ghosts with one of the side exits, or luring them in to get the big points by eating them all on one power pill. This one just never gets old to me.

I grew up playing this game. I can still remember sitting in a highchair at the tender age of two, my parents sliding a quarter into the slot (that's right kids, when I was your age all arcade games were only a quarter) and grabbing that joystick. I still consider this one of the top five games ever made and think everyone should play it at least one to show how much fun you can have without polygons or violence. Pac-man basically created Namco and was the gaming icon of my generation of gamers. He's still more recognized around the world than Micky Mouse, and still a tour de force in the gaming world. You just can't stop this little hungry yellow guy.