Pac-Man Making Grand Comeback

Namco Bandai is the house that Pac-Man built. So when we sat down to have a look at all-things Pac-Man that the company has planned for the coming year, it was no surprise that those plans are pretty big. Namco Bandai has three Pac-Man titles set for release in 2013: Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+ and Pac-Man Museum.

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures is the biggest of the upcoming titles. It’s tied to a children’s TV series that started airing in mid-June on the Disney XD channel in the U.S. The game will not hit until sometime this Fall, but the graphic style and story mimic the TV show. It’s a traditional 3D platformer that will feature over eight hours of playtime for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii U. A 3DS version is also in the works, but it will be a side scrolling platformer to make it easier for kids to get into. Both versions will feature mutltiplayer action for up to four people.

Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+ will be available for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Steam late this Summer. The game is a free upgrade if you own the original Pac-Man Championship Edition and adds a bevy of new features to the title. You can compare scores with friends (think Geometry Wars 2), the game records score history (to compare with yourself), there’s a new achievement system and a new gameplay element that encourages you to create long trains of ghosts, then take them all down. There are also paid DLC maps that change the characters. For instance, the Dig Dug map changes Pac-Man and the ghosts into characters from Dig Dug.

The last title that Namco has in development is Pac-Man Museum. It’s a compilation that includes the original Pac-Man, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+ and Pac-Man Battle Royal. No price point has been announced, but the game will be released this Winter for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, 3DS and Steam.

With three titles in the works for current generation consoles, Namco definitely seems very confident in its mascot. Hopefully this leads to more Pac-Man love in the years to come on next-generation consoles. It’s a classic character from an era of gaming that most modern players seem to have forgotten. It’s refreshing to see the publisher supporting the character and bringing him back with such ferocity.