Connectivity. n. Feature or features in a GameCube title that utilize the Game Boy Advance handheld system to enhance the gaming experience. See: gimmick.
This year's Electronic Entertainment Expo wasn't the beginning of Nintendo's "connectivity" strategy, but it was the first year the company really put a lot of muscle behind the idea. It's obviously a "love it" or "hate it" idea; folks who own both systems generally don't have a problem, but man, say the word "connectivity" to some truly diehard gamers and it's war...the videogame equivalent of a "your mom" quip.
The whole connectivity thing hasn't had much opportunity to strut its stuff, to show the world what it's truly capable of when a team puts an entire effort behind the concept. Most of the ideas that have come to market are relatively supplemental and afterthoughts; an overhead map here, a portable island there. But despite a whole lot of creative thought and demos shown off at the past two E3s, there haven't been many must-have game design ideas that truly display the potential for combining the two systems together.
That is, until Pac-Man came to town.
Pac-Man Vs., the first Connectivity-Exclusive game for the GameCube, isn't much more than a multiplayer edition of the old-school Pac-Man design. But it's in the way it's been created that makes the idea successful and original. It's incredibly simple in concept but, like the original Pac-Man arcade game, is intuitive for anyone regardless of their gaming skill levels. And, of course, the fact that it's essentially a freebie definitely sweetens the pot.
Even though the game design doesn't stray much beyond what Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani established in the 1980 arcade game, Pac-Man Vs. actually has had a lot of thought into its gameplay and strategy. Its blueprints are grounded by the rules of the original arcade design, but the connectivity between the two systems pushes the classic design into a whole new direction. Pac-Man is controlled via the Game Boy Advance in a view that mimics the arcade game; simple graphics, overhead view of nearly the entire maze. The task is the same: maneuver through the maze eating dots laid out in the path, avoiding the ghosts that wander the maze. By eating a power-pill, Pac-Man can temporarily turn the tables on the ghosts, with each chomp of the ghost earning points for the player.
The twist here is, the three ghosts can be human controlled on the GameCube system. The maze on the Game Boy Advance is fully represented in 3D graphics, with each ghost having its own view of the action. The downside: the ghosts have limited peripheral vision whereas Pac-Man can see almost everywhere. But, fruit that was originally only edible to Pac-Man can now be scored by the ghosts, and the one that grabs the treat will temporarily widen his view of the action.
The fact that the ghosts have as much maneuverability as Pac-Man changes the original game's strategy -- the original arcade game featured very limited AI for the ghosts, and in fact, players could find set patterns in the pathing of the ghost to advance through the levels without dying. Since humans are now controlling the ghosts, all bets are off and require Pac-Man to create a better plan of attack to grab out of reach dots. The ghost that nabbed Pac-Man during play steals 1600 points from that player, and takes control of Pac-Man by switching his controller for the Game Boy Advance. This cycle continues until one player reaches a point limit that's decided at the beginning of the game...making that player the winner.
The game is best played (and incredibly fun) with four players, but the developers intelligently tweaked the game for two and three player matches. In these games, there are still three ghosts in the maze, but the non-player controlled ghost or ghosts are now controlled by the computer. The added gameplay element: at the beginning of the game, the computer controlled ghosts are harmless neutrals, appearing on the Game Boy Advance as simple eyeballs wandering the maze. The one or two player-controlled ghosts have to touch the ghost to "activate" it, turning it the color of that player. It's still computer controlled, but it's now active, and if that ghost nabs Pac-Man, that color player earns the points and gains control of Pac-Man in the next round. It may sound simple, but this "nab the ghost" element really adds to the Pac-Man Vs. fun and almost makes two and three player modes as fun as the full four-player experience.
Pac-Man Vs. features six maps to play, including the original arcade map and five original creations. That's well more than what the original arcade game offered, but of course more would certainly have been better. Each maze uses the same pixel assets on the GBA screen, but up on the GameCube they all offer their own graphical theme, from a boardwalk in "Panic Pier" to a cemetery in "R.I.P Park." The game runs at a full 60 frames per second in 3D, but because of the game's "retro" and simple look we wouldn't expect anything less.
For some unexplained reason, Mario (yes, the plumber) is completely unseen but offers an unnecessary commentary on the game's action. He'll quip "clever" quotes like "Pac-Man ate a Power Pellet!" when Pac-Man, indeed, eats a power-pellet. If a ghost is right on Pac-Man's tail, Mario will offer a nervous, "It's-a not looking so good-a!" What the hell he's doing in this game isn't clear or needed, but we're guessing Nintendo needed to let the public know that the company had something to do with the game. The rest of the audio is perfectly fine if a little "bippy," but since Pac-Man Vs. doesn't feature a single option menu players can't adjust any bit of the game's audio if it gets a little unnerving. But since the game involves many people around the set, the inevitable cheers and smack-talking can and will drown out the in-game noise.