![]() In this talk with Jerry Buckner, he tells the "Pac-Man Fever" story and recounts some of their non-Pac projects, including the WKRP in Cincinnati theme song. When the song took off, their label insisted on a full album of video game songs, and the duo delivered with tracks like "Do The Donkey Kong" and "Froggy's Lament." It put their rock aspirations in a coffin, but gave them the video game niche, which they've owned ever since (a Buckner & Garcia track appears in Wreck-It Ralph). It's a nifty pop tune by the team of Jerry Buckner and Gary Garcia, rockers from Akron, Ohio (home of Pere Ubu, The Black Keys and Lebron James), who earned a living writing jingles. "Pac-Man Fever" rose to #9 on the Hot 100 in March 1982, the only hit song about a video game ever recorded. You could find Pac-Man at the arcade, the pizza place, the deli or the local dive. They're not your typical 99 player experience, and that's good because in a world stuffed full of battle royal games, it's nice to see the formula flipped a bit, even if the core game is something we've seen for more than 40 years.There was a time when the most popular video game in America was played with one joystick. Arika, the developer of these games, has proven that they can take timeless classics and rework them as multiplayer games without losing what makes them so great. If I had to rank Pac-Man 99, I'd put it below Tetris 99 but above Mario 35. With that being said, it is still one of best free games on the Nintendo Switch. ![]() I just wish they explained things, and the DLC makes Pac-Man 99 feel less like a "free" game than Mario 35 and Tetris 99 did. It's easy to play, and once you understand how the game, it's incredibly fun. Pac-Man lives on, despite the oddsÄespite its flaws, Pac-Man 99 captures that feeling of just one more game perfectly. However, $30 for a multiplayer isn't the worst deal in gaming history, so your thoughts may differ. You can get everything Pac-Man 99 offers for $30, and it's not like Tetris 99 doesn't have DLC either, but the nickel & diming on display here with Pac-Man 99 just feels a little too egregious. Also, themes are paid DLC and not unlockable like they were in Tetris 99. It's a shame because a game like this would be even more fun if you could coordinate games with friends. Even Password Match, which would allow you to join a lobby with friends, is also locked away in that DLC pack. Score Attack, Blind Time Attack, and CPU battle must be bought separately for $15. This game might be free for Nintendo Switch Online users, but a lot of the game is locked away, and nothing seems to be unlockable. What's worse is that it seems like Pac-Man 99 is missing some of the features found in Tetris 99, which brings me to my next point: Paywalls. ![]() The trial and error gameplay is reminiscent of playing an arcade cabinet for the first time, but that doesn't mean it's not annoying. It's a little annoying losing a game because you didn't know that the red Jammer Pac-Man kills you, for example. You're just thrust into a game with 99 others. The Power-Up system, for example, is not explained at all. The core experience in Pac-Man 99 is fun, but it's not without faults. Pac Man 99 Locked Dlc (Image credit: iMore)
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