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All Articles: Ms. Pac-Man
World Video Game Hall of Fame announces finalists for Class of 2018
Curators at the International Center for the History of Electronic Games and the Strong Museum have announced the finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018. Eight games will get their first chance to be inducted into gaming’s inner circle, including Asteroids, Call of Duty, Dance Dance Revolution, Half-Life, King’s Quest, Metroid, Ms. Pac-Man, and Spacewar!.
Two other games, Final Fantasy VII and Tomb Raider, were previously in the finalist pool for the Class of 2017. They’ll get another chance this year alongside John Madden Football and Minecraft, which were previously on the ballot in 2016.
The World Video Game Hall of Fame will announce the inductees for the Class of 2018 on Thursday, May 3, at 10:30 AM. But this year, fans will get a vote in the first-ever Player’s Choice ballot. According to the rules, “the three games that receive the most public votes will form one “Player’s Choice” ballot, which will join the 27 other ballots submitted by members of the International Selection Advisory Committee, a supporting group composed of journalists, scholars, and other individuals familiar with the history of video games and their role in society.” Fans can make their voice heard through the Player’s Choice ballot once a day until April 4th. So vote early and vote often!
And if, for some reason, you’re unfamiliar with this year’s finalists, the World Video Game Hall of Fame has put together a helpful cheat sheet that can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Retro, Switch, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Final Fantasy VII, Minecraft, Ms. Pac-Man, Tomb Raider (1996), World Video Game Hall of Fame
4/1: Dash through the streets as Ms. Pac-Man with Google Maps “Insert Coin” filter
Back in 2015, Google let Pac-Man and his ghostly adversaries loose on the streets of the world for April Fool’s Day. This year, they’ve recruited Pac-Man’s better half to do it again.
A Ms. Pac-Man filter is now available in Google Maps by clicking on the “Insert Coin” button in the lower left corner of the screen. As long as the location they pick has enough streets, players can gobble up dots for a high score or chase Ghosts after munching on a Power Pellet.
Best of all, the “Insert Coin” filter also works with the Google Maps app on your smartphone or tablet.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Google, Ms. Pac-Man
The Video Game Canon: Ms. Pac-Man
Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon with a look at the accidental creation of Ms. Pac-Man. Here’s a teaser…
It’s easy to forget nowadays, but Ms. Pac-Man was actually created by accident. Like Doc Brown’s invention of time travel after a tumble from the toilet, Ms. Pac-Man was created when a group of game developers from MIT attempted to release an unauthorized sequel to Pac-Man known as “Crazy Otto.”
Before turning their sights on the biggest arcade game of the day, the development team, General Computer, first used their programming skills to create an “enhancement kit” for Atari’s Missile Command. Instead of creating their own game from scratch, the enhancement kit hooked into Atari’s code and altered it to provide a new gameplay experience. Essentially, General Computer created the first expansion pack.
Even though the enhancement kit required an original Missile Command cabinet, Atari later attempted to sue General Computer for copyright infringement. But rather than become mired in a protracted court case, the arcade giant and the enterprising college students reached a settlement. Atari would hire General Computer to design original arcade games so long as they agreed not to create any additional enhancement kits without the permission of the original game publisher. The developers quickly signed on, but first they took a nearly complete version of “Crazy Otto” to Midway, the North American distributor of Pac-Man.
Visit VideoGameCanon.com to continue reading this article and to explore the complete Top 1000.
Xbox Store Today: Lichdom Battlemage, Bandai Namco Arcade Series, more
The Xbox Games Store is in for a magical update this week…
First up is Lichdom: Battlemage, a first-person spellcasting game for the Xbox One from Xaviant. Players will take control of a wizard named Dragon, using his elemental magic to cut a swath through the countryside in search of Shax, the evil overlord who killed your family.
Also available this week is a quartet of games that have a different air of magic about them. Nostalgia is a powerful thing and Bandai Namco’s “Arcade Series” is overflowing with good feelings about the past. That’s because Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, and Dig Dug are now available to download for the Xbox One. While most players probably own these games in some form or another, it’s nice to see video game history represented on the modern day consoles.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Galaga, Lichdom: Battlemage, Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man
PS Store Today: Invisible Inc, Lichdom Battlemage, Axiom Verge for Vita, more
It’s Tuesday, so it’s time for Sony to update the PlayStation Store.
The consolemaker’s Launch Party promotion continues to roll on this week with the addition of Invisible Inc to the PlayStation Store. Previously available only on the PC, the isometric stealth game sneaks onto the PS4 this week in a special “Console Edition” that also includes the Contingency Plan expansion.
PS4 owners can also look forward to the addition of Lichdom: Battlemage to the PlayStation Store this week. The first-person spell casting game also debuted on the PC last year, but its fast-paced action and elemental magic system can now be controlled with a DualShock 4 controller.
And speaking of games with new homes, Axiom Verge has shrunk itself down to Vita size this week. The game, which is Cross-Buy compatible with the PS4 version, attempts to recreate the lonely existence of exploring an alien world that Metroid mined back in the 80s. So it’s almost fitting that it was developed by just one person.
Finally this week, Bandai Namco will re-release a quartet of arcade classics for the PS4. Dig Dug, Galaga, Ms. Pac-Man, and Pac-Man are now available to download for Sony’s newest console, and I’m sure this news is very exciting for the retro game fans out there.
More information on all of these titles (along with a few other new releases) can be found after the break. And a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons is available at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita
Tagged Axiom Verge, Galaga, Invisible Inc, Lichdom: Battlemage, Ms. Pac-Man
The 8 Bits of Christmas
What happens when Arthur Rankin, Jr.-esque stop-motion films join The White Stripes video for “Fell In Love With A Girl” and the most wonderful time of the year? It results in Andrew Jive’s “8-Bit Holiday” on YouTube, where Mario, Mega Man, Galaga and Ms. Pac-Man sneak out to spread some holiday cheer. The best part? They’re all made out of Legos.
With only 19,770 views as of this writing, it’s surprising that “8-Bit Holiday” hasn’t gone completely viral (maybe it was the post-Christmas posting date), though stop-motion software company Dragon posted the video on their Facebook page. Since his Tumblr is sprinkled with Pac-Man-related posts on every page, perhaps we’ll see more 8-bit tributes from Jive in the future.