Critics applauded the game's addictive nature, replay value, intense gameplay and electronic soundtrack, and for being a vast improvement over the original. Upon release, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX was met with critical acclaim, many calling it one of the best Pac-Man games ever made and one of the greatest video game remakes of all time. It was the first game released under the Namco Generations label, used for remakes of older Namco video games. The neon art-style was inspired by the fluorescent lights used in early LCD handheld games, and was intended to help make DX stand out among other games. Early prototypes experimented with increasing the number of power pellets and ghosts, leading to the sleeping ghost and 'ghost train' mechanics being added.

The development team wanted the game to focus on the excitement of fleeing from ghosts, and to appeal towards a more casual audience. The lively electronic soundtrack builds in intensity as the game timer ticks down and always gets me leaning forward in my chair.Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows Phone, PC, iOS, Android You can select from a variety of maze skins and character designs for each game, running from the 3D Pac-Mania characters to pixilated retro sprites.

Pac-Man Championship Edition DX also looks and sounds great. You can comb through the leaderboards for extensive data on all the many maps and modes, but there are other really nice touches: your current ranking is displayed right on the title screen, the Course Select screen, and again within the menu for each maze. Like I said, it's all about the high score, and Championship Edition DX provides many friendly ways to see how you rank against the competition. When you first dive into Championship Edition DX, only the standard Championship II course is unlocked, but each round you play usually unlocks a new maze or mode. Each maze also has many game options such as Score Attack, Time Trials, and Ghost Combos (see how many ghosts you can eat with one Power Pellet). Dungeon, on the other hand, has long, cramped corridors. For example, Spiral has several coils that are easy to get trapped in. DX has nine mazes, most of which are new creations that offer a lot of variety. While the first Championship Edition was super fun, there were only a couple of mazes and modes. This is also a key technique in getting those high scores.

Finally grabbing that Power Pellet and devouring a hundred ghosts in a row is one of the most satisfying things I've done in a game this year. Hold off on eating a Power Pellet long enough and you may find dozens of ghosts trailing behind you in a long conga line. You'll see the spirits sleeping around a maze, and as Pac-Man whizzes by they'll wake up and give chase. Pac-Man now has many more ghosts to contend with.

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