Never played the previous two, so I can't compare. But I will say that this is a damn fine game! Having lots of fun with it, even though I'm pretty bad. The only thing that disappointed me would be the boss fights, because for some reason I expected them to be more...bossy. I guesss. Like, not quite as similar to the normal gameplay structure as they are.

Yeah, it seemed like one of the things they leaned on in trailers to distinguish CE2 from the previous games, but not only do they not affect the gameplay in a significant way: they're completely absent from the Score Attack mode, which IMO is the meat of the game.

I'll be honest, though: I was kind of relieved when I found out they're not a big part of the game. What I wanted from CE2, essentially, was more CE DX. And that's pretty much what I got.

I'm happy.

Oh, I'm happy too. It's a great arcade style game. Something that surprised me in a positive way is the soundtrack! I've mainly been playing the game while sitting on my excercise bike, and holy crap does this game make me go fast with the music blaring in my headphones! Too fast, to be honest.

Yeah, it's a fun game. I think I prefer the original, though. The Ghost train thing seems a little unpredictable. Or maybe I just haven't figured it out yet. But barely missing the target time for those challenges is maddening!

It's a good time, though, and perfect for Switch. My two quibbles are the framerate and the inability to upload high scores unless you're connected to the Internet RIGHT THEN. In conclusion, my scores are higher than Gui's. Prove me wrong!

You can't. I'm Mitchell-ing you all!

Anyway, that Namco Museum Collection is really tempting now. Donkey Kong is great on Switch, too. Speaking of which, are you guys going to get that Tate Mode grip?

Speaking of which, I just realized that Tate Mode is probably based on the word roTATE.

@Anand

“TATE” is a Japanese word meaning “vertical.” It’s pronounced “tah-TAY.”

In other news, “YOKO” means “horizontal.”

@GameDadGrant
Disappointing!

(But I think it's TAH-tay.)

Showed off the game to my 12 year old nephew just now, expecting him not to care too much and go back to Fortnite and FIFA as per usual, but he was amazed by it and wanted to give it a shot immediately. Makes me happy to see the retro concepts being able to woo the kids!

Did he cackle and go:

via GIPHY

@Guillaume
Exactly like that, yeah. Down to the posh blue suit and the male pattern baldness.

@Anand
I do wish they would port the original Championship Edition (DX) as well.

@CPA Wei
I still think it's crazy that Pac-Man Museum skipped Nintendo systems. Pac-Man Battle Royale would be amazing on the Switch. They could add a 100-player mode, even!

It's also criminal that a four-player Point Blank never made it to the Wii or Wii U.

There are so many multiplayer arcade games that would rock on Switch: The Simpsons, X-Men, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Bucky O'Hare, Darius Burst, Gauntlet, Warlords, NFL Blitz, The Grid, Super Sprint, etc., etc.

If you wanted a physical release of this game or the Namco Museum title, you're in luck.

I hope a Namco Museum 2 and the rest of the Pac-Man CE titles get released at some point as well.

@Guillaume
Awwwwww yeeeeaaah!

Thanks for the heads up!

I quite enjoy this game, but I really don't like the chasing mechanic after you get a power pellet. It feels to random and chaotic for me.

Everything else is great though, visuals, sound, presentation and the way it updates the classic Pac gameplay.

@TriforceBun

I didn't like it at first either, but when you play a board again, and again, and again, and again… you start seeing/memorizing the pattern and can predict and affect which path the ghost trains will take.

Not sure what causes the ghost trains to sometimes not stick to the track they're on, though. That part is BS.

@Guillaume
Isn't that something you can manipulate with your own movement?

@r_hjort

Yeah, you can easily manipulate them in taking either track when there's a split. What I can't figure out is why sometimes the ghost trains will just flat out get off the white tracks. That feels cheap to me. You're showing these white tracks to let us know where the ghost trains will go, so why have them ignore them, but just occasionally? It can really screw up a high score run.

@Guillaume
I don't think that's ever happened to me! They go off the tracks entirely?

Yeah, they don't follow the white lines.

Now that I think about it, I think it happens when two trains overlap? So it's not something that happens in the first mode.

So I guess that's the reason. But I still don't like it. The two trains should just take different paths at the next split.

@Guillaume
Huh. Do they at least go back on tracks when they come across them?