Pac 'n Roll

Pac ’n Roll is the latest game in the attempt to bring Pac Man back to digital domination. Unfortunately for this game, better games such as Kirby Canvas Curse and Pokemon Dash beat it to store shelves.
Pac ’n Roll starts out with a short scene that tries to give this game a semblance of a storyline. However, try as they might, the only Pac Man game (in my mind) that had a storyline was Super Pac Man for SNES. Even with the intro, the story seems both nonsensical, and unimportant, it you might as well skip it.
The early gameplay consists of you moving your stylus on the touch pad to move Pac-man along through the stage collecting various objects. There are small gates that require you to collect a set amount of Pac pellets before they open. Some stages require you to grab powerups that will change you into a new type of Pac Man with new powers. For example, one powerup turns our yellow hero into a knight. The knight is heavy of course, which allows him to sink under water for pellets, or destroy heavy metal blocks. Most other transformations have likewise balance changes. Small gems are also hidden about the stages, and these gems unlock additional levels. Challenge stages can be unlocked by completing other stages in a sort of chain of effect.
On the DS, the top screen serves as your main gameplay screen where you can see what is happening. The bottom screen shows a simple picture of Pac Man and nothing more. The bottom screen is pretty much useless, except for serving as a way to move your character around.
The graphics in this game are passable but not great. While blocky at times, they are pretty sharp for the most part. Being such a limited game, Pac ‘n Roll doesn’t really challenge any games for DS visual supremacy since there just isn’t much to show off.
The sound in this game is boring and annoying, and the game is best enjoyed while muted. The sound of Pac Man gobbling Pac pellets tires very quickly.
Replay value in this game is almost non-existent. It’s a game with a ton of unlockables, but the gameplay’s not enjoyable enough to make you actually want to find all those unlockables. Lacking any multiplayer support, Pac ‘n Roll just doesn’t have any compelling reason for being on your DS. Maybe as a discount purchase, but certainly not a new purchase.