You'd be hard pressed to meet someone who hasn't at least heard of Pac-Man. One of the original videogame icons, his legacy persists to this day, largely thanks to his fans, and his revival in games such as Pac-Man Championship Edition. With Sega chucking Sonic onto the auto-runner bandwagon, it's not surpise to see Namco pushing out their spherical star towards the genre. Thing is, while Pac-Man Dash! does approach the genre in an interesting way, it may be too little too late.
The action kicks off in a city environment. You have fifteen missions to complete, each one unlocking the next mission as a separate stage. Pac-Man runs faster the more power pellets he consumes. As you follow the trail of pellets throughout the stage, you must run and jump to maximise your intake. In a neat role reversal, ghosts run in fear of Pac-Man the instant they see him. Gobbling them up will increase the level timer, allowing you more to complete the mission objectives and rack up a higher score.
Perhaps we've played too many endless runners, or are just overly familiar with Pac-Man, but it took a little effort to not instinctively jump over a ghost the instant one appeared on the screen.
The rest of the game is standard endless-runner stuff. You progress through a series of environments, using your currency to buy upgrades that make the level's easier and change Pac-Man's skin. If you play daily, you will net a handy jackpot bonus. Thankfully, the freemium design isn't too pushy. Pop-up links steer you towards the Pac-Man toy website, where you can buy figures and other accessories from the upcoming cartoon, but that's about it.
Unfortunately, beneath the game's chirpy exterior and super-charged soundtrack, there's just not much here to recommend Pac-Man Dash! to anyone other than auto-runner enthusiasts. Though the mission-based stages add some interest, the formulaic gameplay can't sustain that interest for long. In the end, we fear Pac-Man Dash! is is destined to forever chase the ghosts of other auto-runners.
Description
Gobble up all the cookies and ghosts!
PAC-MAN keeps busy running and eating in this action-filled game!
■Available free of charge!■
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[Version Update Information]
◆Ver. 1.2.0 has been released!
-New item added!
◆ Ver. 1.1.0 has been released!
- How far can you run!? Record challenge mode has been added!
- Burn stuff! Turn invisible! New items added!
- Added Game Center functionality! Compare scores with friends around the world!
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[Game Description]
◆Anyone can play! Just touch and jump!
-Touch the screen to jump and eat cookies and ghosts in this simple game!
◆Comical PAC-MAN and ghost characters keep active!
-PAC-MAN and his friends, as well as ghosts and monsters all display a wide range of actions!
◆Run through many different stages!
-Run through a variety of stages, from PAC-MAN's home in the big city, to the ghosts' world underground.
-As you progress through the stages, you will be able to jump really high off of jump platforms and feel the satisfaction of taking down monsters!
◆Tackle over 70 missions!
-Challenge yourself with many different missions, such as eating 300 cookies, or jumping 40 times!
-Clear them to get exciting presents!
◆Try to see how long you can keep running!
-If you jump well and eat the ghosts, you can keep running longer!
-Keep eating and eating and eating... How long can you keep it up?
◆Use lots of power-up items and aim for a new record!
-Exchange your accumulated cookies for power-up items!
-The various power-ups are fun to watch! You can see PAC-MAN transform, or his friends come to help him!
-There are so many useful items to let you jump further, or eat more cookies and ghosts!
◆You can save up to 4 different game files, so the whole family can play!
-Save games for friends and family members in different files!
-Everyone can share their cookies and items, so work together to collect them!
-Compete to see who can keep running the longest!
◆Connect with PAC-MAN toys!
-Users in the USA can enjoy another feature connected with the PAC-MAN toy campaign!
-Read the barcode on your PAC-MAN toy with your camera, and you can rent the item that matches the toys for seven days!
-During the rental period, you can obtain the item for half as many cookies!
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Q&A
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Q: I want to share my save data with iCloud.
A: You can share data by using the same App Store account with both devices you want to share the cloud data with, and following the procedure below.
Settings -> iCloud -> Sign in with your App Store account -> Storage & Backup -> Set iCloud back-up to "On".
Q: I don't want to share my data with iCloud.
A: Settings -> iCloud -> Storage & Backup -> Manage Storage -> Select device to exclude from sharing -> Set "PAC-MAN DASH!" in the back-up options to "Off".
To resume sharing with a device you have removed, use the same steps as above, but set "PAC-MAN DASH!" to "On".
Also, by deleting your save data, you can also delete the save data on the iCloud.
When you erase all your data, all data except for permanent items will be erased and cannot be recovered, so please be careful.
[Recommended model]
iPhone5s,iPhone5c,iPhone5,iPhone4S
iPod touch(5th generation)
iPad (4rd generation)
iPad (3rd generation)
iPad mini
[Recommended OS version]
iOS5.0.1 or later
[Disclaimer]
(1) Operation is not supported for the models and OS versions other than those recommended.
(2) Depending on your usage, there may be cases where operation is unstable even with the recommended models.
(3) Regarding recommended OS versions, although it says [iOSXXX or later] this does not guarantee that it will support the latest OS version.
[Latest recommended models and other inquiries]
https://bnfaq.channel.or.jp/english/
*English support only
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PAC-MAN DASH! ™ & ©2013 BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc.
What's New in Version 1.2.0
ver1.2.0
◆New item added!
-"Pacerchini": Ride the super vehicle to defeat monsters!
ver1.1.0
◆ "Record Challenge" has been added!
- See how far you can run and then outdo yourself in Challenge Mode!
- Compete against your friends' and family's high scores!
◆ Four new items added!
- "Fire Pac": Throw fire and burn ghosts to a crisp!
- "Chameleon Pac": Turn invisible and eat ghosts before they see it coming!
- "Grabbin' Figure Pac with Gooage": Spit slime from your mouth and immobilize ghosts!
- "Gigantic Pac with Gooage": As for this item, you'll have to see for yourself!
◆ Now works with Game Center!
- "Leader Board"
Compare scores with rivals from around the world!
- "Achievements"
Take on all sorts of challenges such as "Eat a total of 50,000 cookies"!!
◆ Other
- The menu screen and gameplay has been optimized to be smoother, making it easier to play.
- Fixed a number of issues.