The kart racer is nothing new in this industry. So many game characters have kart racing games based upon their universe that I've lost count. Even the likes of Bomberman and the Chocobos from the Final Fantasy games have some kind of racing efforts that were offered to the public at one time. Now joining the fray is arcade legend Pac-Man, who brings a plethora of Namco faces and places for his kart racing opus, Pac-Man World Rally. And while you won't find too much here that's strikingly original, it is a complacent kart racing game that fans will eat up, just like the dots featured in the game.

Pac-Man and friends basically compete in a series of races across a series of locales. Most of these locales look taken from other racing games. The haunted mansion with ghosts flying around? I saw that one a while back in a Mario Kart game. A fun house? I've driven through "wacky houses" before. There is some originality, however. When I found myself racing through an enlarged Pac-Man arcade cabinet, I was gleefully enjoying myself for some reason.

And the folks at Smart Bomb Interactive did try some new things with level design, which is to their credit. As you go through the race, you can snag fruit items and open up new pathways on the course, allowing you an opportunity to attempt to get the lead. If those don't work enough to your credit, you can also pick up some power-ups that help you get ahead, and leave a defensive mark on your racing opponents. I still like the fruit idea better.

The gameplay is almost nothing new. It is trying to stay with the Namco theme as you attempt to win trophies and unlock new tracks and characters, but the controls feel like any other kart racing game, right down to the drift system. Probably the only real thing to stand out is the dot-eating system. Eat enough dots and your vehicle changes into a Pac-Mobile, where you can "chomp down" the other racers on the track and make them start over. It's a little strange, but it works pretty well. Too bad it doesn't happen more often in the game to give you an advantage.

The music's pretty good, with a number of classic Namco themes accounted for and remixed for listening pleasure. As for the graphics, the game doesn't look amazing by any means. It's pretty solid for a kart racer, but if you're expecting vibrant new visions in a kart game, you're looking at the wrong product. And multiplayer's okay, except for the fact that only two players can go at once- a major strike against the game. Four players would've been awesome.

Pac-Man World Rally's only real component of originality, aside from a couple of tracks, is in its character selection. Pac-Man and the four ghosts are present and accounted for, and players will also like some picks that emerge from other Namco titles. The enemies from Dig-Dug, Pooka and Fygar, show up to wreak their own havoc on the course. Some fans, however, will automatically want to begin racing as the Prince of All Cosmos. He's surprisingly just as spry behind the wheel as he is a Katamari ball.

As far as I'm concerned, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is the king of kart racers. It has so many more options and ideas than Pac-Man World Rally that I can't help but recommend that instead. However, Namco's made a pretty good kart racing game here, and if you're sick of Nintendo's go-around on the track, you'll find a game with decent multiplayer options, goodies to unlock, terrific character selection, some inspired track ideas, and a decent presentation. Give it a rent and see if your kids get into it.

Our Final ScoreMediocre

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