Pac-Man 256

Overview

Pac-Man 256 is a free-to-play 3D isometric maze game developed by Hipster Whale and 3 Sprockets and released by Bandai Namco for iOS and Android devices on August 20, 2015.

Similar to Hipster Whale's earlier isometric game Crossy Road, players control the eponymous hero Pac-Man as he makes his way through an endless maze while collecting power-ups, avoiding ghosts, and chomping dots for points (with a score multiplier that increases as Pac-Man eats a continuous set of dots). Inspired by a well-known glitch in the original Pac-Man arcade game (where an integer overflow in the game's HUD causes the maze to corrupt and become unwinnable at round 256), the back end of the maze slowly becomes corrupted (which makes its way towards Pac-Man, causing the game to end prematurely if it reaches him).

As players play through the game multiple times, they unlock new power-ups (by collecting dots throughout all games) and earn coins (which can be used to upgrade power-ups and purchase cosmetic themes). In the game's original release, players had a limited amount of "credits" (which can be replenished over time or purchased, either piecemeal or a one-time "unlimited" option) used both for starting the game with power-ups enabled and for continuing a game in progress.

The game was later ported by Bandai Namco Vancouver to the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, Mac, and Linux on June 21, 2016. Unlike the mobile versions, these ports require the game itself to be purchased beforehand (removing the free-to-play Credits system, making power-ups always enabled, and changing continues to use Coins instead). It also adds co-operative multiplayer for up to four local players. The mobile versions were updated on September 20, 2016 to also remove the Credits system in the same fashion (while adding optional video ads for continuing a game in progress and modifying the "Unlimited Credits" IAP to instead give the ability to continue without using Coins or watching ads).

Enemies

The game features the four ghosts from the original Pac-Man as well as a number of new ones, each of which exhibits its own behavior pattern.

• Blinky - Follows Pac-Man and attempts to take shortcuts.
• Pinky - Charges at Pac-Man after crossing its path.
• Clyde - Travels downward.
• Inky - Circles a small area.
• Spunky - Follows Pac-Man for a short while after getting close.
• Funky - Move in a pack from left and right.
• Sue - Move in a pack left and right toward Pac-Man.
• Glitchy - Creates pools of glitch that are impassible.

Power-Ups

Power-Ups give Pac-Man new abilities to kill ghosts and gain extra points. Power-Ups take the place of dots on the play field. New power-ups are unlocked by eating dots over multiple games.

• Laser - Shoots a laser that toasts ghosts
• Freeze - Slows all ghost movement
• Bomb - Touch a ghost to trigger an explosion
• Giant - Pac-Man grows and can squish ghosts
• Tornado - Summons a tornado that chases ghosts
• Stealth - Ghosts cannot see or harm Pac-Man
• Fire - Pac-Man will leave a fiery trail
• Trap - Lays traps that catch ghosts
• Magnet - Nearby items are attracted to Pac-Man
• Pac-Men - Summons clones of Pac-Man that hunt ghosts
• Shatter - Summons stalacmites. Smash them for points.
• Pyro - Fire Spreads in all directions
• Twinado - Summons two tornadoes that chase ghosts
• Optics - Lasers bend around corners
• Boom - Touching ghosts triggers mini-explosions
• Regen - Pac-Dots will regenerate