Pac-man exists of course already for a very long time and most of you (including myself) associate the gameplay with the classic eating of coins and the occasional annoying ghosts. Also in Pac-Man World 3 this background isn't denied and that's without a doubt a good decision. You not only get that original gameplay back but also in the 3D parts there are enough references to these classic elements.

The storyline, told by decently made but quite simple cut-scenes, is as light as the difficulty degree. Our friend Pac-Man celebrates his 25th birthday but in some dark way he ends up in another world. His mission there is no different than that of all those other known gaming heroes: save the world! This is of course nothing more than an excuse to dress up the typical platform elements but you'll get to work with Clyde, Pinky, Inky and Blinky to beat Erwin, the bad guy on duty.

As already stated, we get typical platform gameplay. There's two standard attacks (the buttwhip and the fist stroke), the necessary enemies, you'll have to jump a lot, collect items, find your way through the levels and eat power-ups to defeat bigger and more difficult hostiles.

Together wit the typical game elements also the typical frustrations and flaws come along. Especially the camera is a big problem, certainly when its placement doesn't allow you to see where you jump or run. Next to that the game excells in lack of innovation and mediocricy, although it does offer enough variation.

Those that have finished a platform game more than twice will have seen and done everything already, and probably in a better way than here. The main character and the 2D and 3D Pac-Man cut-scenes not counting this game doesn't offer anything innovative, something that won't be a problem for younger gamers but will certainly quickly bore more exerperienced players. Fun is the fact that now and then you get to control the ghosts that can see more than Pac-Man and can help him this way to conquer certain obstacles.

Things look decent graphically but at no time does anything make a big impression. There are some framedrops in the larger levels but there's little other criticism to be given on the visuals as they do match the setup of the game. The same can be said of the sound effects and music which at times also use samples from the original classic Pac-Man.