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‘Pac-Man Championship Edition DX’ Adapted as Free-to-Play Game, Soft Launched in New Zealand

Namco’s revitalized the Pac-Man franchise with Pac-Man Championship Edition ($2.99), a take on the classic game with dynamic mazes. A few years ago, Namco released Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, which expanded on the concept. Well, while the original Pac-Man CE released a few years ago on iOS, the sequel never quite made its way over. Until now, at least, as Namco’s soft launched Pac-Man Championship Edition DX in New Zealand.

Pac Man CE DX 2

And yes, as you might have guessed from it being a soft launch, the game has gone free-to-play for its mobile incarnation, and has been completely revamped. It starts with the game being structured around individual levels now using the “winding line of levels" layout on a world map that Candy Crush Saga (Free) popularized. Each level has a specific goal, like to score 15000 points in 60 seconds. Failing at a level will lose lives, and the bombs which can be used to help get ghosts away from Pac-Man are on an energy timer as well, which can be refilled by spending coins. And there are of course powerups, boosters, and Facebook social features.

Pac Man CE DX 1

Certainly, some folks will be disappointed that this is merely a free-to-play game based on Pac-Man Championship Edition DX and not the actual game itself, but we do live in the era of free-to-play. If you want the actual CE DX on a mobile device, you’ll have to go buy a Windows 8 tablet, or a Windows Phone. The kind folks on our forums are chatting about this, go join them!