![]() ![]() It's because the makers of this particular game couldn't figure out how to have four independent ghost sprites on the board simultaneously (a problem that was solved for future 2600-era Pac-family games). This isn't because the other three have been "eaten" or are otherwise disposed of. It is worth noting that, in these screen captures, only one of the four ghosts is ever visible. The sounds are noticeably inferior when compared to the arcade version (although the sound made when a Pac-Man is caught by a ghost has since become recognizable as a standard "video game sound" in television shows all over the place, including some made much more recently!).This version's Pac-Man can only face left or right, and never up nor down.Instead of an ever-changing array of fruit bonuses, this version only ever uses a single "Vitamin" icon.the four obviously different colors of the original version) The colors are much less distinctive (perhaps the most obvious issue being that all four ghosts in the 2600 game are nearly the same color-differences, if any, are hard to discern-vs.A number of compromises had to be made to accommodate then-affordable home console technology. But back in 1982, the gap between what you'd find in an arcade game and what you could get at home was considerable. Part of the reason that video arcades aren't as popular today as they were 30 years ago is because players can get a comparable gaming experience from the comforts of their own home as they can can from a dedicated arcade game unit. And since I can't properly feature Pac-Man's 30th anniversary this year ( not that I let it go by completely unnoticed at the appropriate time), celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Atari 2600 home version (which, according to an article in the Apedition of TIME Magazine, came out this very month 30 years ago) seems to be the way to go. Although most of these monthly video game features will be about games you would have had to pump quarters into to play, the rise of the home console was an important facet of an earlier generation, as well. ![]()
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