• Publisher: Namco
  • Release Date: Feb 24, 2002
  • Also On: PC
Metascore
73 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 19 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 19
  2. Negative: 1 out of 19
  1. Ranks among the finest titles of its genre on the system. [Mar 2002, p.106]
  2. 84
    A fun platformer with a good mix of nostalgia and modern technology.
  3. It's simple, but the game makes brilliant use of the classic's design, and the whole retro style never seems forced.
  4. An adorable adventure that incorporates platform aspects from the Mario’s and Sonic’s of the world into one nice package.
  5. 80
    Pac-Land has never looked better, cartoonishly but lushly rendered, and full of bright colors and crisp 3D objects.
  6. 79
    What's amazing to me is how a game that's obviously borrowed every platform trick in the book didn't also manage to steal someone else's good camera work, too.
  7. The game controls wonderfully, and there's plenty of areas to explore. However, as usual there are some severe camera issues.
  8. The graphics and music combine to good effect (though likely too cheery for some) and make Pac-Man World an awesome place for a little gaming vacation, especially as you fly around on some of the Pac-dot chains.
  9. The inclusion of four unlockable classic Pac-Man arcade games really help increase the replay value.
  10. [It] does still suffer from a problematic camera. Often, it's difficult to get the best possible angle necessary for precise platform jumping. [Mar 2002, p.31]
  11. Classic platforming action done right. It’s tough as nails, fun and paced to near perfection. What it isn’t, is very original.
  12. The camera problems and the game's unnecessarily uneven difficulty seal Pac-Man World 2's fate, in spite of the game's depth.
  13. The level design is straightforward and challenging (especially later stages) but relatively low on surprises. [Apr 2002, p.141]
  14. Aside from some dodgy camera work (as always) this is a simple and at times fun game, which will be enjoyed by very young players. But there are plenty of better games like this out there.
  15. The developers failed to develop a camera system capable of dealing with the 3D action. [Mar 2002, p.79]
  16. One thing in its favour was the gorgeously rendered fruit, that look so realistic and juicy that we swear we were salivating during our time with the game - but that's about as good as it gets.
  17. A harmless game with classic standard platform gameplay, and classic 3D platform camera problems.
  18. Chief among the problems is a camera that doesn’t react well to the sudden changes associated with jumping, with imprecise controls being a close second. The end-result is a series of ridiculously difficult stages simply because you don’t have the tools to respond to the tasks at hand.
  19. Namco has bastardized one of our favorite timewasters into a ho-hum jump-a-thon with the occasional maze thrown in.
User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. I am a huge namco fan. When I was six years old, I got my first Pac-man game, Pac-Man World (1). Played it, loved it. Years passed, and I missed the chance to get the other three Pac-man World games, but then Pac-Man Power Pack came out, and I gave it a whirl. While none of the other Pac-Man games will live up to the original, I found Pac-Man World 2 to be enjoyable. Pac-man World 2's story is as such: The ghosts have unleashed an ancient evil ghost known as Spooky by removing 5 golden fruit from the tree where Spooky was imprisoned. Spooky tells them that he will help them destroy Pac-Land, and so Pac-man goes out to stop them. It's a Pac-man game people! It's not supposed to have a deep plot, but it works for such a light-hearted game. The first thing you'll realize is that the graphics are pretty good. Bright, colorful, pleasing to the eye, it's Pac-Man. It's good that namco didn't stray too far away from that. The stages are well designed. They are challenging, and fun to play. Take B doing woods. Whenever you bounce on a B doing pad, it IS A BLAST!!! Combin it with careful platforming, catchy music, and solid controls make playing the game worth while. This game has a lot of replay value. If you want to get 100%, you'll have to eat every Pac-Dot, fruit, complete every maze, time trail, and collect all of the namco coins. It will last you hours. But the reason for this is how difficult it is to get them all. I'm not sure if this is a gltich or not, but there is a glitch if you go back into a level to get anything you miss and collect EVERYTHING in a level, but miss 1 simple fruit, your progression for the level will stay the same. Glitch or not, this is stupid!!!! The stages are challenging enough, why do I have to do everything picture perfect or else they just forget everything?!!!! The game gets even more frustrating due to that evil....oh...it's so evil...it will murder your family at night...the menacing camera. Ok, menecing might not be the right word, more like stubborn. It's as if the camera is a solid object. If there is an object blocking it, it WIIL NOT move, not matter how hard you try. Say you're jumping from platform to platform. You miss somthing. If you try to go back, the camer will screw up on you all the way to the pit you fall down. Sometimes, the camera just won't move. Go ahead. Try to look around. You'll most likely end up dying in a firey pit of cheap death, and then the camer will move on to it's next victim. Then there are the mazes, which are completely pointless. They're nowhere nearly as inventive as PMW1's mazes. They just rip off the first Pac-man. It's a waste of your time. Also, the difficulty boosts up later on in the game. Sure, this is normal for platformers, but this is just stupid. Compare Crash bandicoot 1's difficulty curve. It was even and balanced. PMW2's is so horrificaly hard that it took me a whole hour to finish the 2nd last level. A WHOLE HOUR! WTF! You will scream! You will feel like you want to kill yourself and you will DIE!!!! But eneough of the negatives. This game has several aracade games that you can play. The original Pac-Man, Pac-Mania, Pac-Attack, Ms. Pac-man. They all work and are fun. However, you don't get any options to these games, and to unlock them, you need to get so mant of those freaking namco coins which are so hard to GET! UGGHH! Bosses work, but not alaways. WHY? THE DIFFICULY!!! THE CAMERA!!!! THE IRRITATING WAYS TO HIT THE BOSS!!! THE INSANE AMOUNT OF ENEMIES COMING AT YOU!!!! The earlier bosses do have some fun to them. They have a REASONABLE difficulty, and they're fun. But after the snowy mountain boss...WHY CAN'T I JUST HIT YOU WITHOUT BEING THROWN OF THE MAP BY YOUR FIRBALL? UGHHHH! When the game is not blisteringly difficult, the game is at its finest. Careful Platforming, solid controls, fun collecting, when it works, its like playing the original Pac-man back in 1980. However, it doesn't always work with IT'S CAMERA!!!!! or let alone THE DIFFICULTY!!!! or the THAT STUPID COLLECTING GLITCH!!!!(?) AND THE FACT that i get thrown off the map because clyde threw a firball at me!!! ughhh! WHY NAMC, WHY?!!!! THIS IS A KID'S GAME! WHY MAKE IT SO DIFFICULT THAT IT WILL LEAD TO KIDS BECOMING SUICIDAL!!! UGHHHH!!! The worst part is is that this game just doesn't feel like the first Pac-Man World which I came to love. Completionalists will blow their brains out, but those Pac-Man fans whoose main reason to play this game is to get to point A to point B and be done, you should buy it....oh no... not you... not the camera...put down that knife.... AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Full Review »
  2. ok i changed my mind this game is super fun and a humungous challenge, sometimes i go into rage mode but enough of me, the gameplay is very simple yet very productive, if you like any kind of platformer you will enjoy this game Full Review »
  3. Amongst slightly frustrating gameplay, Pac-Man World 2 is a colorful, adventurous platformer for children of all ages. Pros: Lovable graphics and lavish colors lurk throughout its variety of level designs, pure old school platforming. Cons: Frustrating controls and camera angles halt Pac-Man from being a next-gen console masterpiece. Full Review »