Namco Bandai take a step in the right direction by offering the highest points for clearing stage twenty-one. This would be a killer achievement and a badge of honor for gamers, if not for the ability to continue from the highest level where they have died. As a result, the achievement is more a product of resiliency and patience than gaming skill. Allowing players who were never good at the game the opportunity to experience the panic of stage seventeen, when the Power Pellets prove ineffective, is welcomed, but the game would have benefited from offering some Achievements based on the forgiveness of the game. When offering this type of continue system, the Achievement for clearing stage five would mean more if they changed it to 'Clear stage one through five without dying'. It will take some players longer than others, but even your four-year old niece could get all two-hundred points in a day. Real gamers do not want coddling; they want challenges.
Considering the budget price, Ms. Pac-Man is worth checking out for anyone wanting to relive his or her childhood gaming past. Despite the occasional glitches and overly easy Achievement Points, gamers will still likely feel the nostalgic itch to fire up this classic from time to time. It is too bad there is not more than a memory pulling gamers back.
