Ms. Pac-Man - MAME software

Atari 2600 cart. published 43 years ago:

Ms. Pac-Man © 1982 Atari, Inc.

The object of the game is to score as many points as you can while MS. PAC-MAN eats dots, fruit, pretzels, energy pills, and ghosts. Score 10,000 points and earn a bonus MS. PAC-MAN life.

The game starts with three MS. PAC-MAN lives, which are indicated by three MS. PAC-MAN symbols at the lower left corner of the screen. When game play begins, MS. PAC-MAN is located close to the center of the screen, just below the ghosts' reincarnation chamber in the center of the maze.

Use your Joystick controller to guide MS. PAC-MAN around the maze. When she passes over dots, she gobbles them up, and you score points. If she eats all the dots on the screen, the maze flashes momentarily, and you start playing on a new maze.

MS. PAC-MAN encounters floating fruit and pretzels while traveling around the maze. Gobble up these munchies, and you score bonus points. But watch out! Fearful ghosts scurry about trying to gobble up MS. PAC-MAN. Her only recourse is to eat an energy pill and then go after the ghosts.

As soon as she gulps down the energy pill, the ghosts turn blue with fright. You earn 200 points for the first ghost, 400 points for the second ghost, 800 for the third ghost, and a whopping 1600 points for the fourth ghost, all on the same energy pill.

Unfortunately, the effects of the energy pills are short-lived, so you'll have to move fast. After the ghosts are gobbled up, their eyes head back to the chamber in the center of the screen for reincarnation. If you don't gobble up the ghosts, they start to blink just before they turn back to their original colors.

The ATARI MS. PAC-MAN includes the following four game variations:

CHERRIES: An arcade version MS. PAC-MAN. Just like the original game, MS. PAC-MAN is pursued by four ghosts.

ONE BEAR: A good choice for beginners. MS. PAC-MAN is pursued by only one ghost.

TWO BEARS: A novice player's choice. MS. PAC-MAN is pursued by only two ghosts.

THREE BEARS: An intermediate player's choice. MS. PAC-MAN is pursued by only three ghosts.

All four game variations start at the easiest level, cherries. Games then progress to the highest level, banana. If you survive the banana level, the mazes alternate between maze three and maze four. Every two times the maze is cleared of dots, the fruits are randomly selected, and the time the ghosts stay blue decreases.

TECHNICAL
GAME ID: CX2675

SCORING
DOT: 10 POINTS.
ENERGY PILL: 50 POINTS.

CHERRY: 100 POINTS.
STRAWBERRY: 200 POINTS.
ORANGE: 500 POINTS.
PRETZEL: 700 POINTS.
APPLE: 1000 POINTS.
PEAR: 2000 POINTS.
BANANA: 5000 POINTS.

FIRST GHOST: 200 POINTS.
SECOND GHOST: 400 POINTS.
THIRD GHOST: 800 POINTS.
FOURTH GHOST: 1600 POINTS.

TIPS AND TRICKS
Practice clearing the maze of dots before trying to gobble up the ghosts.

Stay close to an energy pill before eating it, and tease the ghosts into moving toward you. When the ghosts get close, eat the energy pill and gobble up as many ghosts as you can.

Use the openings in the maze as escape tunnels. Move to either side to quickly evade the ghosts. Don't forget, different mazes have different tunnels.

STAFF
Programmers: Mark Ackerman, Glenn Parker

CONTRIBUTE
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