Inside Games: Features - A Pac of Great Sites! A Pac of Great Sites! Your guide to the top Pac-Man websites!by Rick Florey One of the greatest games of the Golden Age (1978-1984) is Pac-Man. The Pac-Man image, a yellow circle with a pie-wedge mouth, was as common as its distant cousin, the smiley face, in the early '80s. Pac-Man succeeded in all games media -- coin-op, computer, console and hand- held. The days of "Pac-Man Fever" are gone, but the love affair lingers for many. Namco produced title after title, building on the Pac-Man name, and other publishers also exploited the maze-chase format with everything from direct clones to delightfully innovative contests like Lady bug. Today you can't walk into a Namco arcade without seeing his smiling face, and ports for today's systems are still appearing. Fan support is still strong for Pac-Man. Let's tour some of the most exciting amateur sites... First Church of Pac-Man Here's a huge fan site for the hardcore Pac-fan. The pipe organ version of the arcade intro music is enough reason to visit. Other features include pics of by the author's Pac-Man merchandise collection and a great shot of a hot rod built in his image that must be seen to be believed. There's a link to GameCenter's lengthy feature on the complete history of Pac-Man, a list of wannabe Pac-clones, a humorous report on the anatomy of Pac- Man and even some freeware clones! If you're into the great yellow one, log in at www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/8112/033_p.htm .The Pac-Page Here's another big Pac site with plenty to offer. It features a history of the series, downloadable clones, (including fellow faned Jess Ragan's Pac- Mon), graphics and sounds for your desktop, and score-building strategies. It's hard to believe Pac-Page isn't a member of the Pac-Man Webring, but it's a can't-miss site. Check it out at www.classicgaming.com/ pac-man/.The Pac-Man Player's Guide For those a little bit more serious about the actual game, this is the prime Pac-site. This guide is probably the most definitive work on beating Pac- Man. See it at vms.www.uwplatt.edu/~barnesm/PacMan/pacpata.html. Other sites of interest... MrRoboto's Pac-Man Page!. A site that's mostly dead, but where you can hear buckner and Garcia's immortal video game rock hit Pac-Man Fever via RealAudio. ( home.sol.no/~mrroboto/links/arcade/PacMan/home page. htm) Yamcha's Pac-Man Cartoon Page. This site is an in-depth look at the '80's Pac-Man cartoon show. Visit at: www.fortunecity.com/ underworld/stunt/166/home page.html. file:///C|/galleria/review/001_a_pac_of_great_site/f-pacman.htm (1 of 2)14/06/06 13.40.27