One of the most iconic symbols in video gaming history is the round, yellow, eating machine, known as Pac Man. For over twenty years, Pac Man has popped up in gamer’s lives, one way or another, standing the test of time while other video game characters fall to the wayside and are forgotten. Pac Man has seen his share of games over the many, many years he has been chomping pellets, always trying to reach the child in us all with its simplistic game play. Each game he appears in brings new characters to the Pac Man universe, starting first with Ms. Pac Man some twenty years ago, onto Pac Man jr. and then evil doers such as Erwin, Toc-Man and Devil-Pac would pop up in the Pac Man World games later on. Pac Man: World Rally brings many of the characters from the Pac Universe and pits them against each other in a kart style racing game, where they battle against each other through fifteen races for top honors.

The first thing you are going to notice about World Rally is that it is shamelessly similar to the Nintendo Mario Kart series of games and doesn’t try to hide it at all. Not that a Mario Kart clone is a bad thing in the least, and the PS2 was in need of a fun kart style game. In World Rally, each race consists of 8 racers and for each of the 5 circuits, racers will compete through 4 tracks, all with their own styles and themes. Tracks like Molten Mountain and Ghost Mansion are gorgeous to look at and the music for every course is quite pleasing. As well, each track has little details added that make them all that more interesting than just how they look. Spooky’s Castle has a large dragon in the center of it that you need to avoid in a few places as you race through and the Zombie Pac’s that wander around with their brains hanging out, try to knock you off your ride as you blast your way through the Ghost Mansion.

Each course also has short cuts as you would expect to find in many racing games. The difference in World Rally is that you need to pick up fruit; watermelon, grapes or cherries that correspond with blockades along the sides of the courses. If you have the right piece of fruit, the blockade will lower or open and allow you to use the short cut and help you get the edge on your opponents. Other pick-ups in the game are weapons that you can use against the other racers in your way. Along the track, there will be cubes that you can run over to gain a weapon, which will randomly drop one of many into your inventory. You can have up to three weapons at a time and some are more useful than others and some are just too similar to each other. The main type of weapon you’ll pick up are little bombs that follow you until you are ready to launch them down the track. Some will run and bounce around and some will fly forward in search of an enemy to latch onto. Other weapons include a snowman that will incase enemies in a block of ice, a storm cloud that will attack multiple cars, slowing players down with electrical charges. In true Pac Man fashion, there are also golden pellets strewn about each track. When your character runs over enough of the pellets to fill up your meter, your character turns into a large Pac Man car and the other racers turn into blue ghosts. Although the effect only lasts a few seconds, it is helpful for a little extra speed and to get rid of some pesky competition in your way.

The eleven characters that you can choose from initially include the four ghosts that we all know and love; Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde, as well as Ms. Pac Man, Pac Man, Pac Man Jr., Spooky, Devil-Pac, Erwin and Toc-Man. Each racer has their own traits, some being faster then others, labeled as light, medium and light. Once you complete each of the five racing circuits on one of the three difficulty levels, you will unlock the three available racers that are from other Namco games. Not to give away who they are, but the Katamari Damacy themed track that has the King of All Cosmos sprawled across it is a tip off to the identity of one of them. With the Circuit Mode the main mode of game play, there are also 3 other modes that can be played. These include Quick Race, which is just a single race on any map you choose, Time Trial mode to see how quickly you can complete a race and Battle Mode, which features 4 types of game styles of its own. The alternate modes are fun, but only for a little while and really won’t hold your attention for too long.

The most fun you’ll get out of the game is in the Circuit Mode, whether it is single player or the split screen two player mode. With the three difficulties to choose from; easy, normal and hard, there really isn’t much of a challenge in either of the settings. There are only two maps that may give you a hard time, but two out of fifteen isn’t all that much of a challenge to play through, even when using the slower, heavier characters. Pac Man: World Rally does feature some great looking tracks that include some off the wall environments, great music, nice animations and fun game play, but regrettably it really doesn’t pose much of a challenge to anyone that is familiar with racing games. The two player mode is a kick to play with friends, posing more of a challenge and much more entertainment. If you are looking for an enjoyable game to play with friends in the fashion of Mario Kart, then Pac Man World Rally is a good way to go, but if you are looking for a game that tests your mettle and driving skills, World Rally may not fill that need.