One of the more creative tech demos for the Nintendo DS at E3 in 2004 was in the game Pac-Pix. The object of the demo was to draw Pac-Man on the touchscreen, and then have him chomp all the ghosts that appeared. Since the game was shown as a demo of the DS’s capabilities at the expo, it wasn’t known whether or not it would be developed into a full-fledged game. To our surprise, however, Pac-Pix was slated to be released on the DS.

Pac-Pix sports some 2D graphics that, to me, are reminiscent of Yoshi’s Island. The style takes on a hand-drawn look, which perfectly fits the concept of the game. There really aren’t that many visual effects to speak of, however, but I didn’t expect that many to begin with. Since the entire concept of the game revolves around the player drawing Pac-Man themselves, there really is a lot of flexibility in the graphics. As far as your hand-drawn Pac-Man goes, he can look as clean or as silly as you draw him (as long as it is recognized). I was surprised at some of the shapes that I drew that were recognized as Pac-Man, since they hardly looked like anything recognizable.

The sound in Pac-Pix isn’t all that elaborate either. Most of the sound effects are just touched-up versions of the music from the old arcade machine. The music is original for the most part; there are different tracks for each chapter and special music for the bosses. The music isn’t anything that would be overly repetitive, and it definitely isn’t flashy. However, if you sit there and play the game enough (and you will, because some of the stages can be tough), you may find yourself humming along a bit.

In Pac-Pix, Pac-Man is trying to rid the world of troublesome ghosts drawn with “Ghost Ink.” These ghosts cause all sorts of problems and can move around in anything made of paper. When Pac-Man gets zapped by a mysterious curse that traps him inside a sheet of paper, he enlists you to help him rid the books of ghosts.

You capture these ghosts by drawing Pac-Man on the screen and then guiding him around with the stylus. If this was all there was to, then perhaps Pac-Pix would be better served as a demo. However, as the game progresses, it becomes a bit more complex. Besides Pac-Man, you are given two different objects that you can draw on the screen to affect the gameplay: arrows and bombs. These two items must be used strategically in play, and you have an unlimited supply of them. What you don’t have an unlimited supply of is time, however, as each stage has a timer that ticks down towards zero.

Since the theme of the game is paper and books, the level structure is themed accordingly. The game is essentially a book, with 12 different “chapters” for levels. Each stage in the game is called a page. Most chapters in the game have five pages. However, there are some chapters that end in bosses, so they have six pages total. At the end of each chapter, you are issued a score and a ranking, of which S is the highest, then A on to F.

If there was one thing that worried me about Pac-Pix, it was that it would be too easy. Initially, the game only shows you the first book of 12 chapters. However, after beating the first book, you are given a second book with another 12 chapters. This second book, however, is a good bit faster, and you are given less slack with time limits and extra Pac-Men than you were in the first book.

Something that also caught my eye was the sensitivity of the drawing recognition. Sometimes, you may try to draw a perfect Pac-man and nothing comes out. However, at other times, some very strange doodle is recognized, allowing you to start chomping away. Sometimes this can get a bit annoying, although it was never anything that got me aggravated.

There isn’t really anything complex about the game mechanics of Pac-Pix. You draw Pac-Man and the other objects in order to clear the page of ghosts. There are, however, a few twists.

On the top screen, there is a tunnel that runs from the bottom of the screen on the left side to the bottom of the screen on the right side. Your Pac-Men can enter this tunnel from the top of the screen on the touchscreen, and occasionally, bonuses, or even ghosts, show up there. The space at the top of the screen above the tunnel usually contains ghosts trapped in bubbles. The arrows must be used to pop these bubbles so Pac-Man can gobble them up. Arrows also are able to stun ghosts for a second or so, allowing Pac-Man to gobble them up with ease.

Sometimes there are enemies stuck in blocks, and the only way to free them is by using the bomb to blast the block away. On top of destroying blocks, bombs can also stun ghosts temporarily. To detonate a bomb, you must draw a fuse from the bomb to a candle that is on the screen. To complicate this process, some stages have a “fire” switch that must be struck with an arrow in order for the candle to be lit. After the fire switch is struck, the candle is only on for a short time, so it is best to hurry.

With this type of game, it is hard to reach an overall verdict. On the one hand, Pac-Pix can be quite challenging – even to puzzle buffs. On the other, the graphics style and music may make some think of it as a tad childish. The latter, however, does not fit my personal opinion, because I thought this game was pretty good. If you enjoy puzzle-type games, or are just looking for a breath of fresh air, then I recommend you go to your local game store and pick up a copy of Pac-Pix.