Pac-Man vs. is included with the GC versions of Pac-Man World 2, R: Racing Evolution, and free with I-Ninja. The cheapest way to obtain the game is with Pac-Man World 2, but if you were in the market for the latter two titles, it’s still a freebie.

Setup is simple. Connect one Game Boy Advance to the GC and controllers for the remaining three player slots. The person using the GBA plays as Pac-Man while the other three players act as ghosts. The Pac-Man player uses the GBA screen to view the entire maze area, while the ghost players use the TV screen to see the maze in a limited circular view. If Pac-Man is caught, the ghost who caught him plays as Pac-Man in the next round. The first player to reach a set amount of points, wins.

Pac-Man vs. is a great party game. Pac-Man players keep a sense of urgency to gobble up as many pellets as they can without getting caught, and ghost players relentlessly chase Pac-Man but have to run for their safety when Pac-Man eats a super pellet. The ghosts’ limited view is a fun way for ghost players to communicate and use their scope of vision to track Pac-Man down.

The graphics are limited but just enough to hold of bit of next-gen. Pac-Man, ghosts, and mazes are rendered in polygonal form on TV, while the GBA screen sports a classic 2D view of the game. The sounds are excellent and ring the exact Pac-Man sounds from the original. There are even a few shout outs from Mario calling the in-game action.

There’s not much else to Pac-Man vs. than what’s on the surface. There are six mazes to choose from, but each only varies in shape. There isn’t enough variety to keep players enthralled – it’s essentially the same game over and over. But what is there works beautifully and is a great example of a game that’s accessible to anybody without sacrificing fun for all.