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Our mate Pac-Man is back with Pac Man World, and although some gamers will see his latest outing as merely an expensive museum-piece, die-hard fans are going to fall in love with his fruit-guzzling antics all over again. Whichever school of thought you adhere to, Pac-Man World retains all the addictive qualities of its predecessors and has some nice new features too. Now, for instance, the blobby one can fly and swim, and he can discover secret doors to old-style mazes. Some of the fruit pieces have a bit more life in them, too. That's about it, mind you. At the end of the day, Pac-Man's latest vehicle has been lovingly put together and is most colourful, but you really do have to like the little fella to be willing shell out the 40 quid required. Entertaining nostalgia.
An atmospheric but flawed single-player, hacker-cum-adventure in the tradition of Stealth Assassins and Bushido Blade, Ronin Blade (formerly called Soul Of The Samurai) isn't quite good enough for us to be able to recommend it. You play either a ninja or a samurai in a 16th century Japanese fishing village and must take on the minions of the evil Lord Tohjo, who has just zombified your old folks. As you set out on a quest for revenge, you do an awful lot of slashing and a bit of basic puzzle solving, adding to your 'skills' along the way. Unfortunately, your quest isn't made enjoyable by the clumsy, clunky swordplay: it's quantity rather than quality as far as Ronin's combat is concerned. On the plus side, and despite only average graphics, the world you find yourself in does come to life nicely. When all's said and done though, Ronin Blade doesn't justify the effort it requires.
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