Pac-Man Championship Edition DX

Pac-Man Championship Edition DX (パックマン チャンピオンシップ エディション DX Pakkuman Chanpionshippu Edishon DX, also abbreviated as Pac-Man C.E. DX on some storefronts) is a maze game in the Pac-Man series developed by Mine Loader Software and published by Bandai Namco Games. The game was developed in commemoration of Pac-Man's 30th anniversary, and was originally released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 17, 2010.
It is the second game in the Pac-Man Championship Edition series (being preceded by the original Pac-Man Championship Edition).
==Gameplay==
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX retains the basic gameplay functions of the original Pac-Man Championship Edition. Like the original Championship Edition, the player controls Pac-Man as he is pursued by Ghosts, and must eat all of the Pac-Dots. The maze is divided into two sides, and once one is cleared, a bonus item will appear. Eating this bonus item will alter the cleared side, causing a new set of pellets to appear. The game ends when the timer runs out or the player runs out of lives. An extra life is awarded every 250,000 points.
New to this game are Sleeping Ghosts, which spawn within each maze. When Pac-Man narrowly goes past one, they will turn angry and rainbow-colored, and will always closely pursue Pac-Man. Sleeping Ghosts will begin to form a line known as a "Ghost Train" as more awakened Sleeping Ghosts join the Ghost Train. Pac-Man can eventually eat a Power Pellet and eat all the ghosts in the Ghost Train, awarding a massive score boost. Some Sleeping Ghosts also carry Power Pellets and Bombs, which give Pac-Man replenished Power Pellet time and extra Bombs respectively.
As player's score increases, Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde enter the playfield at the following point intervals:
* Championship II, Highway, and Junction
** ~75,000 = Blinky 
*** Blinky will eventually appear after a certain time criteria if this point threshold isn't met.
** 250,000 = Pinky
** 750,000 = Inky
** 1,000,000 = Clyde
* Spiral
** 500,000 = Pinky
** 1,000,000 = Inky and Clyde
* Manhattan and Dungeon
** 500,000 = Pinky
Unlike the original Championship Edition, they do not pursue Pac-Man as much as they did before. When Pac-Man moves past them, they also turn into angry rainbow ghosts, joining the Ghost Train if they touch the leading ghost of the train; if this occurs, the ghost will separate itself from the angry ghost and will respawn in the Ghost House while the angry ghost continues chasing Pac-Man in the train. The ghosts may slow down to let Pac-Man pass through or to join the Ghost Train.
Bombs are also introduced in Championship Edition DX. When used, it will send all of the ghosts back to the Ghost House, which can be useful if the player is cornered or caught by ghosts. However, using a Bomb reduces the game speed by one level and cuts the dot multiplier in half (100 to 50, 90 is rounded down to 40, and etc.). If Pac-Man uses a bomb while he is very close to a ghost, the game speed will decrease by two levels. If he is inches away from a ghost collision when a bomb is used, the game speed will significantly decrease (up to ten levels at the maximum speed level) as the nearby Sleeping Ghosts are sent flying out of the maze.
The game speed increases after every 10,000 points scored, but will decrease in the event in which Pac-Man is caught by a ghost or uses a Bomb. The player's game speed will decrease by a larger amount if the player's speed count is at the maximum level when Pac-Man is caught by a ghost. The game will slow down temporarily if Pac-Man is close to colliding with a ghost, which makes it easier to avoid running into them, but costs the player time.
If connected to the internet, the game will display the player's ranking position within the online leaderboards. The player's score rank is categorized by rank letter from worst to best: D, C, B, A and S. Each separate game mode features its own rank recordings, and are summarized into the course's grand rank on the Course Select screen. The player can also compare high scores, stats and achievements between friends and other online users; as well as watch replays of players' games via the leaderboards.
===Courses===
Pac-Man Championship Edition features a total of 10 different course modes (13 if the DLC courses are counted). Of the courses present within the game, 7 courses (11 if the DLC courses are counted) feature traditional gameplay rules, while there are three extra modes that do not follow traditional gameplay rules.
The courses have 4 different game game modes
*Score Attack - Featuring 5 minute and 10 minute variations, the player must score as many points as possible within the round's indicated time limit.
**The 5 Min. Score Attack game modes feature difficulty options, which affect the starting speed, the amount of lives and bombs the player starts with and the maximum speed level:
*** Beginner: Starting speed level is 1, maximum speed level is 30. Starts with 5 lives and 4 bombs.
*** Normal: Starting speed level is 10, maximum speed level is 40. Starts with 4 lives and 3 bombs.
*** Expert: Starting speed level is 20, maximum speed level is 50. Starts with 3 lives and 2 bombs.
**In each course, the 5 Min. Score Attack mode is the only mode available from the start. Finishing the mode for the first time will then unlock the other respective modes (10 Min. Score Attack, Ghost Combo, and the first Time Trial Short).
*Ghost Combo - The player must eat as many ghosts as possible before Power Pellet effects wear off. The game can be finished at any time after the player tops the high score by pressing the indicated button. 
**This mode for each maze is unlocked after finishing the 5 Min. Score Attack mode once.
*Time Trial - The player must eat a specific amount of apples within the maze as fast as possible. After the mode is completed, the player can set the remaining time to their previous best time.
**This mode is unlocked after finishing a course's specific Time Trial Short mode.
*Time Trial Short - A segmented time trial with shorter time limits and shorter apple requirements where partial times will add to the total time. Like Time Trial, after the mode is completed, the player can set the remaining time to their previous best time.
**The amount of Time Trial Short modes present for each course range from up to 21 different modes. Finishing a Time Trial short will then unlock the following Time Trial Short Mode, or will unlock the full Time Trial mode.
==== Regular courses ====
*Championship II -A redesigned, tweaked version of the Championship Mode from the original Championship Edition, with new maze layouts.
*Highway - A course based on the Extra Mode 1 course from the original Championship Edition, with an emphasis on horizontal paths. 
**The base starting speed in this mode is increased (5 on Beginner, 15 on Normal and 25 on Expert).
*Junction - The maze filled with intersections with the most warp zones on all sides. 
**The base starting speed in this mode is increased (10 on Beginner, 20 on Normal and 30 on Expert).
*Spiral - Features large loop paths. 
**The base starting speed in this mode is increased (5 on Beginner, 15 on Normal and 25 on Expert).
*Manhattan - Named after Manhattan, New York, with pathways just like real streets.
**Inky and Clyde do not appear in this course. 
**The base starting speed in this mode is increased (10 on Beginner, 20 on Normal and 30 on Expert).
*Dungeon - The maze features more tightly squeezed corridors and pathways, with some maze layouts featuring appearances similar to Atari 2600 Pac-Man. 
**Inky and Clyde do not appear in this course.
*Championship I - A maze based on the original Championship Edition's Championship Mode mazes, and changes rules slightly to replicate its gameplay.
**Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde are always present within the maze.
**Sleeping ghosts do not spawn within the maze. The only method for creating a ghost train is to use Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde to multiply and form a train. 
**There is no 10 Minute Score Attack for this game mode.
**The base starting speed in this mode for the Expert difficulty is decreased to 15.
==== Extra Courses ====
*Half - This course, featuring only Time Trial modes, emphasizes using only the left half of the maze. The right side of the maze does not feature any Pac-Dots or Ghosts; remaining unchanged and static. 
*Darkness - This course, featuring only full Time Trial mode, covers the base game courses in darkness, similar to Challenge Mode 1 from the original Championship Edition. Pac-Man, Power Pellets, and Ghosts illuminate the maze, while Pac-Dots are always visible. Each of the game modes feature a Time Trial mode for the game's courses (DLC courses excluded).
*Free - The player can play any of the game's courses (DLC courses excluded) in a 10 minute practice mode. In addition to being able to change the difficulty level like the 5 Min. Score Attack modes, the player can choose up to how many of the regular ghosts appear in the maze (from all four to disabling them). The player has unlimited lives and bombs in this course, and there is an additional indicator on the bottom left of the screen showing the total amount of ghosts and fruits Pac-Man has eaten.
**Game leaderboards and achievements are disabled in the Free courses.
==== DLC courses ====
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX features four additional courses that are available as DLC. While the DLC courses feature traditional gameplay rules, the DLC mazes are excluded from various features (such as being featured in the Darkness and Free courses, earning achievements and medals, and being excluded from the total game mode summary in the leaderboards). The DLC courses do not feature 10 Min. Score Attack or Ghost Combo game modes.
*Championship III (DLC) - Redesign of the Championship II course. In this course, extra Bombs can be earned by eating the Bombs that appear in maze halves.
*Highway II (DLC) - Redesign of the Highway course.
*Mountain (DLC) - Maze featuring zig-zag patterns in the shape of a mountain.
*Big Eater (DLC) - Features a large amount of ghost chains.
Each of the DLC can be purchased from their respective stores, or can be purchased in the All You Can Eat bundles featured on digital storefronts; which includes all DLC content.
===Scoring System===
*Pac-Dot:
**10 points.
***Point multiplier increases every 20 Pac-Dots eaten (every 20 Pac-Dots eaten, the Pac-Dot point value will increase by 10 points). This can increase up to 10 times (up to 100 points),
***Point value will decrease in the following events:
****Pac-Man loses a life, where the point value resets to 10 points.
****Pac-Man uses a bomb, where the point multiplier is cut in half (if the multiplier is at 100 points, it will be reduced to 50 upon using a bomb; 90 points to 40 points, etc,)
*Power Pellet - 50 points.
*Vulnerable Ghosts:
**#1 in succession - 400 points.
**#2 in succession - 800 points.
**#3 in succession - 1200 points.
**#4 in succession - 1600 points.
**#5 in succession - 2000 points.
**#6 in succession - 2400 points.
**#7 in succession - 2800 points.
**#8+ in succession - 3200 points.
*Fruit:
**🍒 Cherry: 1000 points
**🍓 Strawberry: 1200 points
**🍊 Orange: 1400 points
**🍎 Apple: 1600 points
**🍈 Melon: 1800 points
**🍌 Banana: 2000 points
**🍑 Peach: 2200 points
** Galaxian Boss: 2400 points
**🔔 Bell: 2600 points
**🔑 Key: 4000 points
**☕ Coffee: 4200 points
**🍰 Cake: 4400 points
** Boss Galaga: 4600 points
** Gaplus Drone: 4800 points
**🍔 Hamburger: 5000 points
**🍳 Fried Egg: 5200 points
**🍬 Candy: 5400 points
**🍀 Clover: 5600 points
**💎 Diamond: 5800 points
**❤️ Heart: 6000 points
** Samurai Helmet: 6200 points
**👑 Crown: 7650 points
===Maze customization===
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX introduces customizable game visuals. Each course features a pre-decided maze, character visual and BGM setting, though this can be changed to the player's liking. There are many types of graphics that can be mixed and matched to different mazes. Some of the graphics are based on Pac-Mania and the original Pac-Man. The Dig Dug, Rally-X, Pac Is Back and Classic DLC themes feature their own preset options and cannot be mixed together (with the exception of the Classic and Pac Is Back visuals, which have BGM options available to change).
==== Visuals ====
While all base game visuals and BGM selections are available from the start, there are three special DLC visual packs in Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+ that are unlocked by acquiring their respective DLC from digital platform storefronts.
*Dig-Dug (DLC) - Replaces characters with Dig Dug, Pooka, and Fygar, and changes the maze to be underground.
*Rally-X (DLC) - Replaces graphics with Rally-X cars, and changes the maze to the Rally-X map.
*Pac Is Back (DLC) - Adds elements from Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, featuring various characters and items from the TV series in the background and as fruit.
The Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+ also adds the Classic visual, based on the original Pac-Man. Unlike the other maze visuals, this is unlocked by earning all 12 achievements and medals respectively. 
==== Soundtrack ====
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX features several music tracks available for use in play. The game introduces several new themes while also featuring the return of the theme from the original Pac-Man Championship Edition. Using the Rally-X a Go Go and Dig Renaissance BGM will change the maze appearance and characters to their respective themes. There are also two extra tracks that are available as DLC.
The tracks in the game are:
*Entrance
*Pac Rainbow
*Pac Dimensions
*Pac Avenue
*Pac Logic
*Pac-Steps (DLC)
*Reentrance (DLC)
*Dig Renaissance (DLC)
*Rally-X A Go Go (DLC)
*Pac-Man CE BGM (From the predecessor)
===Achievements===
Icon	Name 	Descriptions
 	Score Attack (5 Minutes) 	Play Score Attack (5 Minutes) until the very end!
 	Score Attack (10 Minutes)	Play Score Attack (10 Minutes) until the very end!
 	Sparkster 	Emit sparks for 1 second!
 	30 Ghosts 	Eat 30 ghosts in succession!
 	No Bombs 	Finish Score Attack (5 Minutes) without using a bomb!
 	No Mistakes 	Finish Score Attack (5 Minutes) with no mistakes!
(Meaning not losing a life)
 	All Maze Visuals 	Beat the game with every maze visual.
(Not including DLC packs)
 	Time Trial Cleared 	Beat the Time Trial mode!
 	500,000 Points 	Score 500,000 points! (Score Attack 5 mins)
 	1,000,000 Points 	Score 1,000,000 points! (Score Attack 5 mins)
 	1,500,000 Points 	Score 1,500,000 points! (Score Attack 10 mins)
 	2,000,000 Points 	Score 2,000,000 points! (Score Attack 10 mins)
===Medals===
* The game's Facebook functionality no longer operates regularly; however, the player is able to earn these medals without connecting to the Facebook servers by using the Share to Facebook feature to open the window. After closing the window, the game will recognize the action as a shared medal/achievement.
Icon	Name 	Description
 	Sharing Master 	Share 5 medals and all achievements on Facebook.*
 	Advanced Score Attacker	Score 1,300,000 points in Score Attack (5 Minutes).
 	First Best Score 	Achieve a new personal best for the first time, applies to all modes
(Meaning Score Attack, Ghost Combo, Time Trial, and Time Trial Shorts)
 	Hungry 	Finish Score Attack (5 Minutes) with over 100,00 points in Pac-Dots.
 	First Time Sharing 	Share for the first time on Facebook.
 	My Worst Enemy 	Achieve a new personal best three times in Score Attack (5 Minutes).
(This medal is awarded for achieving a new personal high score in the same course three times total. The total amount of times a course is cleared are not shared between different courses; DLC courses are disqualified for achieving this medal.)
 	I'm Full 	Finish Score Attack (5 Minutes) with over 250,000 points in items.
 	Advanced Sharing 	Share 5 medals on Facebook.*
 	Bombs Forbidden 	Finish Score Attack (5 Minutes) with no mistakes and without using any bombs.
(Meaning losing a life or using a bomb)
 	Close Call 	Finish Score Attack (5 Minutes) without making any mistakes on Expert!
(The player must finish Score Attack (5 Minutes) without losing a life.)
 	Master Score Attacker 	Score 1,500,000 points in Score Attack (5 Minutes).
 	Champion Score Attacker	Score 1,800,000 points in Score Attack (5 Minutes).
===Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+ ===
On September 25, 2013, Bandai Namco released a free update to Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, rebranding the game as Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+. The update was released as a free title update for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, while this version of the game was also released on Windows PC for the first time (via several storefronts including Steam).
This "+" update adds new features such as DLC courses and themes, medals, revamped menus and new scoreboard features; it also removes the Namco Generations startup screen & newsletter, which was discontinued following the original release of Pac-Man Championship Edition DX. The DLC for the "+" update can be purchased individually, or bought all at once via the "All You Can Eat Edition" bundle, which includes the game and all its DLC. A separate "All You Can Eat Add-On Pack" with all the DLC only was also released for people who own the standalone game.
==== Changes and additions in Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+ ====
* If the respective DLC contents are acquired, several courses and themes are added to the course selection and visual/BGM selection screens:
** The following courses are added:
*** Mountain
*** Big Eater
*** Championship III
*** Highway II
** The following skins, character and background music options are added
*** Dig Dug (includes fixed option set of character visuals, maze and BGM)
*** Rally-X (includes fixed option set of character visuals, maze and BGM)
*** Pac is Back (includes fixed option set of character visuals and maze)
*** Re-Entrance BGM
*** Pac-Steps BGM
*A new "Classic" theme set based on the original Pac-Man (featuring a fixed option set of character visuals and mazes) is added to the game alongside the DLC content. Unlike the other content, the Classic theme is unlocked by unlocking every achievement and medal.
*A set of 12 unlockable medals are added to the game, separated from the achievements available.
*Facebook integration is added to the game, allowing the player to share their achievements and medals to their Facebook page. Sharing to Facebook is required to obtain several medals.
* The Main Menu screen now displays statistics of friends, as well as unlocked achievements and medals. The Course Select BGM now also plays on the main menu.
* The original character cast roll screen shown during the original CE DX main menu now exclusively displays while the main menu is loading.
* The leaderboard screens features more detailed information, recording dates of personal achievements and showing achievement progress of other friends.
* On the Windows PC version, a new touch control scheme is added to the game, intended for touch screen displays. The menus can also be navigated with the mouse.
* Mentions of Pac-Man's 30th Anniversary and Namco Generations are removed across the game. The NG news section present on the main menu is also removed.
==Home Ports== 
*Android
**Game speed is slower compared to the console editions, 5 Min. and 10 Min. score attacks are shortened to 3 minutes and 5 minutes.
**Delisted from Google Play in 2020.
*iOS (iPhone & iPad)
**Game speed is slower compared to the console editions, 5 Min. and 10 Min. score attacks are shortened to 3 minutes and 5 minutes.
** Delisted from the App Store in 2020.
** This port, while still retaining the Championship Edition DX branding, was originally planned to be released as a largely unique "free-to-play" game. This earlier version was briefly test-marketed in New Zealand in 2014, not releasing in any other country; it featured a map system and small challenges based on the CEDX gameplay. The initial version also had a freemium lives system, where exhausting all lives remaining would prevent the player from playing the game unless they asked friends for more lives, waited for them to regenerate or bought more lives.https://toucharcade.com/2014/09/15/pac-man-championship-edition-dx-soft-launched-in-new-zealand/ The final release of the game reverted back to the original game's structure and saw its release as a paid title.
*PlayStation 3
*PlayStation 4
**The PlayStation 3 version is available to stream online with a PS Plus Premium tier subscription.
*PlayStation 5
**The PlayStation 3 version is available to stream online with a PS Plus Premium tier subscription.
*Xbox 360
*Xbox One
**The Xbox 360 version is backwards compatible with Xbox One.
*Xbox Series X/S
**The Xbox 360 version is backwards compatible with Xbox Series X/S.
*Windows PC 
**Prior to Championship Edition DX+, the game was available on Windows RT for Microsoft Surface tablets. 
**Alongside controller and keyboard support, the Windows version also features touch controls.
**Currently available on Steam. The game is available to purchase separately, or can be purchased in the Pac-Man Collection bundle along with Arcade Game Series: Pac-Man, Pac-Man 256, Pac-Man Championship Edition 2, Pac-Man Museum+ and Pac-Man World Re-Pac.
*Windows Phone
==Reception==
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX received universally positive reviews. IGN gave the game a perfect 10/10, saying that the game "boasts simple, addictive gameplay that will have you competing for high scores on the score boards for months." https://web.archive.org/web/20101119160028/http://uk.xboxlive.ign.com/articles/113/1134848p1.html GameSpot gave a 9/10, praising the new elements which make Championship Edition "more thrilling and addictive than ever."https://web.archive.org/web/20101124050642/http://uk.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/pacmanchampionshipeditiondx/review.html 1UP.com gave the game an A. 
Review aggregator Metacritic gives the Xbox 360 version of the game a score of 93 out of 100, making it the highest rated Pac-Man game on the website. It is also the only Pac-Man game on the site to carry the "Metacritic Must-Play" badge and one of only two Pac-Man games to have a metascore over 80 (the other being the original Pac-Man Championship Edition).https://www.metacritic.com/game/pac-man-championship-edition-dx/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox-360
== Trivia ==
* Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, along with Galaga Legions DX were originally released as part of the Namco Generations line; a brand name intended to modernize older Namco games, though the Namco Generations line was soon discontinued in 2012 before other games were released for the lineup. The Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+ update; which released a year later, removed all contents and references related to Namco Generations across the game.https://web.archive.org/web/20150317045728/https://dengekionline.com/elem/000/000/320/320290/
* In the game's files, there is an unused 11th skin (if DLC skins are counted in this order) present within the game's texture files, labelled as "Skin K". The sprites resemble the arcade Pac-Man sprite appearances but has a single-color vectorized style with a drop shadow.
* The concept of Ghost Trains introduced in this game would re-appear in several games following, including Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 and Pac-Man 99.
==Gallery==
===Screenshots===
1472415473-1038814577.jpg
1472415475-3717190493.jpg
1472415476-767033636.jpg
1472415476-3426104663.jpg|Big Eater DLC
1472415479-1048845915.jpg|Dig Dug DLC
1472415479-3436194164.jpg|Pac is Back DLC
===Artwork===
Pacmancedxorig.png|DX box art.
Pacmancedxplus.png|DX+ box art.
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+ All You Can Eat Edition.jpg|DX+ "All You Can Eat Edition" artwork.
Pac-Man CE DX Steam Banner.jpg|Steam Banner
Pac-Man CE DX YouTube Trailer.jpg|Trailer Artwork
==References==
Category:Games
Category:Pac-Man Games
Category:Namco Games
Category:Console Games
Category:PC Games