Thursday, December 11, 2014

CES's Galaxy Games: Ms. Pac-Man



Here's the final video from Flipperspiel Wunderland in Las Vegas. This time we're checking out something I've never seen. Back in 1998 a company called CES (Creative Electronics and Software) created a cocktail table arcade game called the Galaxy Games MVS. (MultiGame Video System) Like the Neo-Geo MVS the unit supported cartridges that operators could buy and change out to have different games. The games on the first menu are the typical bar favorites, card games, bowling games, hockey and golf. In three of the carts they got the rights for some arcade classics. One they got the rights from Stern to have Berzerk, the other cart was licensed by Atari for Centipede and the one here is the cart from Namco with Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man. But unlike the classic Bally/Williams cocktail tables that came out in the 80's (And in 1999 with the Class of 81' edition) this is a totally unique two player game!

This version of Ms. Pac-Man is a co-op multiplayer game. Unlike Nintendo's Pac-Man Vs. and Namco's newest arcade hit, Pac-Man Battle Royal, this game you must work together with the other player to clear the maze...but if you want you can sabotage the other player. Two Pac's start off in the maze together if you meet up in the maze you'll pass through each other just like the ghosts do. If one player grabs a power pellet then both players can go after the ghosts, but the scoring works the same, so if one player eats 3 ghosts and the other player grabs the 4th, they'll get the big bonus.

The biggest difference with this version of the game is the controls. Galaxy Games came standard with a track ball, so you've got to use that to play the game. It takes a bit getting used too but it isn't as bad as playing it on a smart phone with swipe controls. I think a game like Bezerk would be a lot harder trying to play on a trackball then Pac-Man.

So once again I'd like to give a very special thank you to Zack and Adam from Flipperspiel for having me there. It's a great place to visit if you're in the Las Vegas area, especially if it's after hours at the Hall of Fame, which is funny because Sal from the Hall came over to play a couple of games after his shift.

So thanks all for checking out today's post! Gerard should have the new episode of the podcast up soon and this weekend I'm working on getting even more pinball videos for you! So like, favorite, follow and subscribe and stay tuned for more!

5 comments:

  1. I've got some more photos of this one. I'm also looking for the cartridges for a machine I fixed up!

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    1. Crazy to have found this blog and comment, I can't believe there are some of these still around! I actually just decided to part ways with my CES Galaxy Games cabinet. I've been managing it keep mine alive but after a power supply issue I can't seem to figure out, I'm going to give it to a friend to see what he can do with it. I have Star Pak 2 (Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, etc.) and Star Pak 3 (Centipede, etc.) so let me know if you or any reader might be interested.

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