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Developed by and Commercially available from: www.PCSGames.net
Totally accessible without sighted assistance
Review by Stan Bobbitt
I check to see how many dots are remaining, Ah, only 7 dots to go and this level will be cleared ... Ooo, but only 1 life left, hmm. I suppose I should turn the dot detector on. (CLICK)
The audio navigator tells me that there's a passage to the left and I hear the ding-ding signal from the dot detector telling me that there are more dots down that passage but ...
I can also hear that low hum and that taunting, haunting voice in the distance, letting me know that there are ghosts near by. (CRINGE)
Well, let's just see how near by. (CLICK) Hmm, 39 blocks.
I wonder which ghost it is ... (CLICK) Yikes! It's Clide!
I turn and flee, kicking into cruise control, back down the passage from whence I came. The ghostly voice and the hum grows fainter and fainter in the distance, then fades away. (PHEW)
I slow to a walk and listen. Everything is quiet save for the low, inspiring background music. Suddenly I hear a welcome voice calling out, "Super power, super power." (SMILE)
A few more steps, the voice grows stronger, and the audio navigator
tells me that there's a side passage to the right. (AH)
An agile turn into the passage, I grab the super power pill, and I am super powered! It won't last for long though,
so quick, I'll head back and get those last 7 dots, with no worry about those pesky ghosts, Clide and his friends Blinky and Pinky.
As I skid left into the passage and begin gobbling up the last remaining dots, I hear those ghosts taunting me, telling me to leave, that I don't belong here ! They have me surrounded!
It sounds like Blinky is ahead of me and old Clide is hot on my trail! A quick check tells me there are only 3 dots left. Let's see, Clide is the slowest of the ghosts, so I guess I'll try to get Blinky first and hope to gobble the last of the dots before my super power pill wears off.
Reassured by the friendly whine of the alarm, signaling that I am yet super powered, I make a mad rush forward ...
One down! (GRIN) Bye-bye Blinky! I hear another close by. How many dots left ... (AGH) only two!
Oh no, the rate of the alarm has speeded up, meaning that my super power is about to run out!
As I turn to take flight, Clide is upon me ... I hear a low pitched oomph ... meaning that the super power has run out.
Oh well, better luck next time. (GRIN)
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That's just a taste of some of the fun you can have with PCS Games' Pacman Talks, an audio version of Pacman for windows.
The sounds are excellent, well chosen for their purposes, and certainly reminiscent of the old arcade game.
I found the interface to be very intuitive and easy as well.
The demo includes the full version which allows you to play only a single level. You'll have to purchase a product key to unlock all 24 levels.
When you first start the demo version, there's a (product security) window. Just click ok. The next screen will ask for your product key. To run the demo version, simply click OK or CANCEL without entering anything in the edit field.
Next comes the Pacman Talks' theme music, which you may recognize, and then a voice giving the product name, copyright, and version. You can hit the CONTROL key at any time to skip these.
Now you can choose training mode or not; the training mode stops the ghosts. You can turn this on and off later under options in the help menu during the game.
Pacman Talks includes an extensive help file. Part of the help file plays the game sounds and tells you what they mean. Another part of the file is available in text format and must be read by your screen reader.
Hitting F1 any time during game play will bring up this help file. Hitting CONTROL+F1 will bring up the text files, which again, will have to be read by your screen reader.
It only took me a few minutes to familiarize myself with a few essential sounds and key strokes using this help and I was off, chasing down those passages, avoiding those ghosts, gobbling up dots, and racking up some high scores. So I won't go into any specifics here. Just take the time to peruse through the help menu and you shouldn't have any problem racking up those humongous scores for yourself!
I recommend this game for all ages.
As far as game re-play, well, with 24 levels to play with ...
I give this game a 10 out of 10. Phil Vlasak has done a superb job putting Pacman Talks together using the GMA game engine.
PS, It would make a very nice Christmas present. (HINT HINT) Santa ...
Stan
web page by Louis Scrivani and Phil Vlasak, November 26, 2002