Ms. Pac-Man voted into Video Game Hall of Fame...finally

[matmico399]

I downloaded Tron on my 360 years ago. Yep folks it is just as fun now as it was on the arcade machine back then. Guys let me ask a question. I played Pac-Man in the arcade a lot when it came out. But I got frustrated with it because I could only seem to advance to the same screen every time and I got tired of it. I was just a kid then so I didn't really know any strategies. But what is it that makes Ms. Pac-Man so much better? I just have never gotten the appeal of it, but maybe you folks can explain.

[mbd36]

I downloaded Tron on my 360 years ago. Yep folks it is just as fun now as it was on the arcade machine back then. Guys let me ask a question. I played Pac-Man in the arcade a lot when it came out. But I got frustrated with it because I could only seem to advance to the same screen every time and I got tired of it. I was just a kid then so I didn't really know any strategies. But what is it that makes Ms. Pac-Man so much better? I just have never gotten the appeal of it, but maybe you folks can explain.

Ms Pac-Man having different mazes is an improvement. Also there isn't a pattern to Ms Pac-Man. Good players can "break" the original Pac-Man by following a pattern.

[icepeople]

I downloaded Tron on my 360 years ago. Yep folks it is just as fun now as it was on the arcade machine back then. Guys let me ask a question. I played Pac-Man in the arcade a lot when it came out. But I got frustrated with it because I could only seem to advance to the same screen every time and I got tired of it. I was just a kid then so I didn't really know any strategies. But what is it that makes Ms. Pac-Man so much better? I just have never gotten the appeal of it, but maybe you folks can explain.

I'll second the multiple mazes, especially since I find them better designed than Pac-Man (those long passages definitely up your need for strategic thinking). Having monsters move randomly for a few seconds at the beginning before resuming their original Pac-Man behaviors is mixed...nice that the "personalities" remain, but it means nobody except the most expert of players is going to be able to last all that long (basically you're calculating four unique algorithims constantly and instantly at high speed).

One thing that did revive my enthusiasm for a bit was the turbo boost, even though in reality it meant my games were shorter in duration overall while completing twice as many mazes.

[Retro STrife]

2015:
Pong
Pac-Man
Super Mario Bros.
Tetris
Doom
World of Warcraft

2016:
Space Invaders
The Oregon Trail
The Legend of Zelda
Sonic the Hedgehog
The Sims
Grand Theft Auto III

I can’t fault their initial 10 choices that much. My biggest gripe is GTA3 is the most important 3D game ever IMO, so I’d swap that with WoW in the original class. Also, very surprised Super Mario 64 hasn’t been inducted yet. Not a huge fan of the game, but I can’t deny its influence.

Bear in mind that this is all picked by one toy museum in upstate New York and carries about as much weight as the average listicle. Not that something like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame means anything itself, but at least it has recognition, and people show up in person to get inducted. I don't think anyone here besides the OP and Retro STrife even knew about this.

Also, having been to the VG Hall of Fame, I can tell you that it is basically just a hallway with a few exhibits. It’s a very very small part of the museum and not that interesting. Their main video game displays are bigger and better, but even those I felt like it was more geared to the casual observer than an enthusiast. For retro gaming fans, I gotta say the National Video Game Museum outside Dallas was way more impressive to me.

And a good point that the Strong Museum is not well known nationally. But I gotta give the Strong some credit too. For what it’s worth, the Strong has the most respected museum collection of video games in the US, hands down. And top 5 in the world. But a lot of that is not on display, and the video game exhibit is just a small portion of the museum. It has a toy museum, and a children’s museum for kids to play, etc etc.. it is a “museum of play”, so it covers everything under that heading, and it’s a huge place where you can spend a full day. I loved it, especially the kids’ exhibits with my daughter, but I can’t say I loved the video game section. Liked it though. But either way, the Strong easily beat the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, which I also hit during my trip through NY.

[ThePixelatedGenocide]

Worth noting the Atari 2600 and Nintendo Gameboy made it into their Hall of Fame too.

You'll find them in the toy section.

[Retro STrife]

Worth noting the Atari 2600 and Nintendo Gameboy made it into their Hall of Fame too.

You'll find them in the toy section.

Good point, they have a separate National Toy Hall of Fame there as well. A couple game systems were inducted into it.

[Tron]

Thanx for the info Stalvern. U R kool! Thanx for also not just adding a link. Last time I clicked a link I had some dating website pop up & it took me 3 months to finally convince my girlfriend that I wasn’t cheating. Don’t panic folks it wasn’t from the Critic’s site.

Some odd choices I’d say, but like Stalvern said it’s basically just 1 shopkeepers picks so why bother arguing about it. As far as credibility goes I mean what is credible anymore; other than the VideogameCritic of course. Someone mentioned the baseball hall of fame on this thread so I’m allowing myself to digress for a moment. They inducted Harold Baines for crying out loud. Harold freakin Baines!! Lousy fielder, DH more than half of his career, mediocre hitter never really excelled at anything. Dude basically defines mediocrity and he’s in the hall. So the Baseball Hall of Fame is a joke.

Anyhow I’ll point out one thing from the list that Caught my eye. I saw Tomb Raider and immediately thought Resident Evil instead.

[icepeople]

As the OP, I'll just note I saw a few articles in mainstream media (CNN among them). I didn't know anything about the HOF itself or how it compares to any number of what are apparently far more impressive virtual and physical "institutions."