Some of those fantastic Nintendo DS tech demos from E3 2004 are finally starting to pop up: a new Super Mario Bros. side scroller actually does exist for the unit and a fun little Pac-Man demo on display has been turned into a fully fledged Nintendo DS title known as Pac-Pix. If you're looking for those unique Nintendo DS games that have been promised, then you'll be glad to know Pac-Pix fits the bill and has a bit more life in it than the disappointing Yoshi Touch & Go.

There isn't much to what is perhaps gaming's biggest icon - he's just a yellow pizza with a slice missing really, thus he isn't too hard to draw. And that's the concept behind Namco's latest Pac-Man adventure; numerous ghosts float around a blank canvas on your DS screen and it's up to you to draw the little yellow guy to eat them. Starting with the mouth first, drawing him is pretty easy once you get the hang of it and you don't have to be anywhere near exact to get it to register, thanks to some handy character recognition technology. Once he's drawn, he pops to life and travels in the direction he's facing, which can be changed by blocking his path with vertical or horizontal lines.

The goal is to eat up all the ghosts, which becomes progressively harder and harder as you move through the chapters, each consisting of five levels. New elements are introduced almost every chapter, some having a more major impact than others. Chapter 5, for example, introduces the ability to draw arrows, which shoot in any direction to either stun enemies or hit switches and then a few chapters later you learn how to bounce the arrows off mirrors and around obstacles. Later still you learn how to draw and light bombs, among other things, which makes for some satisfyingly progressive gameplay that is constantly offering you something new.

The level designs themselves keep you on your toes, with plenty of moving blocks, mirrors and new enemies to figure out how to overcome. Every so often you're also challenged to a boss fight, which are a lot more interesting than you might think, each with different attacks and weaknesses. One boss looks on as you draw Pac-Man, waiting for you to create one big enough to devour him (complete with some really great animations reacting to what you sketch) while other bosses have protective shells on the upper screen that you have to destroy by bouncing arrows around the screen. Pac-Pix really is a creative little game and Namco has taken full advantage of the DS's unique abilities, sans microphone (thankfully.)

Though Pac-Pix is definitely creative and worth it for those looking for a new exclusive DS game, it isn't without flaws. For one, it is short and doesn't offer much after you complete the 12 main chapters (though there are collectables for doing well) but the main problem is that the game can sometime be picky about your art. It would be understandable if it happened occasionally but it seems to be much more frequent than it should be. Pac-Man sometimes oddly travels in the wrong direction, bombs don't register because your circle is too sloppy at the connection points, fuses don't light because you slightly nudged something along the way... add to this the fact that tons of enemies usually clutter the screen, making it difficult to find room to draw everything within the level's time limit and you've got some hectic and frustrating gameplay. The lack of any modes outside of the main 12 Chapters is a real letdown, considering Pac-Pix's potential for a neverending marathon mode or a multiplayer versus or co-operative mode.

Graphically Pac-Pix is really impressive for what it is, utilising a style similar to that used on the promotional artwork for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, featuring very thick inking and lots of exaggerated lines. As an artist, this alone was almost enough to sell me on the game, as it really does look absolutely fantastic and each chapter has a really cool background picture that is a combination of abstract shapes, including moons and suns. As for enemy animations, they look to be drawn by the same team and thus obviously look lovely and move very fluidly, especially the great bosses. Pac-Man only looks as good as you want him to but if you draw him in an odd way you can get some really humorous results when he starts to animate and trot along the screen!

Unfortunately the sound doesn't really stack up to the graphics, mainly due to the music. The effects are all fine but the music sounds as if it was intentionally designed to be irritating rather than enjoyable, to the point where I had to turn it down whilst the game was idling on a menu; something I rarely do and something you wouldn't expect given the DS's audio capabilities.

Pac-Pix is much like Yoshi Touch & Go in the respect that it is aimed more at being high-score based instead of being played from beginning to end. Though it does feature progressing chapters, almost all replay value is to be found in the form of beating your high scores for each chapter and attempting to achieve a higher rank (up to S), thus unlocking new cards to look at. For most players the cards aren't really worth the trouble of unlocking and other than this there isn't much extra except a training mode where you can practice drawing and discover Easter egg animations (called gesters.)

For the time it lasts though, Pac-Pix is great fun that can't really be experienced anywhere else once you come to grips with what requirements there are for drawing all the different shapes. Don't expect to blow through it all quickly either, as the last couple of challenges are some of the toughest levels of any DS game, becoming even harder when striving for that illusive S rank. Pac-Pix is the perfect remedy for the supposed lack of innovative DS games and looks to pave a smooth layer of concrete over Yoshi Touch & Go's rough job for new and unique DS games like Electroplankton, Ace Attorney and Trauma Center to glide right on in.

Reviewed by Christopher Martin for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).