Google Maps doubles as Pac Man. April Fool or just really good fun?
It’s probably just yet another April Fool’s joke (they do get a bit tiresome don’t they). But Google Maps actually has a Pac Man icon in the bottom left that turns the streets where you live into a giant arcade game and it’s really good fun (unfortunately if you live somewhere really rural you will be asked to pick somewhere with more streets).
It comes complete with 80s-style music and sound effects to bring perhaps the most famous character in video game history right into the 21st century and get those memories flooding back.
The new game can be accessed by clicking the Pac Man icon in the bottom left of Google Maps next to the Google Earth button. This brings up the controls for the game and the distinctive blue and black overlay complete with the characters.
The only change to the original game is that the little yellow character will have to navigate roundabouts. I set it up to play around London’s South Bank, but you can choose anywhere you like, providing it has enough streets.
Michelle Luo, product manager at Google, wrote on the site’s blog: “When navigating fruit-filled streets, determine at a glance which turns to pass to evade ghosts and get where you’re going safely.
“When you’re feeling a bit peckish, you can simply gobble up a few pac-dots or a cherry and keep on nommin’.”
I’ll be gutted if the game is removed at Midday – we shall see.
