Hey guys,
I've decided today to review Polar Panic for the Playstation Network (PSN/PS3).
Before we begin:
Synopsis/Key Features:
- A puzzle mode that features 50 unique puzzles of varying difficulty.
- An arcade mode that features 50 unique stages of varying difficulty.
- An endless (local multiplayer/singleplayer) survival mode.
- High score lists that track all the puzzle mode times and completions, arcade and survival scores.
- Costs $9.99 on the PSN (Playstation Network).
Up until recently I've never really paid attention to the PSN store except when looking at the PS1 Classics. I've quickly learned PSN has some incredibly unique games that are a refreshing change from the typical retail games released by Sony. Polar Panic definitely falls into that "break time" category as it's a wonderful pick-up-and-play game in small doses--operative word being small doses. Despite being an overall pretty solid addition to the puzzle and pick-up-and-play genre--unless you're a retro puzzle fanatic Polar Panic suffers from being a little bit too repetitive, clunky at times with controls, and redundancy.
I'm being slightly unfair though when I say in small doses because I can't ever recall playing a Bomberman-esque (or similar) puzzle game for more than just that--small doses. I suppose nothing has really changed from when I was a kid. Bomberman was fun with friends for about an hour, but then it started to become a little too repetitive, and that pretty much sums up Polar Panic's appeal. Polar Panic is a refreshing change of any kind of game you'll have in your arsenal for about an hour (sometimes less), but after that you'll quickly find yourself not as captivated anymore because despite its promise it isn't that innovative.
What hinders it? My three biggest complaints were probably the slow pace and redundancy (speaking of redundant I promise to start using a different word...) of the story mode, (sometimes) the fixed camera angle, and the controls. The story mode is very progressive and the earlier chapters are more or less tutorials for the gameplay and levels to follow. Unfortunately, the game does a bad job at introducing everything it does have to offer. For example, Polar eventually has to push blocks of ice onto hidden and not so hidden switches, or form ice block bridges where he can move across to progress in the stage. Where Polar Panic often fails is introducing new concepts like this--as by the time the game has introduced a new concept, not much separates it from the stages to follow. Overall, it ends up feeling like you're playing slight extensions of the stage before with one or two gradual changes that slightly alter the gameplay.
The controls are a little bit interesting and weird to say the least. They're responsive and above average, but oddly enough at the same time Polar seems to have a lot of problems with smoothly walking around a corner. I'm not a game developer, so I don't know the physics behind modeling a polar bear to walk around a corner, but I imagine they're true. If you took a real polar bear, and had it walk around a real corner in real life it would probably struggle, but this is a game! It really isn't that big of a complaint, but when you're trying for a best time (story and puzzle mode rank you on completion time, and fewest moves) it can become a little cumbersome. Especially because it never happens just once.
The fixed camera angle on the other hand is probably what hinders Polar Panic the most. I really, really wish the developers allowed for either a rotating camera, or a camera where you were able to zoom in. Specifically one example I can remember of why is because there's a giant tower which overshadows a switch directly beneath it. At the time of playing I actually had no idea there was a switch beneath it because I literally couldn't see it, and it was only until I accidentally stepped over it discovering it was there. During the later, bigger levels, a better camera angle would have been beneficial.
All the arcade levels have timers which add an added challenge in completing them (if the level runs out of time before completion, Polar dies) but it's very hard to see if you missed anything with the fixed camera angle, and you'll find yourself sometimes traversing back through the level literally racing against the clock. Whether this can be chalked up to a challenge, or poor design is debatable because some levels it's very hard to do everything required for a good grade (the game grades you on your performance) in the allotted time. I love being pushed, but Polar Panic sometimes feels too rushed, and unless you literally memorize a pattern of moves from beginning until end--it'd probably be impossible to fully complete the arcade stages in a casual play-through.
So, with all that out of the way, where does Polar Panic excel? Arguably, the stand-alone puzzle mode. It consists of 50 puzzles of varying difficulty. Some of the puzzles are no-brainers and could be completed by a grade schooler, but some of the others you can expect to rip out some hair and contemplate digging up Einsteins grave and corpse for help. My only complaint with the puzzle mode is there isn't enough puzzles. I would imagine most people would have the capability of finishing most of the puzzles (honestly! with no help from Youtube) in a few days at most. Where Polar Panic suffers is there's no DLC for more puzzles, and once you're finished them the puzzles replayability is almost non-existent. You'll only probably replay a few puzzles for a trophy (one trophy requires ten double "A" grades) or better times for the leaderboards, and nothing else.
Polar Panic also has a frantic survival mode that features Polar strategically having to kill an endless wave of enemies per round for multiplayer bonuses and points. The game allows you to select from 5 different levels, but once again like my pointing redundancy out, Polar Panic suffers from redundancy as there really isn't much offered in incentives in playing the other levels except for a change of enemies. Playing survival mode (level 1) isn't a substantially different experience than playing survival mode (level 5). And once you've unlocked the trophies rewarded for survival mode, you probably won't find yourself coming back.
The sound is an upside for the most part containing pleasant and suitable ambient background noise. There's no "really" out of place musical scores here. From the snow levels sounding very snow and winter-like to the boat stages sounding very open seas and pirate-like (and the boat stages really do have epic background music) everything musically seems to fit. The actual sound effects are basic, but equally as fitting. The sound effects and music do the job well.
Overall, Polar Panic is a somewhat interesting experience. With the story mode feeling more slow-paced than challenging, and the puzzle mode feeling more like a solid and polished game than the story mode--the developers seemed to have what they were going for little mixed up. Unless you're extremely dedicated to the puzzle/arcade genre I can see for most people playing this once and while as a refreshing change to the normal retail 40+ hour games PS3 has in its library. And that's not necessarily a problem--except when you factor in replayability. Once you've done everything there is to do in Polar Panic you'll probably find yourself coming back to this one as much as you do a forgotten book on a shelf.
Graphics: 7.0/10.
Gameplay: 6.5/10.
Sound: 7.0/10.
Controls: 6.0/10.
Replayability: 4.0/10.
Overall: 6.1/10.
I've decided today to review Polar Panic for the Playstation Network (PSN/PS3).
Before we begin:
Synopsis/Key Features:
- A puzzle mode that features 50 unique puzzles of varying difficulty.
- An arcade mode that features 50 unique stages of varying difficulty.
- An endless (local multiplayer/singleplayer) survival mode.
- High score lists that track all the puzzle mode times and completions, arcade and survival scores.
- Costs $9.99 on the PSN (Playstation Network).
Up until recently I've never really paid attention to the PSN store except when looking at the PS1 Classics. I've quickly learned PSN has some incredibly unique games that are a refreshing change from the typical retail games released by Sony. Polar Panic definitely falls into that "break time" category as it's a wonderful pick-up-and-play game in small doses--operative word being small doses. Despite being an overall pretty solid addition to the puzzle and pick-up-and-play genre--unless you're a retro puzzle fanatic Polar Panic suffers from being a little bit too repetitive, clunky at times with controls, and redundancy.
I'm being slightly unfair though when I say in small doses because I can't ever recall playing a Bomberman-esque (or similar) puzzle game for more than just that--small doses. I suppose nothing has really changed from when I was a kid. Bomberman was fun with friends for about an hour, but then it started to become a little too repetitive, and that pretty much sums up Polar Panic's appeal. Polar Panic is a refreshing change of any kind of game you'll have in your arsenal for about an hour (sometimes less), but after that you'll quickly find yourself not as captivated anymore because despite its promise it isn't that innovative.
What hinders it? My three biggest complaints were probably the slow pace and redundancy (speaking of redundant I promise to start using a different word...) of the story mode, (sometimes) the fixed camera angle, and the controls. The story mode is very progressive and the earlier chapters are more or less tutorials for the gameplay and levels to follow. Unfortunately, the game does a bad job at introducing everything it does have to offer. For example, Polar eventually has to push blocks of ice onto hidden and not so hidden switches, or form ice block bridges where he can move across to progress in the stage. Where Polar Panic often fails is introducing new concepts like this--as by the time the game has introduced a new concept, not much separates it from the stages to follow. Overall, it ends up feeling like you're playing slight extensions of the stage before with one or two gradual changes that slightly alter the gameplay.
The controls are a little bit interesting and weird to say the least. They're responsive and above average, but oddly enough at the same time Polar seems to have a lot of problems with smoothly walking around a corner. I'm not a game developer, so I don't know the physics behind modeling a polar bear to walk around a corner, but I imagine they're true. If you took a real polar bear, and had it walk around a real corner in real life it would probably struggle, but this is a game! It really isn't that big of a complaint, but when you're trying for a best time (story and puzzle mode rank you on completion time, and fewest moves) it can become a little cumbersome. Especially because it never happens just once.
The fixed camera angle on the other hand is probably what hinders Polar Panic the most. I really, really wish the developers allowed for either a rotating camera, or a camera where you were able to zoom in. Specifically one example I can remember of why is because there's a giant tower which overshadows a switch directly beneath it. At the time of playing I actually had no idea there was a switch beneath it because I literally couldn't see it, and it was only until I accidentally stepped over it discovering it was there. During the later, bigger levels, a better camera angle would have been beneficial.
All the arcade levels have timers which add an added challenge in completing them (if the level runs out of time before completion, Polar dies) but it's very hard to see if you missed anything with the fixed camera angle, and you'll find yourself sometimes traversing back through the level literally racing against the clock. Whether this can be chalked up to a challenge, or poor design is debatable because some levels it's very hard to do everything required for a good grade (the game grades you on your performance) in the allotted time. I love being pushed, but Polar Panic sometimes feels too rushed, and unless you literally memorize a pattern of moves from beginning until end--it'd probably be impossible to fully complete the arcade stages in a casual play-through.
So, with all that out of the way, where does Polar Panic excel? Arguably, the stand-alone puzzle mode. It consists of 50 puzzles of varying difficulty. Some of the puzzles are no-brainers and could be completed by a grade schooler, but some of the others you can expect to rip out some hair and contemplate digging up Einsteins grave and corpse for help. My only complaint with the puzzle mode is there isn't enough puzzles. I would imagine most people would have the capability of finishing most of the puzzles (honestly! with no help from Youtube) in a few days at most. Where Polar Panic suffers is there's no DLC for more puzzles, and once you're finished them the puzzles replayability is almost non-existent. You'll only probably replay a few puzzles for a trophy (one trophy requires ten double "A" grades) or better times for the leaderboards, and nothing else.
Polar Panic also has a frantic survival mode that features Polar strategically having to kill an endless wave of enemies per round for multiplayer bonuses and points. The game allows you to select from 5 different levels, but once again like my pointing redundancy out, Polar Panic suffers from redundancy as there really isn't much offered in incentives in playing the other levels except for a change of enemies. Playing survival mode (level 1) isn't a substantially different experience than playing survival mode (level 5). And once you've unlocked the trophies rewarded for survival mode, you probably won't find yourself coming back.
The sound is an upside for the most part containing pleasant and suitable ambient background noise. There's no "really" out of place musical scores here. From the snow levels sounding very snow and winter-like to the boat stages sounding very open seas and pirate-like (and the boat stages really do have epic background music) everything musically seems to fit. The actual sound effects are basic, but equally as fitting. The sound effects and music do the job well.
Overall, Polar Panic is a somewhat interesting experience. With the story mode feeling more slow-paced than challenging, and the puzzle mode feeling more like a solid and polished game than the story mode--the developers seemed to have what they were going for little mixed up. Unless you're extremely dedicated to the puzzle/arcade genre I can see for most people playing this once and while as a refreshing change to the normal retail 40+ hour games PS3 has in its library. And that's not necessarily a problem--except when you factor in replayability. Once you've done everything there is to do in Polar Panic you'll probably find yourself coming back to this one as much as you do a forgotten book on a shelf.
Graphics: 7.0/10.
Gameplay: 6.5/10.
Sound: 7.0/10.
Controls: 6.0/10.
Replayability: 4.0/10.
Overall: 6.1/10.
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