Polarium Review

Polarium

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Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Nintendo

# of Players: 1-2

Category: Classics/Puzzles

Release Dates

N Amer - 04/18/2005

Official Game Website

Glink It

Polarium proves without a doubt that less can definitely be more. Using a simple premise of converting black and white colored tiles, players are thrown into the mental meat grinder. As tiles fall faster and faster, and you, the player are only able to use the stylus to control the action. You see, the game involves black, white or grey shapes falling towards the bottom of the second screen (yes this game use both screens). The upper screen acts as a preview of what shape is to come next. The idea of the game is to make complete horizontal lines of the same color (and therefore making them disappear) as the tiled shapes fall from above. Grey tiled shapes act as a universal color for either black or white in the completion of lines. As is the norm, you must act quickly to form complete color lines or the shapes will pile up too high and you will lose.

The game offers two modes of play, challenge and puzzle. I described challenge above, what I didn't describe is that challenge is the mind bending portion of the game, tiles fall at an almost unbearable pace. Moving the stylus you begin to start thinking in larger terms, like making multiple lines of the same color in order to clear the screen, but then another shape comes and you're running out of room, so you begin to unravel mentally and the whole puzzle comes crashing down. Tough, frantic brain-busting action.

The second mode is the puzzle mode. Instead of pieces falling downward, the idea is to flip all tiles in one fell swoop of your stylus. If you think this sounds hard, well, at first you won't think so, but after a couple of minutes you start sweating and you realize that this whole game must be some diabolical plan to infiltrate your mind's deepest recesses. Almost like a Star Trek episode from about 12 years ago. Mind control aside, the game really grabs hold of you and time seems to accelerate while you play.

Not that there is much in terms of graphics the game has a definite black and white TV feel to it. Not that I minded, the game looks fine for what it is and the programmers used the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. The same could be said of the audio, it's there, but has no relevance to the overall game. I in fact, merely turned the sound down as it allowed me to concentrate more on the puzzle at hand.

Probably the coolest feature of the game is the ability to make puzzles yourself and then send them to other DS owners who are linked with you via the wireless connection. The game forces the creator to first beat the puzzle before allowing you to ship it off to frustrate your friends. Which is only fair, I made allot of puzzles that simply were not able to be completed. There is also a downloadable mode for DS owners who don't own the game. It allows them to take the game out for a trial spin. Slick. Lastly there is also a head to head mode where players play against each other, provided they each have a copy of the game. Still, I'm liking this wireless gaming niche I'm having with some of my co-workers. If only the boss really knew!

Reviewer's Scoring Details

Gameplay: 8.0

Wowzer, a game that is only played with the stylus. This game is tailor made for the DS and the user friendly controls make it a real treat for those of us who bought the system.

Graphics: 6.5

It's nothing special, but it's not supposed to be. The whole idea of black, white and grey is that they are easiest on the eyes after long stretches of time, good thing because long stretches of time is exactly what you will be spending.

Sound: 6.5

It is nice little subtle beat that drums along, but it makes no difference in the game. Where some games need a strong soundtrack to help move things along, Polarium does not because it isn't needed.

Difficulty: Med/Hard

Yes, it starts out fairly easy, and the tutorial sure is a big help, but boy are you in for some serious headaches. This game is almost indescribable in its ability to frustrate you. Not that you mind, that's what puzzle games are all about.

Concept: 8.5

Yes, the game may sound like some other puzzle games, but the stylus gives it an entirely new dynamic, and therefore a heaping dose of originality.

Multiplayer: 8.8

Easily the most popular DS games that my friends and I play against each other. When someone comes up with a new devious puzzle, there is nothing cooler then solving it, in like, five minutes, knowing your buddy spent much longer then that making the darn thing. Ah, bliss.

Overall: 7.9

It's really a great little game. I think I may like Lumines a little more overall, but I really do think the multiplayer is easily the game's strongest selling point. Good original puzzle game that should at least be tried by all DS owners.