Nintendo is really beginning to try my patience. It’s not a smart business decision to make claims that you’re going to reshape the world of gaming, and then give us a game like Polarium, which I assume is supposed to prove that point. Needless to say, it fails to do so miserably. Nintendo representatives refer to this game as "the next Tetris," which in a lot of eyes will be final and absolute proof that the company is not only suffering from delusions of grandeur, but that the management has nearly lost their collective minds. Polarium not only looks and feels like a shareware PDA game, but fifty percent of it is practically unplayable. This is what I think Nintendo would colorfully label as "the growing pains of new frontiers in gaming;" I would just call it a cop out. The DS needs engaging software to sell its gimmick unique setup, and games like Polairum aren’t going to cut it.
One Concept; Two Colors
The gameplay in Polarium isn’t terribly deep. The player is presented with a set of tiles in a rectangular setup, some white, some black. The player then needs to draw a line over these tiles. When the player is satisfied with their line, they tap the end of it and all of the tiles that have been drawn over will flip their colors. The object is simple: create solid colored horizontal lines; all white, or all black. When a line is all one color, it will disappear. There are two different styles of play this is executed in, one more enjoyable than the other. One has you solving predetermined puzzles (the good mode), and one has you clearing lines "falling block" style (the bad mode). I’ll get more into detail on the modes in a minute.
"Polarium looks and feels like a shareware PDA game..."
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It’s the presentation area where Polarium takes the whole two color concept to the extreme. Not only does it factor into the gameplay completely, but you’d be hard pressed to find many more than two colors in the whole game. OK, OK, I’m exaggerating; it’s more like five. With such high graphical production values, one can find it easy to ignore the fact that there are two songs in the game. While the one in the Puzzle Mode is reminiscent of some calmer Sega music and is therefore quite enjoyable, the one in the "falling block" mode (or Challenge mode, if you will) is far less inspiring, and is better described as "insipid."
Puzzle Mode: An Enjoyable Time
Puzzle mode offers up the most enjoyable half of Polarium. Nintendo programmed 100 unique puzzles for the player to solve. They set the tiles in a pattern, and it’s up to the player to make all the lines disappear by drawing one line through it; it’s kinda like navigating a maze. As I said before, a horizontal line will disappear when it’s one solid color. Some of the later puzzles make you flip white and black tiles simultaneously. Some of these patterns require some real thought; they become mind bogglingly more complex as the number gets closer to 100. Once in a while you’ll need to just shut off your DS and walk away due to their difficulty, but when you get through you really feel like you accomplished something, which is a rare feat in video games these days.
They Want Us To Play Challenge Mode?
I am seriously wondering if they wanted us to play Challenge Mode. It couldn’t be more accurate a name; Challenge mode is nearly impossible to make any progress in, because this style of puzzler doesn’t lend itself well to the "falling block" style of gameplay pioneered by Tetris and expanded upon by many other games. I’m not sure if one main problem that causes this can specifically be pointed out, either. The blocks fall too fast, or fall in too great a number, the touch screen controls aren’t responsive enough for the intensity and speed presented, and the clear move button is way too out of place for any kind of speedy recovery. There are plenty of times you’ll go to draw a line, and somehow a turn will be made that you probably didn’t mean to take, because you grazed the side of a box slightly. Granted, it’s mostly your fault, but it’s a little too unforgiving.
"Puzzle mode offers up the most enjoyable half..."
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Basically, you’re expected to clear as many lines as you can before both screens fill up with blocks. Like I said before, you must turn the horizontal lines one solid color, and they will vanish. As the speed and intensity ramps up, so do the patterns in which you draw. The increase in pattern complexity is supposed to up your combo count, but really it just ups the frustration of misdrawing lines. One wrong move, and it’s game over, and wrong moves aren’t something that’s your fault a lot of the time, due to the over-responsiveness of the touch screen (as I mentioned before). It’s just a frustrating and empty experience with no payoff what-so-ever. Because of this, half of the game worthless, and by most standards unplayable.
Reach Out and Touch Someone... Or Not
Polarium does offer a Puzzle creation feature, where players can create their own puzzles, and share them via the DS’ wireless LAN. The puzzle must be solved by the creator first, to ensure it can be completed, which is a really nice touch. There’s also a way to bring up puzzles through a password function, if you aren’t able to connect via the LAN, or wish to post your creations on the internet. It’s not a huge mode or selling point, but a nice feature to have at your disposal nonetheless.
There is a two player Vs. mode, where players battle in a Challenge Mode like setting, but the inherent frustration of that mode is prevalent here as well, and players will likely stop playing within three minutes of starting; it’s just not fun.
"...half of the game worthless..."
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If It Feels Like It Should Be Free Don’t Pay
Nintendo’s current ideology states that Polarium is "the next Tetris;" if they keep to this train of thought I don’t even want to know what their take on Grand Theft Auto will be like. The bottom line is that this really isn’t that great a game, mostly because only half of it is worth anything. The concept is solid, and it’s executed well, but a total package isn’t given, which seems to be the case with most DS games. It feels like shareware; it should be free. $30 is way too high a price for this. Someone tell Nintendo this isn’t how to sell their system, and it’s definitely not the best way to combat the PSP.
