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Polarium Paves The Way

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 39 / 40
Date: July 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

In the vein of classic puzzle games, Polarium is very easy to learn but exceptionally hard to master. The object is to draw a single continuous line thereby changing the polarity (ie color) of the tiles so an entire row matches and disappears from the screen. It's a simple concept but you'll soon find yourself stumped as the blocks pile higher and higher.

People that have difficulty with spatial relations and seeing patterns might be frustrated, but sticking with Polarium will surely eventually help improve those skills, something which makes the game especially good for children. This is a game that truly is for everyone (over age five that is).

There are four modes of play. Challenge is an endless string of blocks falling and it's your job to score the highest points. Puzzle is a collection of 100 grids you have to solve with one continuous line. These puzzles get extremely challenging very quickly and will surely please more seasoned players. In addition you can create your own puzzles and share them with friends. And last but not least the game features wireless multiplayer.

One of my few nit picks with the game is that you don't have a choice of background music. Thankfully, it's very good music, but still it would be nice to change it up now and again. To make up for this though the game has you draw a picture to identify you on the highest scores list. It's a great feature that makes the experience that much more personal. Several times I've spent more time creating a cool icon for my listing than I did playing the game itself.

If you like puzzle games or are interested in trying one out, you owe it to yourself to pick up Polarium. This is one game that is sure to remembered as a classic in years to come.

How far can one line take you?

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 17 / 20
Date: June 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Polarium melds players' stylus handling abilities with mind-bending challenges. In each of the modes, the task is to turn white tiles black and/or black tiles white, attempting to form horizontal lines of the same hue to remove them from play. To do this, it's all about drawing a line across the tile grid to flip the tiles to their polar opposites; the tiles that lay under the line you've drawn will go from white to black or black to white. Neutral gray titles are a "free pass" for players to continue their line without affecting any of the in-play tiles.

Polarium's meat is in its individual puzzle designs. There are 100 unique layouts that must be completed by removing all tiles from play in one single stroke of the stylus. Early on it's a cakewalk to find the right path, but about a third of the way into these challenges you'll have to really wrack the brain to see the proper line to draw. The real skill is in seeing how to manipulate both black and white at the same time, not just one or the other. Hints are available when you're stuck; the upper, non-touch screen is used to show the last attempt on the current panel, which is definitely handy as a reference to figure out where you went wrong.





What's really slick about this mode is the ability to create and save your own puzzle creations to cartridge. The game makes sure that any design can be solved by challenging the creators to solve it themselves; once it's successful, players can convert that puzzle into an extensive, numerical password so that buddies can pull that puzzle up on their own cartridge. Of course, those puzzles can also be transmitted to anyone's cart provided they're within local wireless range. It's this option that really extends Polarium's staying power.

The other half of Polarium is Challenge Mode an attempt to offer a Tetris-style of game design where falling structures move from the upper screen to the lower screen, stacking up when they hit the bottom of the pit. Here, players use their line drawing skills to remove as much of the tiles from play before the stack reaches the top of the bin. The problem: this mode sounds like a winner, but in practice it doesn't come off nearly as well as the Puzzle Mode. The first portion of the game is simply memorizing the particular stacks and drawing the line before they even hit the bottom of the bin. After the first round, the blocks stack up almost arbitrarily, which makes it difficult to play the game the way it was meant to be played.

But the blandness of Challenge Mode is rectified with a rather decent multiplayer option using a similar idea. This two player competition pits players one on one, sending completed lines out of their bin into the opposition's. When all of the lines end up in one player's bin, the match is over. It's a hectic matchup that can last a couple of seconds or a few minutes depending on the skills of the player and the luck of the draw in the tile layouts. To add a little bit more to the mayhem, there are power-ups to help or hinder; slowing opponent's sent lines or speeding up your own, for example. The best part: multiplayer only needs one copy of the game, with the owner sending the necessary files over to the cartridge-free system.

The problems with Polarium are few but enough to put a dent in the overall production value. The game's control has an overall "stiff" feeling due to its reliance on drawing lines that perfectly match the grid-like pattern of the tiles. The responsiveness between drawing the line and "tapping" the end to tell the game the line's complete is a bit on the laggy side that gets better with practice, but it's still not as tight as a puzzle game should be. It's a problem that's simply inherent with the game's direction; I can't imagine any better way of controlling Polarium, so "stiff" it will always feel.





Polarium's minimal presentation, obviously the development team's artistic choice, is certainly interesting and gives the game a look of its own, but its lack of color or graphical flash isn't something easily ignored. It's cool that the developers focused more on gameplay than imagery, but that doesn't mean the package couldn't use just a little more splash of color. We're past the days of grayscale Game Boy, folks. Old-school arcade games have had more visual appeal than this title.

There's no doubting the originality of Polarium's design, and the fact that it puts the Nintendo DS' unique functions to use means that it's a game that really couldn't be played on any other system out there. But it's not a game for the sloppy player, since it really requires a precise handling on stylus drawing. The two-color concept works in some areas and doesn't in others, but overall it's a puzzle game that's not like anything you've played before, and the little elements, like multiplayer and puzzle creation, add a lot to an extremely minimal package.

Time Killer

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: December 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game suffers from a few minor flaws, but I personally keep my copy in my DS lite as the default. Why? Becuse it's the ideal game to play when waiting for the bus, the perfect game when your buddy is taking his time getting ready to go, and the best way to forget how long you've been waiting for your boss in the parking lot.
Polariums flaws are forgivable, and its gameplay rewarding. First, the control can be unresponsive, and it can cost you. The touch screen is used to draw a small golden cube across the colored bricks in order to complete a line which will change the polarity of the bricks (switch from black/white to white/black). However, pull the stylus in the wrong direction and you'll find your line stalled out, or the line is drawn in a way you didn't intend, and this can be frustrating, bt it's part of the games challenge. Second, I wish there were a few more sound tracks, the ones that have been included in Polarium are good, but with as simple as the gameplay is, I would have liked to hear a few more fashion-show trancey tunes emitted from my DS speakers.
On the good side, the puzzle mode is challenging and addictive, as well as highly rewarding; the completion of each puzzle sees the tiles vanish in a glimmer of golden particles and a jingle sound to announce your success, simple sleek and strangely pleasing.
The game includes 100 templates on which you can design and save your own puzzles, giving the game a little more depth in its multiplayer potential.
Alternatively, the game offers a challenging tetris style play mode that becomes very difficult very quickly, and offers this in a multiplayer option.
Overall, I'm pleased by the simple monochromatic presentation of Polarium, but I would have liked to see a little more variety in the BGM. This game is at it's best when you have about ten minutes to kill, such as the bus stop, and I reccomend it for the casual gamer.

Just...can't...stop...PLAYING!!!!! (A multi-category review)

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: May 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Puzzle games are supposed to be the most addictive games around, but this is ridiculous. On a full DS charge, I usually start playing this game and don't stop until the unit shuts itself out. Then I plug it in, think about it for a bit, then keep playing the unit while it's charging! Heck, my Super Mario 64 DS and Rayman DS copies are probably going to be sitting for a long time before I start playing either of them again.
I am giving up time playing Polarium right now to write this Multi-Category review, but despite the time shortage, I'll add on another category to my preexisting seven: a new Multiplayer category, because that area deserves special mention.
Read this review and start flipping the tiles.

PLOTLINE: Guide a weird golden geometric figure around a playing field full of black and white tiles to form a line around them, then tap the last tile in the line to flip all the tiles you drew over, hopefully forming solid-color horizontal rows that vanish and give you points. there are three main gameplay modes, and they are the fast-paced Challenge mode, the brain-twisting Puzzle mode, and the frantic fun of Versus mode. The game overall: simple, but challenging. RATING: 10

GRAPHICS: Like most puzzle games, this one clearly says, "Graphics, schmaphics." The great gameplay covers up this fact completely. Plus, with almost no colors other than black, gray, and white, this game is easy to see in almost any lighting situation. A vast contrast from the color-rich Rayman DS, in which the only place you can play it in is a closed closet. RATING: 8.5

SOUND: The sound effects are cool, and so is the background music. The music doesn't distract you in Puzzle mode, making it easier to clear out the more difficult situations. RATING: 9

CONTROL: I was a bit wary when the game's manual said it was completely stylus-driven (no buttons will work other than the obvious Power button), but a few minutes of gameplay demonstates that buttons would actually hinder this game. There are two ways to draw lines, and you can choose between sliding the stylus across the screen (drawing) or clicking each corner on the line in order. There are a few skeptics who may look at this game and say that the D-Pad could be another control option, but it's obvious that that would be a nightmare in something fast like Challenge or Versus. RATING: 10

MULTIPLAYER: If the game's single-player modes sparkle like a gem, then the multiplayer shines brighter than the sun. Versus mode is multicard play, so unlike Super Mario 64 DS, you can join with another Polarium player and start playing almost immediately. You can also create your own custom puzzles and trade them with other users who own the game. Got a friend who doesn't have the game? Then you can have them turn on their Download Play and send them a Polarium demo. The demo contains the full Tutorial, 10 puzzles, and the Versus mode option. The best part? You can then turn off your DS, leaving them to play their Polarium demo as long as their DS is on. Truly, Polarium's multiplayer is far superior to Super Mario 64 DS's. RATING: 10

GLITCHES: None. RATING: 10

ENTERTAINMENT: The puzzle game I've ever- I repeat, ever - played. RATING: 10

REPLAY VALUE: You can always get a higher score on Challenge, beat someone at Versus, or create or solve another puzzle. The Replay is practically infinite. RATING: 9.5

OVERALL RATING: 9.6

A FINAL WORD: Polarium is not only one of the best puzzle games ever, but it's also one of the best games on the DS. Get a copy today!

A quick fix

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: October 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I had read pretty positive reviews for Polarium so I decided to pick it up, the puzzle mode is by far the most interesting to me, and is very fun to play, the challenge mode is hectic, but since the pieces for the first few levels seem to be preset, it gets tedious pretty quickly. All in all, the game is fun, but then after you finish all 100 puzzles, there's not much else to do, no extra content really besides those two areas.
The multiplayer aspect is what keeps games going though, and i know no one else around me with a DS, so I can't say about that part.

Challenging and Fun

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: April 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Finally, a decent game for the Nintendo DS. If you own a DS, you know one of the biggest problems with the system is the lack of available games. There are few to begin with, and of those available, several are disappointing. They have difficult control schemes, seem rushed to market, or just really don't have much lasting appeal. Polarium is a puzzle game, but it is a very good puzzle game. This is probably the best game of this type I've seen since Tetris. At first, it seems overly simple, but it soon becomes apparent how potentially challenging the game is. With three types of single person play, Polarium provides great game play variety with both a fast-paced challenge mode and a more leisurely puzzle mode. The game also allows you to create and save your own puzzles in puzzle mode. You can send these puzzles to other players with the wireless function of the DS, and there is also a wireless multi-player mode, but I have not tried either. Polarium has a lot of potential challenge and long-term playability, and makes great use of the touch screen features of the Nintendo DS. This is definitely a game that will extend the shelf life of your DS.

Tetris it aint, but it is a very nice puzzle game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: December 20, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Polarium is a very interesting puzzle game that makes good use of the touch screen. In fact, the game uses no buttons to control it. I like puzzles a lot, and this game keeps me busy during idle times. It is deceptively difficult sometimes, but always satisfying when you complete a new puzzle. So far this pertains to the puzzle potion of the game. I tried to play the challenge part and lost interest quickly as it's not really mentally difficult, but rather hectic "busy-work" in nature. My only complaints are that the music (although good) can get monotonous after a while, and that the control scheme could use a little alteration. In particular, I wish there was a different way to tell the line to go rather than tapping the last block, I often find myself tapping the last block on accident and being forced to start over. I got this game in the bargain bin and if you find it that way I would highly recommend it. If it's full priced, I woulkd recommend it only to major puzzle fans.

Black and white isn't always bad

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: May 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is a terrfic puzzle game. You use the stylus to create vertical and horizontal lines of one color. There are 100 puzzles to solve. All of which are fun. There is also a tetris-like game. As blocks fall make lines to clear as many as you can. For people who have visual-spacial problems (like myself) this game will probably be harder for you. Although by playing this you might get better about it. I strongly reccomend this game.

Fun!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: July 19, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Polarium is very easy to get the hang of, and it also comes with a nice tutorial mode.

The Puzzle mode gets pretty involved after about the first ten or so - that should keep you busy for a while.

The Challenge (Tetris-style) mode does seem to get tough maybe a little too quick, but it does give your brain a good stretch as a result. I just wish it had a Novice-Normal-Expert level option. Challenge mode does offer a practice feature, where you can flip to your heart's content.

Polarium should be in everybody's DS collection, since there is bound to be someone in your family who will love it.

Pretty Good!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 11
Date: June 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is really difficult. I don't like the game because it's all a puzzle. It depends on what gamer you are. If you are good at puzzles and have a DS,go out and buy this. If you're more of an Action player,you will not enjoy this.

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