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How Metascores Are Calculated
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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games. |
(Known in Japan as "Chokkan Hitofude") Polarium mixes way-cool gameplay with an electronica soundtrack for the trippiest experience yet on the DS. It's the first game that would look cool at a rave. The object is to make room for tiles falling from the top screen by clearing rows of tiles below. You do this by flipping the tiles to make rows that are all black or all white. Gray neutral tiles surround the playing area, so you can flip disconnected groups of tiles. The gray tiles are particularly helpful in Puzzle mode, where you're challenged to eliminate all black or white tiles without lifting your stylus once. Polarium comes with 100 puzzles. You can also build your own custom puzzles and send them to a fellow night-clubber with a tap of the stylus. Play wireless multiplayer matches against a friend; as you clear lines, they'll appear on your opponent's screen, which is visible to you on the upper screen of your DS. Clear lines with "?"s on them to get power-ups that make your lines clear faster, block out your foe's border, reverse his or her tiles, and more. A hypnotic electronic score gives the game the sleek appeal of a high-end fashion show. [Nintendo]
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more... 83
Game Informer
A truly exceptional puzzle title. [June 2005, p.137]
81
Gaming Target
What the game lacks in presentation and sound, it makes up for with a fun, original concept that wouldn't quite work as well on anything but the DS.
 80
Nintendojo
Nintendo hit one out of the ballpark here. All DS owners should also own Polarium. My question: why was it not included with the system?
80
GameBiz
The Challenge mode may only hold your interest for a little while, but the one hundred migraine-inducing puzzles will definitely make you come back to the game.
80
Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)
An idea with the potential to get boring but that, in practice, is satisfyingly addictive. The puzzle mode offers fiendishly tricky logic problems which are in fact, pretty tricky. Tough but great value and worth the effort. [NGC Pocket]
80
NintendoWorldReport
Its simple presentation may deter players who like a bit more pizzazz and graphical flare, but an entertaining game with lastability awaits those who decide to pick it up. [JPN Import]
80
Total Video Games
Addictive, fun, and certainly unique, Polarium suits the DS down to the ground (this is game that could only work on the DS…and PDAs) and perhaps this is the direction Nintendo should take their new machine rather than trying to compete with the PSP and bring confused and muddled conversions to the format.
80
GameSpy
Granted, the concept of staring at a screen full of black and white squares for minutes on end looking for the correct line to draw may not sound like the most exciting game out there, but for those who appreciate a good mental challenge, it's a treat.
80
Modojo
Polarium does what it's supposed to do - frustrate the hell out of you until you stab the touch-screen with your stylus. But once you get that solution to the puzzle you're working on, it's a big relief... that is, until the next puzzle rolls around.
80
Electric Playground
Like all good puzzlers, Polarium is exceptionally easy to learn, and it makes it very hard for you to turn your DS off and get your work done.
79
GameZone
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.
78
IGN
But it's not a game for the sloppy player, since it really requires a precise handling on stylus drawing.
78
N-Insanity
Overly simplistic graphics and sound should have been worked on to make the final package feel more like an actual game, but alas it still felt like a glorified tech demo in the end.
76
Nintendo Power
After solving Polarium's first 30 puzzles, I now plan to have my cranium resized - I swear that my brain's gotten bigger. On to the final 70! [June 2005, p.95]
75
Detroit Free Press
If you like solitaire, "Tetris" and puzzle games, this is for you.
75
Da Gameboyz
A title that I had no idea would be so addicting. The graphics and sound are definitely basic, but it is gameplay that makes this title what it is.
75
Gaming Age
The multiplayer could have been a bit more robust and single card play would have been easy to implement given the simplicity of the graphics... If you love puzzle games then I highly recommend giving Polarium a try.
75
eToychest
A very interesting demonstration of the DS's capabilities, but it is not exactly a worthy successor to the classic puzzle games of the past.
75
1UP
Consider Polarium a killer robot sent back into the present to conquer your brain. Might as well enjoy the subjugation...for as long as it lasts, anyway.
70
Sydney Morning Herald
Presentation is stark and uninviting but few games are this mentally taxing.
70
EuroGamer
With some of the most basic visuals seen since the days of the ZX81 and mind-numbingly uninspired audio it's not going to woo gamers looking for the quick thrill that other eye-candy laden DS titles will.
70
Edge Magazine
The end result is a rather cold and uninvolving game. Too subtle to be a Tetris replacement, too plain to be an engaging puzzler, Chokkan Hitofude adds up to something a little greyer than its crisp black-and-white stylings might suggest. [JPN Import; Jan 2005, p.95]
70
GameCube Europe
It is very addictive and a lot of fun. But the puzzle mode has a replay factor of absolute zero. Anyone who would go back to it for fun would be a mad man.
70
Play Magazine
It may look plain, but Polarium is a game that really etched itself into my brain. [June 2005, p.86]
70
RewiredMind
Indeed, Polarium isn’t so much about your stylus skills, rather your ability to create continuous paths on the screen to change as many blocks to the correct colour in one move as possible.
69
GameSpot
If staring at a brainteaser for lengthy periods of time is your idea of excitement, or if the idea of creating puzzles and sharing them with like-minded friends is intriguing to you, then you'll find enough enjoyable mind-benders to make this worth a purchase.
65
3DAvenue
One for the puzzle fans but unless you absolutely want to just draw lines all day, "Zoo Keeper" offers a much better gaming experience and has a lot more features.
65
Armchair Empire
Maybe my only real complaint is that during Challenge mode there's a half-second delay from the completion of a line of tiles to the time is disappears.
65
PALGN
A good game but it’s going to be forced to dwell in the shadows of much superior titles, especially Meteos, as it’s genre has been trumped. However, a lot of the redeeming value is diminished by the fact that the Challenge mode is weak and it is a puzzle game that will only appeal for a finite amount of time.
60
Pelaaja (Finland)
In a perfect world, Polarium would have been a built-in game in the Nintendo DS, just like "PictoChat." Even so, there is no better alternative for a solid DS puzzle game, at least until Meteos arrives. [May 2005, p 89]
60
G4 TV
Simple, yet fun, Polarium is an engaging puzzle game. It proves that the touch screen can be used for more than gimmicks.
60
NTSC-uk
The pickup-and-play nature of the Checkmate mode lends itself perfectly to the portable medium, but it's no more than a simple puzzle experience that can be found on millions of Desktop PCs. [JPN Import]
60
Gamestyle
It's a great game if you like the genre, but it won't probably won't win any new fans to the puzzle style of play. Their loss.
58
Nintendophiles
If you’re a fan of brain teasers, then the game’s 100 puzzles are definitely worth the price of admission (even though it is a little steep). If, on the other hand, you tend to enjoy the more traditional puzzle games that involve making falling objects disappear, you might want to skip Polarium.
Frogguts1 gave it an8: Obrien gave it a9: Disappointed D. gave it a3: Fank N. gave it a10: Paul Scotto di P. gave it a9: Ish aten gave it a9: [Anonymous] gave it an8: |
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