Review & Contest: Polar Panic for XBLA

Polar Panic is a relatively new puzzle game for both the Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA), and the PlayStation Network (PSN), where you push blocks around to kill enemies and solve puzzles. It's a simple concept, but scales in complexity when you add more block types and different enemies to the mix. How well does it accomplish all this? Read on for the review, and we'll give away an XBLA code to one lucky reader!

Thirty years ago the game Sokoban was created, and made players push blocks around a restricted room to activate buttons and move onto the next level. Polar Panic revives this old game mechanic, but adds some new twists.

You play as a polar bear who is trying to defeat an evil oil man named Mr. Big, but to do so means fighting your way through various levels. You'll have to fight against guys who club you to death, those who can shoot guns at you, and even some fire and ice enemies. It provides enough variety, and becomes challenging as you progress.

The main goal of each level is to kill all the enemies on the screen, however extra points can be earned for secondary objectives, which usually require pushing blocks onto specific squares. Unfortunately, even as a polar bear, there is no way to attack the enemies directly, you must use a block of ice or explosive. Making the main character a small bear, or perhaps a seal or penguin might have made sense for this restriction, but I guess polar bears were just too perfect to pass up.

Besides the main story, there are also puzzle levels, which are closer to the Sokoban game type. There are different pressure pad types, some that require constant pressure from a block sitting on it, others which you only have to step on to activate. These puzzles give the game several more hours of playtime, which is good considering the $10 price. The main story will take a few hours to complete, so it's not a bad deal at $10, but it's definitely worth thinking about.

Multiplayer is only available when playing on the same console, and there are only a few different game types, with minimal differences between them. You fight to survive through several rounds of enemies, competing in either score, kills, or in a "last bear standing" mode where the first one to die 4 times loses. You can choose from all the same type of environments you have in the single player game, but they are modified for Survival mode.

The achievements strike a good balance of ease and challenge, with your basic story-completion achievements mixed with some simple gameplay-based achievements. Beating all 50 challenge puzzles will take some time, but there are probably walkthroughs being made as I type.

Overall, the game provides a lot of family-friendly fun, that's even a challenge for the more "hardcore" gamer. The graphics and sound are well done, and you'll probably find more to like about this game than not. Neither the Single or Multiplayer modes will keep the average player busy for more than a dozen hours, but those dozen hours will be reasonably entertaining.

Contest
Want to win an XBLA code for Polar Panic? Just leave a comment on this story with your favorite winter activity. Whether it be pushing ice blocks, crushing snow, or stepping on pressure blocks, there is a lot to do in the winter months. Tell us your favorite thing, and you'll be entered to win!

Entries must be received by noon CST on January 27th. Limit one entry per person. Winner must be able to redeem a North-American XBLA code. Winner must not have won a product from Realm Media Networks in the past 90 days. Polar Panic was provided to Realm Media Networks free of charge. Single Player campaign was completed, along with multiple hours playing challenge levels and multiplayer modes.

Contest: Soundtracks for Borderlands and Bionic Commando

To kick off 2010, we're giving away a couple soundtracks. I'm not a music reviewer, and wouldn't feel comfortable giving reviews to these discs, but that doesn't mean I have to hold on to them. Let's take a short look at the two discs, and then find someone to give them to.

The first is the soundtrack for Bionic Commando, the new 3D version released in 2009 by Capcom. Long thought of as "the game with sausage arms," the game was released and received mediocre reviews. The music is mostly reworked themes from the original, and shows a good amount of effort by the lead composer, Jamie Christopherson. In the liner notes he speaks of playing Bionic Commando 20 years ago on the NES, and how the music impressed him. For Capcom to find a fan of the original to rework those classic melodies is a real accomplishment, and I think shows in the final work.

The second soundtrack is from one of the most popular games of 2009, Borderlands. Created by Dallas-area developer Gearbox Software, most of the music will be instantly recognizable by people that have played the game. Unfortunately, the song that greets you in the opening cinematic sequence, Ain't No Rest For The Wicked by Cage the Elephant, is not included on the disc. As one of the most iconic songs from the game, and used in trailers throughout the promotion of the game, it's definitely missed.

Both of these discs have great music on them, and would be a great addition to any game lover's collection. And now you can win the set! All you need to do is leave a comment telling us you're favorite time to listen to game music and you'll be entered to win! We'll choose one comment a week from now and send that person a copy of both soundtracks, so good luck!

Entries must be received by noon CST on January 13th. Limit one entry per person. Residents of the U.S. and Canada only. Winner must not have won a product from Realm Media Networks in the past 90 days.

Review & Contest: ElectroFlow Charger for Wii

Another quick review and giveaway on another Penguin United product! This time it's the ElectroFlow charger that makes recharging your Wii remotes extremely convenient! All you do is replace the batteries and back cover you have been using with the included battery packs, and then your Wii remotes will recharge whenever they are placed on the included stand.

The design allows for charging to work with or without a jacket on your remote, and with or without Wii Motion Plus. There are no contacts to line up, and a blue glow emanates from under the Wii remotes when they are charging. It's a very simple concept, but it works so well it's hard not to love!

We were provided this product for free to review, and because we care about our readers so much, we're giving it away to one of you guys. Simply leave a comment with what other device you wish could be charged this easily and you'll be entered to win!

Entries must be received by noon CST on November 24th. Limit one entry per person. Residents of the U.S. and Canada only. Winner must not have won a product from Realm Media Networks in the past 90 days.

Review & Contest: Crossfire Remote Pistol for Wii

Not long after the Wii was released, companies began making gun-shaped shells that you could put the Wii remote into, thus providing a more "pistol-like" experience for the consumer. No matter their exact design, they were always larger than the Wii remote because they had to be able to fit a Wii remote inside. A new product has been released by Penguin United that changes all this, and they provided us one for free to try out and giveaway.

What Penguin United has done is make a full Wii remote that is in the shape of a pistol, and have named it the Crossfire Remote Pistol. By changing the shape, they keep the size down, and make the gun more intuitive. They also chose to move the D-pad, 1 and 2 buttons to the back of the gun, and put the A button within easy reach on the handle. Since the motion sensors, speaker, and port for attaching a nunchuck are part of the gun too, it could be used for almost any game.

Unfortunately, the custom shape causes some problems. With the D-pad, 1 and 2 buttons all on the back of the gun, playing any NES-style-controlled game is nearly impossible. Also, the minus (-) and plus (+) buttons are located on the left side of the gun barrel, and are hard to access quickly. It really depends on the specific games you want to use it with, and whether those specific buttons are needed very often.

Overall, the Crossfire Remote Pistol is only a good buy if you play a lot of shooters on the Wii, and don't already have a pistol-shaped shell to use. Even then, I'd rather have another standard Wii remote or wireless guitar than this custom-shaped controller.

Interested in having one? Then leave a comment telling us what's your favorite game where the main character has a gun? Leave your comment by Noon (CST) on November 11,2009 to be entered. At that time, we'll pick a random commenter and get your prize in the mail before Christmas!

Review & Contest: Darkest of Days for Xbox 360

We're trying something new here at Realm Media Networks, video reviews! These aren't going to be real high production values, but they will let you hear what we think about the games we play. Our first video review is for Darkest of Days, a recent release for the Xbox 360. Take a look at part 1 and 2 of the review, and then leave an appropriate comment to be entered to win! You'll have to watch the video to know what kind of comment to leave, but be sure to tell us what you think of the videos as well.

All comments must be made by Noon on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 to be eligible for the contest.

Other links:
Buy Darkest of Days at Amazon.com

Review & Contest: Exo-flex skins

We received some Exo-Flex skins in the mail, and have spent the last month with some of them on our devices. Now that we've had some real hands-on time with them, it's time to give them a short review, and give them away!

It's hard to review what is basically a big sticker. They all looked nice when they arrived, and seemed like they would hold up well. Let's go through each of the claims they make for their skins, and see how well they do.

[Update: Congrats to our winners: jen, Spike116, Icreatedyou, and gbaker386 Hope you enjoy the skins!]

1. NO Smearing or Fading
By smearing, I believe this refers to the printing on the sticker itself. I used the DS Lite skin they sent for quite a while, and never noticed any deterioration it the quality of the printing. It also didn't seem to fade, but I didn't leave it out in the sun for long periods trying to fade it.
Verdict: TRUE

Tekcase for DSi Giveaway

We received an extended battery case for the Nintendo DSi, but without an actual DSi to use with it, a full review is impossible. Here are some quick impressions.

[Update: Congrats to our winner, FreakGenius! Hope you enjoy the case! ]

Positive

• USB charging through mini-USB means that finding a place to recharge is pretty easy.
• The small size contains your DSi and extra battery in a package about the same size as a DS Lite.
• The claimed 2.8 times battery life takes your DSi from providing a full days' amount of playtime to a whole roadtrips' time.
• Included compact USB charger can be used for cellphones, MP3 players, or any other USB device.
• A manual switch to turn on the extended battery gives you more control on when and how long you charge.
• Hard shell provides a little more protection for your DSi.

Negatives:

• Manual switching means you could forget and lose power to you DSi, even when the Tekcase is charged.
• The protruding connector from the back of the case ruins the sleek look they were going for.

Overall, there are more things to like about this case than not. The USB charging is a big deal for me, as it removes the need for another proprietary wall wart when going on a trip.

Be sure to check out our TekCase for DSi image gallery for more pictures.

And now we're giving it away! To win, just leave a comment saying what you like most about this case.

Limit one entry per person. All entries must be submitted by Wednesday, September 30, 2009, at 12PM (Noon) Central US Time.

Other links:
Buy the Nintendo DS Lite Tekcase from Amazon.com
Buy the Nintendo DSi TekCase from Amazon.com