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.