Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4600 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Nintendo
• Model: 45496735234
• Released on: 2005-03-11
• Rating: To Be Announced
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platform: Nintendo DS
• Subtitled in: German
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .75" h x 5.00" w x 5.50" l, .22 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Way back when the Game Boy first came out, long before Pokemon, Advance Wars and the rest, the format’s killer app--the game which people would buy the console to play-- was Tetris. Polarium is clearly Nintendo’s attempt to offer a similar simple-but-addictive arcade puzzler for the DS, and although it’s nowhere near the classic that Tetris was, it’s still a fun little game.

The basic gist is that you have to draw a continuous line on the touch screen to make a grid of blocks swap colour from either black or white. Like all the best puzzle games it sounds simple till you try it and although the idea of inverting the colour of the blocks so that a whole horizontal line disappears sounds easy it soon becomes apparent that it is anything but. The game can only be played with the stylus and at first it seems overly simple. You soon learn some basic strategies though, such as using the block-less border of the screen to take shortcuts, and the whole thing quickly becomes addictive.

There are two basic single player modes, with Challenge constantly introducing new blocks at the top of the screen and Checkmate offering some more complex puzzles without a time limit. There’s also a multiplayer mode and even the chance to beam a ten puzzle version of the game to a friend for them to try out and practise on. It may not look like much but this is yet another high quality puzzler to add to the DS’s already burgeoning ranks. -- David Jenkins

Manufacturer's Description
Prepare for brain-busting puzzles and fast-twitch action as you draw lines to flip black and white tiles and make patterns and puzzles disappear! Ready...set...SWITCH! As patterns relentlessly fall from the top screen, draw lines to reverse their polarity and make them disappear. The more you clear, the faster they come...

Use your head! A hundred single-screen puzzles await! Each can be solved by drawing a single line, so take your time and think them through. Not only that, but you can design your own puzzles and send them to a friend via wireless link!

Cross out your pals! 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 question marks 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!

How to progress through the game: Use the stylus to draw lines – as you draw lines, tiles will flip from black to white or white to black. Once a horizontal line is all one color, it will disappear. In Challenge Mode, draw lines to clear the board as patterns continuously drop from the upper screen, falling faster and faster through 10 levels of difficulty. In Puzzle mode, solve 100 single-screen puzzles by drawing a single, continuous line to clear the entire board.

Special powers/weapons/moves/features: Play wireless multiplayer matches against a friend, design your own puzzles and send them wirelessly or send a demo version of the game to anyone with a DS!

Manufacturer's Description
With minimalist black and white design and an electronic soundtrack, Polarium is a stylish, engrossing tile-based puzzler that will hook you from your first play. Clear space for the tiles falling from the top screen by removing rows of tiles in the lower screen; do this by flipping blocks, rows and columns of tiles from black to white or vice versa by marking them on the Touch Screen with the Stylus. Create an entire row of black or white and it will vanish. There are also neutral gray tiles, which can help you achieve your goal - an advantage you'll definitely need, as the difficulty ramps up as you move deeper into the action! With 100 puzzles to master along with an option to create your own tile-teasers - plus a two player mode that lets you compete wirelessly against a friend - Polarium is a puzzler's paradise.

Customer Reviews

A great puzzle game.
This game is probably going to go largely unnoticed, but being a launch title may get it a little more attention than it would otherwise recieve.
It's very simple to play, there are 2 main modes, first puzzle-
In puzzle mode you have a screen of black and white tiles and you have to move the styus over them to flip them to the opposite colour, you have to make it so that the tiles are in horizontal rows of matching colour with just one continuous line. Doing this gets you onto the next level, there are 100 of these levels in the game and the ability to create your own. Also, you can trade created levels by telling another DS owner the individual password to play your creation. This will help the lifespan as you can check on internet message boards etc, to try other people's levels.
The other mode is a little like Tetris. There are tiles constantly falling down from the top screen and you have to draw lines to flip over the tiles again, but this time you can do as many as you like, but the longer lines score better. Horizontal lines of the same colour disappear and you continue until the the top screen is filled.
It's all very addictive, and also there is wireless multiplay with both single and multi card play, but I haven't tried that out yet because no one around me has a DS yet. You can also send a friend a demo version of Polarium to play on their DS until they turn the power off.
If you enjoy puzzle games, then you won't be dissapointed in this game. It is addictive and a fresh game which makes great use of the double and touch screen and wireless functions of DS.
Dont go for it if you want cutting edge graphics though!

Phenomonal Polarium
This has to be one those games like denki blocks or where you will get stuck, but is just soo adictive that you just keep trying and trying, but unlike tetris, it is more of a relaxing thoughtful game, whilst tetris is a frantic race. Recommend it to anyone who likes a challenge

Too Hard !!
Following reviews of this game , and following my previous addiction to puzzle games on handheld consoles , I thought I would enjoy Polarium immensely . Unfortunately the learning curve was either too steep for me , or my brain was not able to 'get' the concept . As such , I had to trade it having not got very far with the game .

Technically , though , the game is a delight , with excellent utilisation of the touchscreen pad and stylus ; which makes my frustration with the game all the more disappointing .

If there was a recommendation I could give people , it would be try before you buy - it seems this game may not be everyone's cup of tea .