Polar Express (Game Boy Advance) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

We were lucky enough to get a sneak preview of The Polar Express some months ago thanks to our friends at Tantalus and we were very impressed. Billed as this year?s big festive movie (it will be simultaneously released on IMAX) the game is inspired by the original and beautifully illustrated book by Chris Van Allsburg. The story follows the tale of a young boy lying awake on Christmas Eve only to have the Polar Express train sweep by and take him on a trip with other children to the North Pole. If you've manage to catch one of the many trailers it does indeed look impressive but if you've read our recent review of last year?s Elf you'll know this has no bearing at all on the final outcome. One thing this game does have in its favor though is Australian developer Tantalus who in our humble opinion have never produced a bad game on the GBA and who were also behind last year?s amazing Top Gear. The difficulty with these types of games though is the lack of available review code, as film companies want to keep plot details a secret until the very last moment. Thankfully we have our copy now though but has it been worth the wait?

Gameplay

Without giving too much of the movie?s plot away you've probably worked out by now that most the action takes place on a train. Things start out simple with you hunting around inside the carriages for a whole selection of bonus items that not only increase your score but also improve your wellbeing. It's not all random though, all of the levels require you to collect three Sleigh Bells in order to exit and although initially these are always reachable, they quickly become a real challenge to locate. This is where your puzzle solving skills come into play and you'll soon be moving boxes, flipping switches and locating secret passages. There are other items you need to use but there's so much help available here you're very unlikely to get completely stuck.

The train driving sections are not only a nice deviation from the platforming but also probably something fans of the film want to do. This is viewed from a 3D-ish perspective and the objective is to get The Polar Express to its destination safely. This is relatively simple to do and pressing left or right will allow your train to change tracks. It only becomes more difficult when you encounter one of the many 'blind' hills or corners that had us crashing into the buffers on more than one occasion. Saving is done automatically after each level and thanks to three save slots you can give your friends a go too.

Controls

Not only is the control reasonably advanced for a title clearly aimed at the younger gamer it's also fed to you in such a way that you never feel over whelmed. Every new move is explained thanks to on-screen text. Further aid is given by pressing the 'select' button when the icon flashes on screen making the manual somewhat redundant. There's always something the developers miss though and here we had a terrible time trying to break the ice with a pogo stick that kept running out of power. The train driving is far simpler as you only need to press left or right. Simple, that is, until you take the wrong track only to smash into a buffer minutes later.

Graphics

If you've played a Tantalus title before you'll know what to expect, the company develop their own GBA software. The end result is stunning with wonderfully detailed and realized backgrounds populated by the incredibly well animated sprites, which have become their trademark. Look closer and there are also some very nice touches that may go unnoticed by the naked eye. Wander outside the carriage, for example and the color scheme changes completely to shades of blue reflecting the icy conditions. There's also some very subtle use of transparencies, one of the GBA?s hardware strengths that isn't utilized nearly enough. Then there are the train driving sections, which combine some clever visual tricks and technology in order to appear 3D. This is very impressive indeed and the whole thing feels very solid with seemingly no loss in the quality of the visuals. It is all tied together with a generous number of stills from the movie, which transfer to the GBA's tiny screen wonderfully thanks to their original digital source.

Sound

The Polar Express audio is certainly on a par with its visuals and the first thing you'll notice is the very festive themed soundtrack, which we can only assume is also the film?s score and which plays throughout the game. As usual it does appear to be on an all too short loop but it's pleasant enough. This is accompanied by some of the better sound effects we've heard recently with, again, many Christmas inspired samples popping up throughout the game. Finally there's the train and while we are all well aware what that sounds like, Tantalus must be congratulated on the fact that they've deliberately altered the engine noise depending whether you?re inside or out of the carriage. It's a small detail I know but this is the type of thing that makes a good game great.

Final comments

Whilst the production values in The Polar Express are undoubtedly very high it does suffer from being a bit of a 'one act' game as once you've done one platform section they do start to all look the same. This isn't just visually either as they generally have similar objectives with the only break occurring when you encounter one of the few 3D sections. It's a shame too because the game initially looked very promising but I've reviewed enough games now to be well aware that a preview is just that. You just have to remember the ECTS when the GameCube was launched and Kemco's Universal Studios was awarded console game of the show. Hard to believe now but it does illustrate my point perfectly. Back to this game though and if you're a die hard platform fan then there's much to do and collect here but everyone else should give the game a quick once over before parting with your cash.

Pro: Seemingly Endless Gameplay
Con: Not For Everyone
Final score: 6.3

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