07.24
Game:Penguin
Format: Windows Phone 7
Developer: Mike Newman
Publisher: Free / Direct
Who doesn’t love a penguin? We’ve had (multiple) penguin movies, chocolate bars, american footbal teams, suits, Batman villains and now a Windows Phone 7 game.
As is oft the case with mobile games it has at it’s heart a most simple premise, travel as far as you can across the sea with your penguin. As is somewhat less often the case with mobile games Penguin actually manages to grant this a degree of fluidity, beauty and elegance.
As you guide your earstwhile penguin as far as you can across the sea, before you run out of air, which you can replenish by “flying”, something that is greatly assisted by eating any fish you encounter which provide you with a useful speed boosts, you are carried on your way by a charming score composed specially for the game, a nice touch on a free title.
Whilst remenicent of a number of other, previous, games, on different platforms, Penguin does an admirable job balancing challenge and enjoyment using a physics inspired mechanic, and so it’s definately worth a look as you can’t really get better value than free! 
Review Round-Up
Graphics: 4/5 – Functional, simple and elegant, all that is required in this case, sometimes less is more.
Sound: 3/5 – Specially composed score merits some bonus points, and again, any more would just be annoying.
Gameplay: 3/5 – Satisfying and intuitive once you master the timing of the requisite “diving”, fun, if lightweight, experience.
Longevity: 2/5 – It’s a mobile game, it’s a physics based, it will keep you entertained long enough to wait for that bus.
Overall: 3.5 out of 5
As simple, free, games go this is a good one, you will enjoy beating your own high score for tens of minutes rather than hours on end, but you can pickup and play for as little as a few seconds at a time and so it fills those gaps, without requiring too much thought or energy, and yet still requiring enough skill to make it worth picking up in the first place.
– Rax
