Club Nintendo coins expire on June 30th, so I logged into my account to use up my last remaining coins. I wasn’t sure what I wanted; I initially considered Fluidity for Wii. I played the demo of that game before, and I enjoyed it…but still, I wasn’t really in the mood for it. So I looked at the other available titles; many of them were games I already owned, and so many of the others were generic looking puzzle games. Sometimes it takes a really unique (even weird) game to capture my interest. And one game, Snowpack Park for Wii, certainly fit that description: It’s a penguin simulation game! Not something you see every day. I spent my 250 coins and downloaded the game.
You start out by choosing your Mii, or you can use the default eskimo (like I did). A tutorial teaches you how to greet penguins, how to pet them, how to feed them fish, and how to pick them up. Each penguin has a mood, ranging from a loyal penguin that will follow you around to a skittish penguin that runs away from you–even to its own death. If you get too close to an angry penguin, watch out. You will get slapped!
Once you’re familiar with all the basic moves, you can take a balloon to another area. There, you will literally set a trap to kidnap more penguins to take back to your base. You will gain friendship points, collect hats for the penguins, and play a variety of mini-games. You can even play basketball…using a penguin as the ball! I can’t decide if it’s cruel or funny to see a penguin smack against the backboard.
In a small way, the game reminds me of Pikmin in how the penguins follow you around. But unlike Pikmin, you need to continuously keep these penguins happy. Ignore them too long, and they will wander off to another area, out of your control. So take the time to pet them, greet them, and feed them. You’ll need groups of them to follow you to overcome some of the obstacles in the game.
So far, I’m still not sure I understand the object of the game (if there is one). It seems like I’m wandering around aimlessly, just grabbing all the penguins and trying to please the moody little birds. Most the mini-games don’t appeal to me much. It is somewhat fun just to explore, but each area is pretty small and doesn’t have a lot to see. I do enjoy the atmosphere, with relaxing music and gently falling snowflakes. But so far, I can’t really recommend the game. It’s certainly unique and a bit bizarre, but the gameplay seems mediocre at best. Perhaps it will grow on me as I progress further…or perhaps not.
I’ll try to review the game once I’ve put enough time into it, but that might not be real soon. If you’re interested in giving the Snowpack Park a try, it’s available from the Wii Shop Channel for 800 Wii points ($8.00 U.S.) or for 250 Club Nintendo coins. And remember, all Club Nintendo coins expire on Tuesday, June 30th, so use them quickly.