PlanetPenguin Racer

Planet Penguin Racer is a delightful, fun casual game, based on the original game, Tux the Penguin. Tux is the mascot for Linux, and student, Jasmin Patry, invented the game while still at university. He and some friends set up a company to produce the game, but sadly, had to close their doors in the early 2000s. Planet Penguin Racer revisited the original game and added enhancements and special features to it.

The player can choose to play as Lux or as one of three other characters. The player's aim is to complete each level by sliding down the course as quickly as possible and earning over a target amount of achievements on the way. The course is marked out by flags, and the penguin must slide on his belly, collecting the achievements by sliding through them. The achievements are in the form of herrings. The terrain is not all smooth and easy going. Snow is the 'normal' terrain and the character can be controlled (that is to say, turned and manoeuvred) fairly easily. Ice makes the character speed up, but the controls become harder to manipulate at the same time, making it an ideal speed boost when the player needs to continue straight on their path, but an annoyance if there are twists and turns in the course. Rocky patches slow the penguin's process down, and trees are placed strategically to block the path at certain points.

The controls are very simple: left and right arrows make the character move left and right and the 'up' arrow makes the penguin 'paddle' its flippers. This is a good way to build up speed if the character has slowed down, but it can slow down the penguin if the player has already built up to high speed. Paddling at the right time can help a player extend the length of a jump. Jumping is achieved by using a natural ramp in the landscape or by pressing the 'energy' key (usually 'e' on a computer keyboard) and releasing it at the point that the player wants the character to jump. Jumps can be used to overcome obstacles that are too tricky to steer around.

The player must complete the course within a set time and collect enough herrings as he or she does so in order to progress to the next level.

Pros

• A fun cute game, easy to play and suitable for children
• Good graphics and fluid gameplay

Cons

• Not a lot for older or more sophisticated players