Arctic Tale

 DS
Arctic Tale Image
Metascore
38

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: The far North of our planet is one of the most perilous environments in the world. Take on the role of either a young Polar Bear or a Walrus growing up and trying to survive in the wild. From eating to fighting off predators, almost every aspect of the animal’s life is presented to theThe far North of our planet is one of the most perilous environments in the world. Take on the role of either a young Polar Bear or a Walrus growing up and trying to survive in the wild. From eating to fighting off predators, almost every aspect of the animal’s life is presented to the player. Learning to live in this world is vital as they go from the regular dangers to the extreme threats. Experience the thrilling, interactive look at the walrus and polar bears that roam the vast world of the Arctic wilderness. The gameplay will evolve as the animal's age over eleven stages that take the player from snowy mountains, across turbulent ice sheets that are ravaged by blizzards, and into the frigid oceans that are patrolled by deadly killer whales. The stages alternate between free-roaming areas containing several mini-games to travel zones, which involve the player taking actions to get from one area to another. The travel zones could be anything from descending a cliff face from the mountains to the ice sheets below or surviving in the open ocean as a storm rages around you. [DSI Games]… Expand
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 4
  3. Negative: 3 out of 4
  1. Game Almighty
    50
    It is sad to see something that has so much potential go down the drain. If the game had made use of the stylus it may have been saved, but right now it has about as much staying power as an ice cube in an oven.
  2. Nintendo Gamer
    40
    Awful game. [May 2008, p.75]
    All this publication's reviews
  3. IGN
    35
    So, in the end, we're made to wonder just what the point was. Arctic Tale is slow-paced and mostly boring, which is likely in keeping with its roots as a documentary film, but doesn't work at all in the form of a game.
  4. Nintendojo
    30
    This certainly had the potential to be a sleeper title on the last legs of GBA. Instead, it shows just enough flaws in key areas to come up short.

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 1 out of 1
  1. ninjaguy454
    Jul 20, 2020
    4
    I'm not sure why a game like Arctic Tale exists. I didn't know there were many games released based on documentaries. It's a bit peculiar toI'm not sure why a game like Arctic Tale exists. I didn't know there were many games released based on documentaries. It's a bit peculiar to see a game based on a somewhat educational documentary to lack those educational elements as well as any story elements that the source material produced.

    The game throws you in with a simple paragraph of prologue story, that is forgettable and ultimately has no impact on the gameplay.

    The gameplay itself essentially has you switching between animals to play minigames located across multiple parts of the map. These are all clunky and basically consist of collecting items and trying to beat a time. What for? Personal glory... I guess.

    There are no clear objectives, you basically walk around the map, collect food so you don't die, and play minigames. Sometimes you switch between the fox and the narwhal, but it doesn't make much difference since the gameplay is just about the same.

    You have a health bar, but this acts also like a stamina bar. So you can run, but it drains your health. So you need to eat food to maintain this... You can also just abuse it like myself by spamming the sprint button as it doesn't drain your hp until a few seconds after pressing it.

    Also if you get attacked by an animal and fail to escape, you lose a life. To escape a hostile animal, you have to spam L+R... This seemed utterly random and no matter how hard I spammed these I either escaped or didn't it didn't seem to make a difference.

    This game offers no unique experience. If you just have a pure undying love for the documentary, then I guess check it out for the novelty, but I cannot think of another reason to recommend this game outside of that.    … Expand