''The Polar Express'' is an

action-adventure An action-adventure game is a video game genre, video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements f ...

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

based on the film of the same name. It was developed by

Blue Tongue Entertainment Blue Tongue Entertainment Pty, Ltd. was an Australian video game developer founded in 1995. It was acquired by THQ on 17 November 2004, and remained an internal development studio of THQ until its closure in August 2011. In addition to THQ, Blu ...

for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...

and

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

. A version for the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...

was developed by

Tantalus Media Tantalus Media (formerly Tantalus Entertainment and Tantalus Interactive) is an Australian video game developer based in Melbourne. It was founded in 1994 by programmers Andrew Bailey and Trevor Nuridin. Since its inception, Tantalus has devel ...

. All versions of the game were published by

THQ THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initial ...

. It was released in North America on November 2, 2004 and in Europe on December 16, 2004.

Gameplay

The game follows most of the main plot of the film. One major difference is that the Ebenezer Scrooge Puppet, who only makes a minor appearance in the film, plays a much bigger role as the main antagonist who attempts to prevent the children from believing in Santa Claus by stealing their tickets, and trying to get them thrown off the train to keep the children from getting to the North Pole. The game is broken down into six chapters, giving the player the opportunity to explore areas like the train, the North Pole, and more. The player controls a young boy in each of the 6 chapters. The game also contains puzzle-solving as well as some minigame-styled elements. The Game Boy Advance version is a 2D side-scrolling platformer which also has some levels where you control The Polar Express train itself in 3D.

Development

unveiled the game at the

E3 convention E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo) was an annual trade event for the video game industry organized and presented by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). It was held principally in Los Angeles from 1995 to 2019, with its final ...

in 2004. The PlayStation 2 version contains

EyeToy The EyeToy is a color webcam for use with the PlayStation 2. Supported games use computer vision and gesture recognition to process images taken by the EyeToy. This allows players to interact with the games using motion, color detection, and als ...

support. A portable version of the game was also in development for the Game Boy Advance, by developer Tantalus.

Reception

''The Polar Express'' received "generally unfavorable" reviews according to video game

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. Reviewing the console versions of the game for ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'', Avery Score felt the experience was "a soulless video game cash-in on the movie" and that it would "leave even the youngest of tykes painfully aware that they've been cheated." ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

''s

Matt Casamassina Matt Casamassina is a video game journalist, businessman, and novelist, and a founding editor of ''IGN''. He quit working for IGN on April 23, 2010. In his time at the site, he was the author of many reviews and previews of games by video game ...

was likewise very negative, finding every sort of gameplay featured was "flawed or underdeveloped" and criticizing its short length. Dana Jongewaard, of

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine ''Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine'' (often abbreviated to ''OPM'') was a monthly video game magazine published by Ziff Davis Media. It was a sister publication of ''Electronic Gaming Monthly''. The magazine focused exclusively on PlayStation ...

, was more positive about the game. While she conceded its short length and simplicity would make it a "questionable choice for anyone over 8," she thought that the game's target audience would enjoy it. She also complimented the bonus

content. The Gameboy Advance version was also more positively received by ''

Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninte ...

'', who praised it for its graphics and gameplay, and recommended it for fans of the film. On the other hand, this version was more negatively reviewed by ''GameZone'', who described it as "tired, worn out" and simply "no fun."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Polar Express, The 2004 video games Action-adventure games Blue Tongue Entertainment games Game Boy Advance games GameCube games PlayStation 2 games Single-player video games Tantalus Media games THQ games Video games based on adaptations Video games based on animated films Video games developed in Australia Video games set in Canada Video games set in Michigan Video games set in the Arctic Windows games RenderWare games

Video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...