"Penguin Story"

Do not let its name fool you, Binary Land professes absolutely nothing that resembles binaries, nor is it an adventure game where you cruise fertile lands looking for fiends to defeat. Instead, you are asked to control two penguins through a wide array of mazes comprising of traps in the form of spider webs, enemies in the form of spiders or fireballs, and countless bonuses. The mazes themselves are outlined with blocks, which carve multiple paths for the penguins to follow. The objective in the game is extremely simple: move both penguins while ensuring nothing happens to them, and have them both touch the heart that shines at the top of the maze at the same time. You need to time things such that they always get close to the heart at the same exact second, with each penguin on one side.

Of course, the fact that the objective is simple doesn't really mean the game play is similarly basic. There's a lot that needs to be done until you finally reach the pink heart, which represents completion of a level. Among the most noticeable constraints is the time limit, which actually represents the first cause of failure in the game. In most stages, you'll actually find a good pathway to trek through, but you'll fail to make it on time, thus annihilating all your chances of witnessing the game's lame ending (which doesn't even qualify as an ending, may I add). The mazes are divided into two with only the top-most path connecting the two sections while a horizontal wall acts as an impervious barrier between the two animals.

The game plays in an overhead view whereby each penguin (the male one is green, and the pink one is the female -talk about stereotypes) starts on one side. The two sections are entirely different in lay-outs such that you need to be constantly aware of what you are doing. Indeed, Binary Land's unique game play lies in the fact that you control both penguins at the same time. You therefore have to be very cautious of your surroundings as you strive to advance while avoiding all the threats the game relies on to hinder your progress. Given that the two sections making up each maze are entirely different, it becomes an even harder task to accomplish such a feat within the time awarded.

Penguin vs. Spiderman; I kid you not!

However, the game does present options and features to expand the game play and the alternatives you can rely on. One of the most common traps in the game comes in the form of spider webs. While all the stages (excluding their bonus counterparts) always begin with a collection of such traps scattered about, the spiders, which represent the main enemies during the whole game, will also leave some behind if you take too much time to kill them. One of the strategies in beating the game thus involves deliberately letting one penguin get caught and having the other one perform most of the task. After he's done, it is then easy to have him free the hostage, and the two can finally reunite again. This is one way of approaching the game, but it isn't entirely foolproof since it may be harder to cope with all the dangers of Binary Land with one little, puny penguin.

In addition, if that courageous bum walks straight into a trap too, it's one life handed over to Lucifer, and you'll have to restart all over. There's also the fact that you will obviously need even more time, thereby putting more constraints upon you. It is thus up to you how you'll undertake the task. More often than not, a quick survey at the screen should help you decide which approach to take. Of course, it also happens that one penguin nevertheless accidentally gets caught in webs, thus limiting your strategy to a single risky one.

The challenge during the game makes up for its basic premise, as it is no easy task to complete the later mazes. While spiders constitute the vast majority of enemies, things such as fireballs also come into play. In addition, all the enemies start to gain in velocity if you fail to dispose of them quickly enough; they will move much faster, making it harder to avoid or neutralize them. However, the most annoying threat in the game is without doubt what I call the 'Switch-bird'. This irritating bird will cause the penguins to switch side whenever it touches one of them. Put like this, it may not sound such a big event, but just keep in mind that each switch eats a few seconds. In addition, the bird has the tendency to fly across the whole screen, making your mission even more difficult, as the probability that it touches either of the cute penguins keeps on increasing.

Thankfully, the penguins are as not as inoffensive as they may appear at a first glance. Each penguin can use a laser beam, which will destroy the webs and kill the spiders. Unfortunately, the fireballs and the bird cannot be killed, thereby putting more emphasis on the fact that you are doomed to avoid them. Indeed, it suffices that only one penguin touches any enemy to die. The range of the weaponry is short and may take some time to get used to, but it is very effective in dealing with the mentioned threats. In any case, you cannot go very far without them, thus requiring you to get used to them as soon as possible. A purely stealth game is possible, but is not recommended due to the time limit; you may however aim for this feat during the first few levels, which are very easy.

Items also come into play, but most of these limit themselves to giving you bonus points. This is actually more important than you may think as you gain lives after breaking certain point barriers, and you are going to need every penguin you can gather if you ever wish to beat the entire game. There are also a couple of real items, which give the penguins a welcome boost for a short period of time. Among the most notable ones is the whale, which renders them totally invincible (during which time you can actually kill the fireballs) and increases their speed. However, these items tend to disappear after a very short time such that you may be forced to choose between going for them (if you are close enough) or entirely scrapping them (if there too much distance to cover until you reach them). Still, they represent a nice touch!

In addition, there are also bonus stages where one penguin is already trapped. In these stages where there are no real mazes, your primary task is to free your mate and to gather all the heart items regularly scattered in each section. However, you do not need to grab all of them to complete these bonus levels. Doing so merely grants you a Perfect status and more points, but freeing your companion is really what matters. You'll even find it's almost impossible to grab all the items in the last bonus stages (how's that for cheap?).

Years ago, I was addicted to this game. Back then, Final Fantasy and the likes meant absolutely nothing to me, and Binary Land was one of the best games I owned. And I have to admit that time hasn't really tarnished it. Its appeal is intact and when I started playing the game again, there was still that feeling of achievement each time I successfully dealt with a maze. Although this title may seem like a kid's game with its vivid graphics and laconic music, it proves to be entertaining for any kind of gamer (and I know what I'm talking about since I usually hate these cutesy games).

Binary Land is thus a visually pleasant title. The simplistic overhead designs are counter-weighed by the use of a good, crystal-clear palette. The penguins themselves more than live up to their real life counterparts (all intended gimmicks, such as the tie worn by the female, set aside), and their animation is quite comical, specially when they are under the whale-item effect. The enemies manage to be as good-looking as the main protagonists, even topping them in a couple of instances; the fireball's design is simply brilliant, and assuredly a refreshing sight.

The game nevertheless lacks in variety in the audio department, but the main track, which plays during all the levels, is a nice tune. Granted, it gets boring after a while, especially in such a long game, but it doesn't go beyond the frustration point. A special track is also played when there's little time left; it's the generic, frantically upbeat theme, but still marvelously accomplishes its role. As for sound effects, there are only a few samples of it such as grabbing an item or getting caught in a trap.

There's one field in which Binary Land brilliantly shines though, and that's the replay value. The reason behind this? Except for the first three introductory stages, the rest is completely randomized. You'll have guessed it; this alone suffices to grant Binary Land an unfaltering game play, as you never know what's coming up next. The game thus never gets too easy, and the only reason you'll eventually put it away will be because you think you've played it too much or have at last gotten bored, but even this doesn't happen soon. It is rare to see a game manage to entertain no matter how many times you've played and beaten it, but Binary Land actually manages to do so without sacrificing its visual and audio quality.

For these reasons alone, I recommend this game to everybody. It may appear easy and simple, but is actually very challenging and, most of all, very fun. Plus everybody loves penguins, right? Right?

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/06/05