Polarium chillin' GBAs

Nintendo's Polarium was one of the first puzzle games released for the DS handheld when it was released in April. According to the latest issue of Famitsu, Polarium will soon be flipping on the Game Boy Advance. The GBA edition of Polarium will be named Tsuukin Hitofude (Stroke during Commuting) in Japan, and it will be released in the country on October 13, at the price of 2,800 yen ($25).

With Tsuukin Hitofude, the game's developer, Mitchell, has removed the unpopular Challenge Mode from the original DS installment, leaving only an enhanced Puzzle Mode. Tsuukin Hitofude will feature a total of 365 puzzle stages for the player to enjoy, which is more than triple the volume of stages in the DS installment. The player can play the challenges in three different ways. Stage Mode lets the player select a stage without any time limit. Time Attack Mode will select a random level for the player, with the objective of completing the stage in record time. Edit mode allows players to create their own puzzles, as was the case in the original DS installment.

To add some spice to the gameplay, Tsuukin Hitofude will feature three special panels beside the normal black and white panels that players flip about the boards. Kotei Panels (fixed panels) are characterized by green markings on their sides, and when they're erased, whatever panels were above them fall below. Hurdle Panels are blue boxes, and they act as obstacles that the player can't go over. Multi Panels have the property of both black and white panels, and they'll disappear whenever the other panels in the same row are the same color.

One of the comments often heard about the original DS release was its lack of color, since the game only played with black and white panels. Tsuukin Hitofude solves the problem by giving the player the option to set color to the panels.

To get an idea of what the game is about, flip over to GameSpot's review of the DS version.