"P.S. This Game Contains Penguins. No Joke."
by Lisa Foiles

I decided to try out Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force SOLELY based on the fact that it would likely involve penguins, and penguins are the T-Pain’s of the Animal Kingdom. I had no idea what the story was about, what genre it was, what demographic it was aimed toward, or if it would have lava. I cannot deal with video game lava.

To my complete delight and utter surprise, Club Penguin turned out to be a – wait for it – POINT-AND-CLICK ADVENTURE GAME! OMG NO WAI!!11!!1! MY FAVORITE!

First, you select your penguin’s color (such as light pink) and give it a name (like CRUSHER). From there, you are sent on a quest in order to prove that you’ve got the chops to be in the Elite Penguin Force as a Special Agent. Unless you have the I.Q. of a garden-variety weed, you will indeed pass the first test and become an agent. From then on, you will be sent on mission after mission to help figure out what the deuce is causing such a ruckus in your pleasant little snowy happy-time penguin village.

The missions themselves are simple yet occasionally take a fair amount of brainpower. I mean, it’s nothing like Professor Layton where you go around doing everyone’s math homework or anything, but Club Penguin did stump me a few times.

As a Special Agent, you get to work with little helper animals named Puffles. These smiley little colored pom-poms are trained to help you DO COOL STUFF. LIKE THROW SNOWBALLS. AND BLOW STUFF UP. AND ENTRAP THINGS IN BUBBLES. AND WELD. YEAH, WELD. They are adorable, useful, and come when you whistle for them. Kind of like Joel. Except that he’s not always useful.

I could sum up Club Penguin in two words: MINI. GAMES. The gameplay is really just a leap from one mini game to another, and they are all delightful. Except for the stupid ice fishing one. (Can I have Horribly Unhelpful Game Instructions for $400, Alex?)

The story mode alone is pretty short, but mini games, multiplayer, and the ability to upload/download things onto and off of the Interwebs help to extend the Penguin-y Fun.

Whether it was the cordiality of my fellow penguin agents, the easy puzzles that made me feel above-averagely smart, or the fact that I got to weld stuff, this game just made me smile and feel all fuzzy inside. It was well-spent relaxing time and I honestly hope they make a sequel. You will likely trade in this game immediately after you beat it, but if you miss the old point-and-clickers like I do, you’ll develop a fondness for Club Penguin and really enjoy yourself.

PLUS, YOUR PENGUIN ACQUIRES AN EFFING JETPACK. I MEAN, COME ON.

Overall Rating: 7 out of 10