Uniqueness is not a common word in our industry
anymore. More and more game are simple copies of other established titles, just with their
own minor quirks to separate themselves. Here we have Pen Pen Tricelon, a game
not only unique in it's style, but obviously straight from Japan. Running a pastel colored penguin around in a Saturday morning cartoon-like environment is hardly anyone's idea of fun, but with some time, this game will begin to grow on you. Describing the game isn't exactly easy, especially if you've never heard of it. Imagine a triathlon involving animals to begin drawing a picture. You'll have the option of selecting from one of numerous goofy looking critters and sending them into a tournament or a time trial.
Instead of holding down a button to accelerate, your required to jab the buttons repeatedly to get moving at a decent speed. The racers usually begin on foot, but there are segments of belly sliding and swimming also, giving the game it's title (though it's never explained what exactly "tricelon" is).
The courses are bright, colorful, and overly cheery. The low polygon counts are disappointing.However, this simplistic art style is kept throughout the game, giving the game both style and freshness. The constant frame rate (locked at 60 fps) is a relief from all of the slowdown many games seem to succumb from. Annoyingly cute music plays for the duration of the race and the announcers lungs must be filled with helium to obtain such a high pitch.
As strange as this game is, it's a wonderful diversion from today's me-too style of game. While by no means a game to pay full price for, a discount store will most likely have this one laying around. For people looking for something a little "different," this is one game that should fit the bill.
