Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise Review for PlayStation 3 (PS3)

System: PS3, Xbox 360
Dev: Behaviour Interactive
Pub: 505 Games
Release: October 9, 2012
Players: 1
Screen Resolution: 480p-1080p	Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence

For anyone who's still seriously considering throwing down the $15 for this, you should be aware that there are several technical problems that tend to rear their ugly head after you've spent a considerable amount of time setting up a particularly gruesome kill. I had the game freeze on me three times, two of which happened within twenty minutes of each other. This could be fixed with a patch, but as of right now, it's still a problem.

Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise Screenshot

Panic in Paradise could've benefitted from some sort of multiplayer. I would've loved to have been able to team up with a friend to get through the levels twice as fast, or set up my more brutal traps just a little bit quicker. Heck, even a decent leaderboard would've been a nice touch, so I could rub my accomplishments in my friends' faces. Of course, not a single person on my friends list actually owns the game, but still, it would've been a welcome addition.

In a sea of sequels, this one caught me off guard. It sounded unnecessary when I first heard of it months ago, and after spending far too many hours plodding through its poorly designed levels, my first impressions were correct. This really shouldn't exist, because instead of fixing the many serious issues in the first game, it instead tried to hide those problems with more content. Not a great move.

Taking a cue from the myriad masked killers horror films have invented over the last handful of decades, Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise proves that even horrible reviews and a total lack of creativity aren't enough to stop this gimp-legged franchise. If I had to pick something I really enjoyed about the game, I'd have to go with the loading screens. I miss the time when games tried to keep the player busy, even in little ways, while they wait for the game to load. So yeah, there's that.

By
Adam Dodd
Contributing Writer
Date: October 22, 2012

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

2.5

Graphics
This isn't a pretty game, and the environments in particular look horribly uninspired.

3.0

Control
It offers a variety of ways to eliminate your opponents—it's just unfortunate the controls are often clunky.

2.0

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Nothing about this game sounds particularly good. This is one of those games that's best experienced on a muted TV.

3.5

Play Value
There's plenty of costumes, and for a digital release, this comes with an impressive amount of content.

2.5

Overall Rating - Average
Not an average. See Rating legend below for a final score breakdown.

Review Rating Legend
0.1 - 1.9 = Avoid	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	3.5 - 3.9 = Good	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair	4.0 - 4.4 = Great	5.0 = The Best

Game Features:

Hunt the other bears across thirty-six levels and eleven individual locations.

Use in-game currency to purchase and equip new weapons and armor to make Naughty Bear a more effective killing machine.

Disguise yourself by wearing the clothes of your victims to get closer to your pretty than ever before.