Mr. Big is the owner of an evil corporation. He cares little about wildlife, as long as his bottom line is in the black. In fact, if slaughtering wildlife can increase his bottom line, he's more than happy to do it. This is much to the chagrin of Polar Panic's polar bear hero and his family, who have become the latest targets of Mr. Big's latest scheming.

Despite its somewhat heavy premise, Polar Panic is in fact an arcade puzzler from Eiconic Games and Valcon Games for Xbox Live Arcade (also on PlayStation Network). In it, the player controls a polar bear who must navigate 50 levels of conveniently blocked out (3/4 overhead Bomberman style) snow, ice, explosives and other obstacles. To get to the exit in each level, the polar bear must first dispatch all of the hunters and trappers (and much more) at the disposal of Mr. Big, including taking out their igloo spawn points.

This is done the only way polar bears know how...by crushing the attackers with blocks of ice or making them go "Boom!" It's one of the simplest control schemes for a game around. Players simply move their character up, down, left and right along the path of the ice blocks with the analog stick, and either destroy snow barriers or push ice blocks with "A". More factors come into play as the game progresses, but the controls stick with the same simple formula.

Along the way, the player also has the opportunity to save some of the polar bear's family members, who are trapped in cages around various stages. The player can also acquire bonuses by smashing snowmen, stringing together combos of enemy kills and activating other special objects throughout the game.

Working against the player is a limited supply of lives for each world (which is broken into stages), though continues are offered, and the depleting timer, which is the biggest hindrance of them all. Facing a squadron of enemies with clubs and projectiles in constantly changing, narrow corridors is hard enough. But trying to do it all as the clock ticks away is downright nerve-wracking, causing the player to rush into decisions that aren't always wise. While this reviewer could do without the timer altogether, it does add another layer of challenge to the mix.

And all of this is just in the single-player Story mode. Polar Panic also features Puzzle and Survivor modes. In Puzzle, players are given boards to solve that look similar to those of story mode, but the objectives must be completed in a limited number of moves, making it all the more challenging, and changing the pacing entirely. Survivor mode is more like a classic arena battle harkening once again to Bomberman. In this mode, players must see how long they can survive against relentless enemy troops in a closed area. In addition, Survivor mode can also be played with up to three friends, expanding the Polar Panic experience into a multiplayer one.

Overall, Polar Panic is a fun game that manages to stay engaging despite its simple controls and premise. What more could anyone want from a casual game?

Final Score: B