Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise (Video Game Peview)

505 Games’ Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise will once again have fans taking on the role of Naughty Bear. The last title was a massacre, and you think that would send a message to all the other little bears on the block. Well apparently they didn’t learn their lesson. It all gets real when the neighborhood bears take a trip to paradise and don’t invite Naughty Bear. Naughty Bear is outraged and decides to get revenge by hitching a ride under the vacation bus. Players will journey through 36 levels over eleven locations to hunt down and kill these little a-hole bears once and for all! All the bears on the island do not take kindly to Naughty Bear’s presence and scatter across the levels. This will make your job of hunting them down and killing them that much funner. If you are spotted–then the bears will sound the alarm–so you have to get creative in how to finish your objective.

As any serial killer bear would do–you must take cover wherever you can–rather between the grass or simply luring in stray bears to kill them quietly. Bears will head to nearby phones to call for help, and Naughty Bear can sabotage the phones like any sadistic killer. Leaving the cute little bears vulnerable and helpless. Gamers can pick up all kinds of weaponry around the levels to take out their unsuspecting prey. Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise is packed full of hilarious violence, and players will spend the whole game ripping the stuffing out of every bear they come across. Maybe your not one for all the gory violence–so you can just pull a bear into the dark and steal his clothes. The outfits you steal or unlock in the game also have stat-boosts which can add health, stamina or strength. This will allow you to walk around without setting off any alarms until you think of a solid plan for taking out your next target. Rather you decide to take on the game as an undercover spy or a bloody-thirsty killer–there are tons of options for pure blood thirsty killing! Every item that Naughty Bear can equip can be mastered once used so many times. As this happens, the item becomes more powerful.

All this stuff isn’t free though! Naughty Bear is on vacation so everything is wildly expensive. In order to afford all of your serial killer tools then you have to earn big points during each level. This means smashing up everything you see to earn coins, and to gaining better rewards for kills by getting creative and crazy. Gamers will find many secondary objectives within each level that will also give some extra points. At the end of each level your points are tallied and added to your online leaderboard. All-in-all Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise tops the original in many ways, but there are still some problems. The graphics and frame-rate aren’t that impressive. However, these things can be overlooked when you consider the price, great soundtrack, intriguing gameplay and fun storyline.

Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise will be available for PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE Arcade and can be purchased for $14.99 or 1200 Microsoft Points. Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise is rated E by the ESRB for Crude Humor & Fantasy Violence. For more information on the game, check out the official Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise website.

Game Features:

Single Player

Bear Killing Action

Online Leaderboards

DLC Support

Trophy/Achievement Support

Game Information:
Developer: bE HAVIOUR
Publisher: 505 Games
Platforms: PlayStation Network & Xbox LIVE Arcade (reviewed)
Release Date: October 9, 2012