Review: Prehistoric Party 2014

Ooga Booga and such.

Source: Club Penguin Wikia

I was a bit shocked when I initially heard that Club Penguin was bringing the Prehistoric Party back.  The first Prehistoric Party of 2013 had seemed like just another expedition - a one-time event that was just a nice distraction.  What made it worthy of a return?

It turns out only one thing - puffles.

Why do I say this?  Well, other elements of the party seem in need of a polish; it's as though they were just thrown in to add substance.

For instance, there was the music.   Last year's Prehistoric Party provided some of THE best music any party has provided in years.  This year, a lot of those instant classics returned, along with a few newbies.  But, these newbies fall flat compared to the original tracks.  One in particular, a rock caveman song, seemed a bit out of place.

Then there were the rooms.  They were nicely designed, but a bit bare in parts.  Lag was a guarantee in some rooms as well.  It was also at times confusing to find your way through the maze of rooms, especially with a map that only scraped the bare basics.

Source: Club Penguin Cheats Crew

Dinodig returned, but failed to innovate.  While a nice thought, the game could get repetitive and remedial over time.  While my time with the game was not prolonged by lots of duplicates like many have said theirs was, I can see how the game could get painfully frustrating.  Also of note: why was the pit so small compared to the rest of the screen?

The items given away, including the ones obtained through Dino Puffle Digging, were alright.  They may come in use at some point, but I have not felt the need to wear a single one of them.  The Prehistoric Beta Hat was a nice nod, though.

Unlike many people, I have never been over the moon about transformations on Club Penguin.  This especially came true here with the variety of unneeded variants.  That being said, the artwork for these beasts was - dare I say - smashing.

And then there was the plot of the party.  I felt it was pretty solid, and thought it was nice to learn about what Club Penguin citizens were up to in a different part of the prehistoric times than 2013.  The introduction of Garugg was also neat, though I feel that if Club Penguin continues introducing Gary relatives, they might start sounding like a broken wheel.  Additionally, the events that lead Gary to go back to prehistoric times were also done well.  However, this party is riddled with plot-holes which distracted me.......though that's for another time.

Source: Club Penguin Insiders

Then there were the dino puffles.  Oh, boy.

While the addition of puffle backyards was a God-send, the way it got here was less than desirable.  The constant nudges that puffles exist have become irritating and I wish they would take a break........but that's for another time as well.

But, focusing only on the dino puffles, and not on my larger gripe at hand, I can say that these newest members of the puffle family are at least sort of a neat gimic.  While more could have been done to differentiate them from their fellow brethren, for the most part, their design is neat.  The limited-time opportunity is certainly an interesting angle and the exclusive puffle digging privileges are a nice touch.  However, just as could be said for the quests of rainbow and golden puffles, the dino puffles had a quest that lacked challenge or pizzazz.  Ironically, this third form of puffle digging took the waiting complaints of the rainbow puffle and the, "This is taking too long!" complaints from the golden puffle and wrapped them into one.  That being said, the process was almost bug free.

However, the bad part is that, just as I said in my introduction, these puffles were the only true reason for this second party.  Aside from the updated rooms and the handful of new transformations, this party would have had very little new to offer if it weren't for the puffles.  This is a problem because, after SO many updates, having a party with a focus on puffles is the worst thing that one could do to make me like it.  After all of this new stuff, they do not make good anchors.

Source: Club Penguin Insiders

And, along with that, I felt that this party lacked a lot of pizzazz.  While rooms had a lot of details, which was nice, a lot of things felt small and flat.  This felt like the skeleton of a party with so much potential.  There are so many possibilities left to be explored that what we did get felt like a half-effort.

What's really unique about this party is that it improved on its predecessor in one way and weakened in another.  While it had more features than the original, it lacked the mystery and anticipation of the first, in my opinion.

So, in closing, this party was a mixed-bag.  While not the greatest party in a long time, it did have some neat things to offer and a nice backdrop.  But, there were a lot of problems that weren't addressed and it left a lot to be desired.  Does it deserve another outing?  Sure - and I think there will be one.  Let's just hope that a sequel doesn't depend on a graying staple to support it - and that it adds a little meat to the bone.

As Billybob would say, Waddle On!
- Chillin43