Bloons Player Pack 5

Bloons Player Pack 5 is the fifth edition in the seemingly never-ending Bloons series by developer NinjaKiwi and creator Stephen Harris. Each of these packs contains 50 levels selected from among the thousands that users create and submit through Bloons World. This pack was released in December 2009 by NinjaKiwi. Here are some of the key aspects of this new pack:

Main Game Play

The premise of the game remains the same as all the other packs, with the additions that were made in Bloons Player Pack 4, like helium balloons, staying for this edition. The only real difference from previous editions seems to be a trend wherein the target to pass each level is the number of balloons each level has, unlike earlier where you had some room to miss balloons and still go through to the next round. As you can guess, this directly prods the toughness quotient of the game up a few levels when it didn't really need any prodding at all.

Despite that, the pack never reaches Bloons Player Pack 3 levels of insanity, which is a blessing because it would have been quite a disappointment to see Bloons plunge to those levels again right after the relatively uplifting experience that was Player Pack 4. Nevertheless, like any other Bloons game, this one has its own share of levels that make you scream in such mental agony that banshees would be afraid to approach you. It's not just the levels though; it's also the glitches that seem to plague this game more than they've ever affected any other Bloons game.

A prime example of this is level 41, called "Present Wrapping". The title can be deemed pretty apt because the level starts off as fun just like a shiny present wrapping and promises much but ends as a damp squib that would be the equivalent of receiving a tricycle for toddlers when you're 20 years old as a gift. Extended analogies aside, here's how it goes: First, fire the first dart with minimal power into the left bouncy wall panel slice such that it hits the lightsaber balloon below and triggers off a sequence of events that leaves you with three frozen helium balloons on your left. Do the same on the right side of the monkey.

Then, when you've entrapped yourself in a vicious square of frozen helium balloons and steel walls, just fire calmly through the steel wall above with a reasonable amount of power such that your dart hits the pink pin balloons above. Yes, that's correct; the game should allow your dart to pass through the steel wall. It's a glitch that, while helpful, does tend to ruin the experience of the game somewhat. However, it wouldn't have been an issue if it wasn't a recurring problem, but sadly, it is. Alternatively, you could fire at the same bouncy wall slice on the left, aiming for its very tip such that it hits the block above and then pings towards the pink balloons above, but really, why would you?

Levels 26 and 39, named "Snowplow" and "Candy Canes" respectively, are victims of major glitches too. And in this case they are the bad kind, that is, you can't complete levels because they come into effect until that old furtive ally called luck comes to your rescue. For level 26, at the point where you're able to hit both boomerangs as well as the Pac-man with one dart, make sure you hold onto the first boomerang until your Pac-man eats up the second one. Because boomerangs don't accumulate for some reason, if you don't hold on to it you'll retain just the one boomerang instead of both, and this minor detail is the key behind this level. For level 39, even after you make the amazingly hard first shot which frees the mine that is supposed to get you the extra dart, the game could arbitrarily decide that you had run out of darts and ask you to try again before the mine hits the extra dart balloon. There are two solutions to this: Firstly, cheat and play on the unlimited darts mode, or, secondly, just keep trying until you get lucky again.

Despite all this, level 45 makes you end up wishing that there was a glitch that you could blame for your repeated failures instead of the fact that because you're not the creator of the game you can't make the darts go as you please. Uncannily named "Icy Decoration" after the expression that your face will resemble throughout your multiple attempts to finish this level, each shot in this level requires accuracy, precision and, most importantly, luck (in its new and improved version). For this level, fire your first dart with about 20% power into the middle of the green balloon directly opposite your monkey. If you're lucky, the dart will hit that single line of balloons perfectly without even once touching the two lines of ice balloons that are both above and below this green balloon line. If you're lucky, you'll get only the green balloon line and the boomerang at the end of it. If you're not, as is likely, restart and try again. Use the boomerang to remove the bottom layer of ice balloons while making sure that it doesn't touch anything else. Next, fire a dart with about 50% power towards the lower part of the first balloon of the upper row of the upper layer of green balloons. If you're lucky, at the point where you do hit the ice balloons (you will hit them), you'll have gotten most of the balloons and will have only 2 or 3 frozen ones left.

After this is the easy part; just hit the mines at the top with your next dart and take out any remaining clumps of ice balloons left behind to finish the level. Make sure you don't mess this part up, or you could be cursing yourself forever if you had to go back and do the first two steps again and in all likelihood be attempting them for quite a long time.

Visuals & Sound

With the imminent arrival of Bloons 2 likely to introduce some new features to the game, Bloons Player Pack 5 is your last opportunity to enjoy the peace and serenity that comes with its graphics and the soothing sound of popping balloons. The point behind those descriptors is to emphasize how hard the game actually is in relation to these features which remain, as ever, basic and essentially non-existent. Farewell, dear non-existent audio and basic, stone-age graphics. You will be sorely missed.

To sum things up

If you searched for the word "luck" in the main body of this review, you would end up with six results, and that is where the problems with this game begin and end. A greater number of levels with glitches packed into that old, worn-out box of complaints regarding the problems with the aiming mechanisms and faulty bounces/physics make for a package that tends to be slightly annoying. The combination of levels chosen for this pack is a refreshing antidote to this though, so while the odd level will bother you for no fault of yours, the majority will be filled with the kind of fun that only Bloons can produce. All in all, a good game again thanks to the level selection, but one that had the potential for so much more if only it learned from its mistakes.