In this post, I share some observations I found on the upgraded Poptropica islands. Nothing too critical, just something for your own critical mind to chew on. You may click on the images to enlarge them. At the end of this exhaustingly long post, I will draw a few objective conclusions--again, not judging. So, without further ado...
The Good...
Now, I'm not even going to talk about the music and sound effects. There is no debate about how amazing they are. I could write a whole post praising the sound. Which is why I'm not going to talk about it here.
One thing I noticed about the upgraded Poptropica was that the way you walk to a target is different. For example, clicking on the announcer on Poptropolis Games, you follow two different paths:
 Classic Poptropica |  Upgraded Poptropica |
In the old Poptropica, you just dropped through whatever platform you were on and then met the person. But in the "upgraded" version, you follow the same path you might follow, if you didn't click on him but just went to him "yourself". And his isn't just for clicking on NPCs/objects/items, it works whenever you click the screen to move your Poptropican.
For example, when you jump almost straight up but aim the mouse a little opposite of the way you're facing. On Classic Pop, you would jump and flip at the same time, which is smoother but when you come to think of it, completely crazy. On New Pop, you would flip first, then after a tiny pause do the jump. What do you think? Good thing or bad thing? I think these modifications make the game more realistic.
The Bad...
One more change in the physics of new Poptropica is that you do not slide very much anymore. Stops and landings are more sudden and less smooth. The Creators seem to have added a little bit of friction and made the platforms more "magnetic", but this is robbing us of the charismatic player animations.
Another deal with the animations: when your Poptropican does slide, the animation is sort of disconnected from the scene. Like, if you slide near the edge of a platform on Classic Poptropica, you drop off the platform. On New Poptropica, your feet actually show up past the edge of the platform you're on and you stay on. Unlike the last part, I think the changes in this part make the game less realistic.
And the Ugly.
 How am I able to walk? | ← Another gripe I have is that wearing one peg leg completely messes up the other normal leg. Grrr... → And one more annoying thing is that when you stand on a slanted platform, your feet don't slant anymore! So tiny, yet so annoying. |  ITS A SLANTED PLATFORM. WHY DO MY FEET NOT SLANT AS WELL? WHY, OH WHY DO THEY RESIST THE NATURAL ORDER?! |
Why Can't I Jump As Far?
Another persistent little "problem", as many people have found, is that you can't jump as far nor run as fast anymore. Every time you move around, it seems like you don't move as far as you should. I thought this was irritating, too, but I've since discovered the root of the "problem". The illusion: you still jump as far and move as fast in New Poptropica, but the big screen makes it look constricted because it zooms-out the screen. Some proof:
 Classic Poptropica |  New Poptropica |
Notice that in both modes, you jump the exact same height.
Conclusion
Like I said in the introduction, I'm not going to judge, nor criticize anything in this post. That's for you to do; take a look at the evidence, then post your opinion in the comments (click here to do that). But it'd be a shame not to end such a long post properly, so...
New Poptropica uses a totally different engine, which is not fully compatible with Classic Poptropica. The physics is different and generally more realistic. However, the animations and smoothness and style that gave Classic Poptropica its charisma are a little bit diminished. Even so, the story and plot and all the abstract elements are as charming as ever. Happy playing! And make sure to post your opinion in the comments!
School's starting again now (ugh!) so I may not be able to post as often. But you can still count on me to have something great for you at least twice a week. Nice Hawk out!
