Pom Gets Wi-Fi

"Pom Gets Wi-Fi" bears the label of a first game, but its plot's messages show an extraordinary potential. The art is memorable, the characters quickly become very personal , and the game mechanics are very easy to grasp.

The story of Pom and her sweet companion Shibe winds through a canine paradise that's rife with surprising faults. If it's truly heaven, as Pom is quick to inquire, then where is the wi-fi? Humourous, yes, but a very legitimate point. You can terrorise and brutalise other dogs- what true land of plenty would allow that? Depending on how you play the game, you're left with the reality that paradise is either entirely imperfect or precisely as you shape it, through your own actions and how you treat the people around you (the message "no such thing as bad dogs" helps connote an ubiquitous theme of redemption). The plot and the choices Pom can make depict this idea masterfully.

Don't get me wrong, though: you don't have to consider any of that while playing this game. The entire program can be enjoyed very casually minus a couple heart-wrenching moments. The pixel pooches make simple talk and there's a very large volume of gamer/social networking humour invoked by your Pomeranian protagonist. The fourth wall also gets occasionally demolished.
As a denizen of the internet, Pom holds her own with brilliant stereotypical language, spouting lines such as, "thats what happens when u have bad ships," "i need 2 do da thing," etc. After so many RPG games filled with dramatic soliloquies, Pom is very refreshing (provided that you understand the internet context she employs, unlike the other dogs). She doesn't speak this way because the script lacks professionalism, but because that is precisely how we communicate on the sites Pom frequents.

This choice of dialogue gives a very realistic foothold for younger players or particularly dedicated surfers of the web, but it also provides interesting commentary on how our technologically social generation functions in our world and our relationships: can we put aside our materialistic passions to change what's wrong around us? Will escapism limit us?