Cloning Clyde Review

Cloning Clyde Review
Written by l EcHo 360 l
Published by CroTech

Cloning Clyde is an original, addictive side-scrolling platformer with amazing graphics and tons of quirky puzzles to keep you busy for hours, raising your obsession score. You get to play as an assortment of different Clyde clones ranging from an exploding barrel to a monkey. Clyde took part in a scientific experiment that went wrong, and your goal is to help all the cloned Clydes escape the clutches of the evil robot security machines.

The presentation and menus of Cloning Clyde were done very well by the developer, Ninja Bee. The menus are easy to browse through as they are a great place to find out most of what you need to know about the game and its settings. From the menus you can start up a single player game, a multiplayer game, you can view the leaderboards, look at your achievements, read the help and options, or go back to the Xbox dashboard. The single player game mode embarks you on a set of missions to help rescue the missing cloned Cydes while collecting items such as dolls and trying for the best time. You have the ability to choose from three difficulties: “Easy mode for kids, some pets, and beginners, Normal mode being a challenge for the regular players, and Hard mode for those ready for a challenge.” The multiplayer game modes are a lot of fun with other players via split-screen or over Live. The objective is to destroy the other team’s security machines faster than they can destroy yours.

Cloning Clyde can be challanging but fun at the same time.

Cloning Clyde’s graphics are superb for an Xbox 360 arcade title. The graphics have a somewhat cartoon-like feel to them and look excellent in high definition. Sometimes it feels as if you are controlling the main character of a cartoon. With the shading involved in Cloning Clyde, the scenery has much more depth. The explosions in Cloning Clyde, although brief, look great as the fire leaves a trail of smoke following Clyde. The shrapnel from the explosions looks very nice as well. Overall, Cloning Clyde is a very colorful game, with crisp, clean graphics that look amazing for an Xbox 360 arcade title.

Sound is an essential component to a great game. Cloning Clyde delivers on this category exceptionally. The explosions, the footsteps, the character grunts while attacking – these all portray the quirkiness of Cloning Clyde. You can not help but sit there and laugh while Clyde is on fire, screaming frantically after tripping a mine. These subtle details truly make the game that much more worth buying and playing over and over again. As great as the sound effects for Cloning Clyde are, the only downside is the variety of each type of sound.

Solid. That word alone describes the gameplay of Cloning Clyde. Everything just seems to have a very simple, manageable feel to it and like the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The character movements are very well done as well. If you character gets hit with a rock, he will stumble for a moment. If he is on fire, he will scream and panic trying to put it out. If you are doing any other animation such as swimming, flying, or falling, your character will execute the animation very fluidly. The enemies will take the damage and react accordingly. The best advice is to learn each animal’s different capabilities and utilize them efficiently to complete each level under par time.

Unique stlye of game play is what Cloning Clyde offers.

Sadly, the replay value for Cloning Clyde is about average. Once you beat the game once or twice and grab all of the achievements, there is not much left to do other than attempt to out-match your friend’s par time or take your game online. Since the game has been released for several months now, it may be a bit tough to find a game, which also detracts from the replay value. Overall, Cloning Clyde is great one or two times through, but once you have done that, there is not much left for you to do.

Overall Cloning Clyde is easily in my top five for Xbox 360 arcade titles. Everything from the graphics, gameplay, sounds, and co-op is great. The achievements are very fun to try to earn, especially with a friend via splitscreen or over Xbox Live. I highly recommend purchasing Cloning Clyde for that fact that is a superb, original arcade title packed with tons of fun. The only downside is the lack of replay value.