In the early days of Xbox Live Arcade, summer 2006, developers Ninja Bee and Bacon Wrapped Games released a fun, but quirky platformer called Cloning Clyde. Described as “somewhat of a cult classic on Live Arcade,” by Bacon Wrapped Games founder John Nielson, and inductee to XBLA’s Arcade Hits Collection, it is no secret that Clyde has quite the following of fans. Surprisingly, it has taken developer Ninja Bee just under five years to bring Clyde to a larger audience by releasing the game through Valve’s digital PC store Steam. However in the five years it has taken for Cloning Clyde to make its way to PC, downloadable games have evolved exponentially. Does Cloning Clyde still stand up as a downloadable experience, or is it a game of its time?
Cloning Clyde’s only bit of story is told through a single comic book-style page. Each of the panels on the page explain, one by one, that in an attempt to make $20, Clyde allowed himself to be cloned in some scientific experiment. Unfortunately for Clyde, he is left in a security locked-down building needing to escape, wondering where his $20 is. Although the story is obviously lacking, it can easily be forgiven as most games in the genre don’t even bother having a set-up for the proceeding events. The only problem I have with the story is how it is presented. The use of a comic book page is interesting, but it breaks up the flow a bit. You select your options with the game’s fantastic soundtrack playing in the background, but when you get to the story segment at the beginning, the music stops and you are forced to silently read a page of a comic book. It feels a bit ackward, bland, and boring, while also cutting a bit of the excitement some may have for playing this great game. Thankfully, there is only one story segment, so this is a very small complaint.
The main attraction of Cloning Clyde is its classic, yet quirky platforming. Cloning Clyde borrows heavily from the genre’s past greats, but uses what it borrows to the full extent. The main goal of Cloning Clyde is to clone Clyde in order to solve the puzzles in the level to get the transporter at the end of the level. Cloning is the name of the game (quite literally) in Cloning Clyde. Throughout your time with the game, you will clone Clyde by himself and with a number of objects and creatures. Frogs, sheep, and TNT are just a few of the many things you can combine and clone Clyde with. Each of these things also give Clyde a special ability. These special abilities are usually used to solve the puzzles that block the way to the transporter.
Most of the puzzles the player will solve with Clyde must be completed by moving multiple Clydes to different locations. Switching between Clydes is a very simple process. Pushing a button has the player enter a weird overlay on top of the gameplay, and guide a light to another Clyde. It’s difficult to explain, but looks like the player is moving a soul from one Clyde to another. Different little gimmicks, such as lighting Clyde’s hair on fire to light fireworks, add to the experience and make the game even more enjoyable. However, no amount of gimmicks can cover up the fact that the gameplay in Cloning Clyde is quite repetitive.
Every level in Cloning Clyde breaks down to the player moving multiple Clydes to switches to open doors to get to the transporter. No matter how many other types of puzzles are also included in the levels, the “standing on the switches” puzzle is always the headliner. The other types of puzzles and fun little quirks and gimmicks in the environments and gameplay help stop the game from becoming mind-numbingly boring, but I must admit that I did begin to lose interest in these puzzles and Cloning Clyde as a whole towards the end. Thankfully, NinjaBee and Bacon Wrapped Games make it clear that they understand this by limiting Cloning Clyde’s time. With 25 levels, most of which take less than 5 minutes to complete, and some bonus challenges for those who can’t get enough of this goofy lab rat, Cloning Clyde is nearly perfectly paced.
Combat also plays a role in Cloning Clyde. Each level is full of robots that Clyde must destroy in order to safely complete the level. Combat is mapped to a single button, which is tapped repeatedly until the enemy is destroyed. This works well for the most part, but can become a bit frustrating. When Clyde begins an attack, the animation cannot be stopped. This means that if Clyde attacks, but is way off the mark in his aim, the attack will be followed through instead of stopping and changing to the player’s desired direction. This leaves Clyde wide open and left me frustrated on more than one occasion. Overall though, combat works great and the funny sounds and poses of Clyde quickly alleviate frustration.
Running to the transporter in less than 5 minutes may be the main goal of Cloning Clyde, but the developers have left a lot extra for those who want it. Each level of Cloning Clyde has 4 “Killer Kenn” military action figures to find, a bunch of DNA strands to collect, and a ton of points to rack up. While only one Clyde can exit through the teleporter, each of the clones made in the levels can also exit through vents in the levels for even more points. Ninja Bee and Bacon Wrapped Games have also added 12 Steam-only achivements to the game to increase the total to 25. This may seem like a small change, but may be enough for achievement-hungry fans who haven’t seen Clyde in a few years to get re-acquainted with an old pal. So while Cloning Clyde may be a very short experience for those who run from start to finish as soon as possible, there is a lot more depth for those who want to find it.
Unfortunately, this depth is only referring to a single-player experience. It appears that the co-op and versus modes from the Xbox Live Arcade release of the game are missing. It is unclear why Ninja Bee and Bacon Wrapped Games left multiplayer components out of the Steam release of Cloning Clyde. Steam has a great multiplayer service for many of its games, and multiplayer in Cloning Clyde would have definitely added to its depth.
Cloning Clyde begins to show a bit of its age when it comes to graphics. The game is no where near close to looking “ugly”, but is a bit simple compared to newer downloadable titles. The game has a nice cel-shaded look, but most of the colors in the environments appear faded and dark for a game with such an upbeat tone. I wasn’t expecting Cloning Clyde HD with this Steam release, but some more vibrance and a fresh coat of paint could have gone a long way to make Clyde look like a new man.
As I mentioned earlier in this review, I really enjoyed the soundtrack to Cloning Clyde. The music is catchy and calm and fits the platforming perfectly. Better than the soundtrack though is Clyde’s audio. The quirky little sounds he makes will definitely have players laughing. I will admit that I cracked up every time Clyde said “I dunno” like an average teenager as I pressed the action button with no action in sight for him to complete. Clyde’s audio alone is reason enough for this game to be downloadable classic.
Despite Cloning Clyde’s age, it is still a comparable platformer and a shining example of what independent downloadable games can be. While the look of Cloning Clyde may be showing the age of the game and the gameplay can be a bit repetitive, it is clear why so many people love the game it. If you haven’t played Cloning Clyde yet, the Steam release is a perfect oppourtunity, considering it clocks in at just over 120MB, and has a price of $4.99 USD. Cloning Clyde is a bundle of fun that I’m sure gamers of all ages will enjoy.
PROS
- Interesting story, despite its brevity
- Classic 2D platforming
- Depth for those who want it
- Great soundtrack and even better Clyde audio
- Sure to make gamers of all ages crack up
- Low price allows for those who missed it to join in on the fun
CONS
- Presentation of the story is bland and boring
- Combat can be frustrating
- Lack of multiplayer in this version
- Graphics are showing a bit of age
SCORE: 8.5/10
A copy of Cloning Clyde on Steam was provided by the game’s publisher for this review.
