The Xbox Live Arcade has flooded forth with new content as of late. At the forefront of this surge is the original title, Cloning Clyde. Made by the quirky and entertaining folks over at NinjaBee, Clyde is a throwback to older platforming titles, with a basis on jumping, puzzles, and crazy powers. Well the question is, a decade later, can a title of this caliber still hold up? I am happy to say, yes it can.
Cloning Clyde has you playing as Clyde; a guy who has been lured into a cloning laboratory with the promise of immeasurable riches (10 dollars), gets himself cloned umpteen million times. Well, the clones want out, so it’s up to you to take control of an army of hospital gown wearing, posterior showing Clydes and guide them through thirty levels of a crazy laboratory where many hazards await.
A typical level has you dealing with different obstacles such as security robots who are trying to zap you out of existence, landmines, rockets, explosive chickens and a slew of other dangers that just happen to be lying around the lab en masse. Luckily enough for you at that particular moment, you aren’t the only clone of Clyde that has attempted to escape. Clyde has left you notes on how to progress through certain areas. Since you are in a cloning facility, sometimes two is better than one, so you can simply hop into a cloning machine and multiply yourself to your hearts content -- or when the power runs out of the machine, whichever comes first.
However, this haven for mad science isn’t all about cloning. There are other genetic experiments to take part in, such as combining your DNA with the DNA of other animals and things in the lab (some still showing a bare ass). As you combine your DNA with something else you become a humanized version of the sample in question thus leading to interesting and enjoyable results.
Visually, the game has developed from NinjaBee’s first outing, Outpost Kaloki X. The pseudo cel-shaded graphics are particularly impressive on character models and the animations are hilarious. Does kicking chickens ever get old? No, dear readers, it does not. Level design is well done as well, and even though I’m curious as to why the genetic lab experiences different weather patterns and has many different bodies of water contained within it, who whole experience is very nice to look at as far as XBLA games go. Running in HD the game is a sight to behold as everything is bright and beautiful.
For the ears, the experience feels a little rushed as there are pretty decent and entertaining sound effects (again, it never gets old kicking chickens), but after a brief jingle in the beginning of each stage there is absolutely no soundtrack to speak of. In Kaloki, a simple soundtrack looped -- but here, nothing. It’s strange considering the platformers Clyde is based off of from years ago all had soundtracks. Thankfully there is the always-streaming custom soundtrack on the 360.
It’s very easy to pick up and control Clyde, with a learning curve of about fifteen seconds if you have a slow day. Jump, Kung Fu, Throw, Swim -- nothing too complicated whatsoever. What I will say is that it seems NinjaBee really has a grasp on their control elements and manipulating them into new situations as time goes on to great fun and challenge. You can learn one method of doing things such as avoiding drains inside the water areas to using them in later levels to progress through the stage.
Well, what is better than playing a game about an army of clones? Playing said game about an army of clones with an army of drones, err... friends! Clyde offers a full line of multiplayer options with the full game being available via XBL. Multiplayer modes include split screen, a co-op mode, and a very unique battle mode. Battle mode sees multiple teams of different colored-shirt-wearing Clydes going against each other by setting traps, collecting items, and avoiding the other team’s security machines. Of course having another clone available is as easy as pulling a lever, and the battle will rage on. Both modes are great additions to an already stellar game.
So is it worth it? One of the more expensive games on XBLA, Cloning Clyde ranks second only to Bankshot Billards coming in at 10 dollars, loosely translated (I suspect this is the money that is offered Clyde). However if you enjoy the platforming action of a Mario style title, the humor of Outpost Kaloki X, kicking chickens, or just want a game to play at ease whenever you just want to play I would definitely recommend this title.
