Clyde's Revenge

The Good
Some. I liked the background pictures. In my opinion they were very captivating, and beautiful. I also liked the music. It could have been better, but it did keep me humming all day.

The Bad
The sounds were OK, I guess. Except for the scream, when you get hurt. Funny at first, but then just plain annoying.

The Bottom Line
Side scrolling, stunning backdrops, and somewhat good music. If you like old DOS games, like me, try it. You might like it.

The Good
Clyde's Adventure was an underrated gem of a puzzle sidescroller. Unfortunately, the sequel is anything but that.

The best part about the game is the music. It's calming enough to fit the mood of the game. Unfortunately, as stated below, the mood is mostly one of boredom.

The Bad
What made Clyde's Adventure good was that its levels were small, so that any instant deaths didn't discourage you too much. Levels were mostly straightforward (once you figured out the tricks) and could be completed in under 3 minutes. It also had a humorous slant to it, with lots of funny hint scrolls within its levels.

Clyde's Revenge got rid of the instant death, removing much of the puzzle element. It also made the levels absolutely gargantuan. The levels are way too large. Clyde also moves much slower, and the stones to collect are too far spaced out. It can take upwards of 20+ minutes to clear a level if you get lost. By that time, you'll become uninterested in playing any further and you'll quit.

Another absolute no-no is the addition of keys and locks. Putting locked areas in a game is an invitation for lazy level design, and it completely shows in this game. Most levels involve backtracking once you get the keys in order to get at more stones.

One new mechanic absolutely irritates me. Many levels in Clyde's Revenge use a spring in order to launch Clyde to great heights. This is a terrible mechanic, as in many cases you'll just wait for Clyde to gain more momentum as he goes up and down. The later levels become spring-obsessive.

Lastly, the humor that was present in Clyde's Adventure is completely gone.

The Bottom Line
Avoid. It'll put you to sleep. Play the much more fast-paced and better-designed Clyde's Adventure instead, with its smaller, tighter, and better-designed levels.

I gave Moonlite Software my money for Clyde's Adventure; needless to say, Mike Voss didn't get my money for this game. It's sad that we'll never see a third game in the series, because I really liked the idea of a puzzle sidescroller series.

The Good
Well, all it took was the DOS command "deltree clyde2" and I was rid of it. Quite easy to do, actually. Oh yes, and if you're willing, it's a GREAT cure for insomnia!

The Bad
Plenty. Everyone ready??

Ok...the gameplay is just so...so....BRAINDEAD!! There are NO enemies anywhere, the game is so slow-paced and I simply can't stand the damn bloody fact that you have to be going in complete circles in some castles to find each and EVERY SINGLE STONE you need to complete a stage...and it's even more maddening when you find out that you need sometimes upwards of 500 (yes, FIVE HUNDRED!!) stones on the later levels to beat them!

The graphics? Very very dull and flat looking sprites, and terrible looking stages. Sounds and music? Well...let's just say that for the sake of your sanity, don't set them on. In fact, don't even bother playing. There...you've saved yourself from the horrible sounds (especially Clyde's scream when he lands on a hazard...talk about getting on one's nerves!) and terribly flat, dull, boring music. It's so bad, I wanted to cry out loud in spite of myself.

The Bottom Line
Terrible....simply terrible. You can find better platform action elsewhere, and if you REALLY have to play this terrible excuse for an action game, I pity you.

Just remember to put a pillow somewhere near your PC...you'll need it.