Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles

The Good
The story is very unique and dark for a platformer. The visual style is beautiful....and there is much attention to detail with the environments. The clouds move across the sky in a very disturbing way, the ocean waves flow menacingly, and the colors and lighting used combined with the melodic, but spooky soundtrack create a very stunning visual and aural experience. The characters are very original, and there are many different odd looking creatures throughout the game.

The Bad
I didn't like the fact that it was NEVER released in the United States!!! I waited a very long time for this game, and was very disappointed when they cancelled it's American release. I had to resort to playing a burnt copy just so I could play it over here (though I DO own a genuine European version, I just can't play it because it's in PAL format). Another complaint I have is that while the story and appearance of the game are awesome, the gameplay itself is not so good. It has very glitchy camera angles and unresponsive controls. You will die many times simply because jumping is so difficult in this game and you must jump from platforms almost all the time. No matter how long you play it, the controls will still be difficult. Also, what you are supposed to do next is not always obvious enough in some areas...so not knowing where you're going and dying a lot can be very frustrating. However, despite these flaws, the story and overall experience makes it worth playing through.

The Bottom Line
I would descibe this game to others as something that could have been great, but tripped over it's own feet. If they would have spent just a little more time working out the bugs it would've been a perfect game. Nevertheless, I would recommend that you buy it. If you're like me, and live in the US, import the pc version, since it will still work over here....or, if you prefer it for the consoles...look hard enough and you can find burnt versions that have been converted to ntsc format. I DO NOT CONDONE PIRACY OF GAMES, so if you're going to find the burnt versions, do the right thing and buy the actual European version as well, even if you can't play it. If for nothing else, buy it for the booklet and artwork, and so hopefully the money will get back to the people who made it.