OK, here's a game I can guarantee you've never heard of.
<img width=500>http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/8/81005/2252236-clone_001.png
Heralding back from 1997, we have the brainchild of Antares Productions (later Silphid Creations, currently defunct) and published by LaserPoint Software (currently defunct), with music written by Wolfe Bowers of Figment Studios (currently defunct).
The above statement is the saddest thing you will read all week. The "defunct" part, not the creator list.
So what is it?
Clone is a DOS puzzle game, seen from an overhead perspective as the player character(s) move around the square-tiled board, interacting with puzzle elements. Controls are simple, with the arrow keys used to move, tiles are bumped into to interact with them, and the spacebar uses inventory items.
Sounds kind of standard and uninteresting, doesn't it?
But here's the thing: as the title suggests, the game is filled with clones. Specifically, your clones. Many of the puzzles revolve around getting all the clones into the correct spot on the board, keeping all of them alive, or simply stopping them from wrecking your carefully crafted puzzle solution.
"Wrecking it?" you ask. "You mean, your clones have free will?"
[Img_Inline width="375" align="right"]http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/8044/lt4j.png[/Img_Inline]
Not quite.
You see, all the clones respond to the same commands.
If you press left, ALL the clones attempt to move left. If you press down, ALL the clones will attempt to move down. And if you use an item, ALL the clones will use that item.
You can see where the puzzle aspect suddenly bursts forth.
So how does it play?
Stunningly well.
As mentioned, the controls are ludicrously simple: Arrow keys to move, space bar to use inventory. The game's simplicity is quickly forgotten, however, as you try to move around multiple player characters all at the same time. The only way you can move one clone but not another is to place one next to a wall, they can't move into walls and will remain in place while unblocked clones will roll happily into the next tile.
If you screw a level up beyond repair, you can press "A" to quickly restart.
The game supports gamepads/joysticks.
There are four types of puzzles in this game: "Slide the colored blocks onto the right tiles", "move the clones into the right tile positions", "get from point A to point B without triggering traps or environmental hazards" and "run like hell from those damned spiders".
Some of the levels have multiple puzzles in them, and you have to complete them all to proceed.
At the end of each level is a blue jewel. Sometimes, you have to complete the puzzle make it appear. To win a level, you simply have to move the last clone on the board onto it. It doesn't matter if all your clones are killed except one; if it makes it to the gem, you win the level. If all of your clones make it to the gem except for the last one, you lose. So plan carefully!
Some of the levels are not puzzles, but just chases (one memorable level is literally titled "RUN!", and has you race a damned spider to the end of the track).
There are some different-than-normal puzzles (such as randomly changing level layouts, hidden switches or hiding the clones) and a few timed puzzles, most of which are well-executed.
The story is trite window-dressing, and does not need to be elaborated on.
Let's look more into the nitty-gritty.
How does it look?
For a low-budget 1997 obscure game with a two-person design team? Absolutely brilliant.
Obviously, the game isn't going to drop anyone's jaws nowadays, but the details and bright palette are still very much worth mentioning. Everything is polished and properly animated, and it doesn't look like the scratchings of the programmer like so many other indie teams tend to.
[Img_Inline width="375" align="left"]http://imageshack.us/a/img198/6968/3b3.gif[/Img_Inline]
The game takes place over six wildly different locations, and each "world" has its tiles, enemies, and background adjusted to suit the theme. In the castle levels, the damned spiders look like damned spiders. In the mountain pass levels, the damned spiders have blue body markings to resemble damned ice. In the hellish levels, the damned spiders are now damned spiders with damned infections and blotches covering them, etc. It's great touch that goes a long way in keeping the player interested.
The levels are basically "gameboards" sitting atop of static backgrounds. The backgrounds range from mediocre (the "ice" and "lava" attempts are pretty poor) to cool but undistracting (the space background) to really creepy (the hellish background will never stop staring at you).
On the whole, the game looks as good as you could want it to. It's a bit low-res, though.
How's the level design?
Brilliant.
Just... brilliant.
Every puzzle is fair and interesting, each puzzle is a unique entity unto itself, and the puzzles that do repeat themselves have little twists and variances on each repeat (usually introducing a new enemy or puzzle element).
A puzzle game lives and dies by its level design, and it's good to see that the creator put so much effort into each level. There's dozens of little touches, from unique trees in the forest to water/lava falls to clever level shape, all of which add to the player's amusement and interest. Some of the levels are themed to the point of corniness (such as the human body shaped level) while others are strange and wandering mazes with little rhyme and reason, with a few truly inspired puzzles and some truly inspired puzzle-less asides (such as the subtly hilarious Football Against Demons level), and they all mix into a wildly interesting pack.
There's 20 to 22 levels in each of the six chapters, totalling at 125 in total. It breaks my mind that the amount of variety that we get.
In terms of actual playability, this is a rare game that actually requires notable mental AND physical dexterity to complete. While the majority of the puzzles are just that, and can be completed at your leisure with as much thinking as needed, there are a few levels that require you to move very quickly and solve on the fly. The last level of each world, for instance, runs on a timer before it releases a dozen damned spiders on your ass (except in the fifth world, where the timer counts down the time until the whole level just up and explodes). You have infinite restarts, and on some levels, you'll need them. However, with the exception of a few levels with too many baddies and one badly made level that pits you against a randomly rearranging maze AND a timer, none of the levels really frustrate. It's immensely satisfying to finally beat a level that has eluded you for a while.
And if a puzzle is too hard for you, don't worry, because...
How difficult is it?
Here is where the game totally shines.
Remember how I said there's 125 levels?
I lied. There is actually 375.
Every single level has an easy (Childish), medium (Kool) and hard (Foolish!) version. The easy ones are quite simple, while the hard versions can be immensely difficult.
The differences are usually subtle, but are very effective.
For example, here's one early level on easy:
And then the same level on medium:
And the same level on hard:
It may not look like a whole lot at first, but in practice, these carefully placed changes make a world of difference in how the level plays out.
The amount of effort put into the difficulty settings puts modern difficulty settings (increase damage, lower health, etc) to shame. It really is a thing of beauty.
If even the easy difficulty is too difficult for you, because you're having a weird day, you can't seem to control the character properly, or you're faced with damned spiders, you can skip up to three levels per chapter. You'll have to come back and finish them to access the last level of each chapter (which is usually pretty dang hard itself, and full often full of damned spiders). The difficulty of the individual levels does follow a rising curve, but they're still fairly scattered, so skipping a level may allow you to continue on for a bit before you need to return.
Overall, the difficulty is excellent for everyone from children to puzzle fanatics (although they can be a bit on the fluffy side at times).
How are the enemies?
The enemies are cool.
Each one follows a unique logic that you can exploit to avoid them. For example, boars are not dangerous, just annoying. They move random distances at random intervals in random directions, and your task is to work around them.
Beholders are nasty disembodied eyeballs that move like boars until they see you. If you look directly at them, you get hurt. If you look left or right away from them, they'll stare at you indefinitely, waiting for you to turn. Only by leaving their line of sight or looking the opposite direction of them will they continue wandering.
Sarcasm devils move randomly until they see you, at which point they will chase you. If you are killed by one of them, the affected clone will turn into one.
The damned spiders move much faster than you, but will run in predictable circles, only chasing you if they see you. If you get chased by a damned spider, you're doomed. They make damned loud chittering noises, too.
There are other nifty creatures and enemies, but I don't want to ruin everything, do I?
The enemies are not exceedingly common (they only show up about a quarter of the time), but they serve their purpose well.
How is the sound?
The sound design in this game is fantastic.
Usually, when you have a two-person team working on a game, one is doing the programming while the other does the graphics/audio/story/design.
That was not the case here. Instead, the main guy did the programming/design/graphics while the other guy was only there to do audio and soundtrack.
And it is great.
The sound is excellent, especially considering the lack of fidelity available (it's a DOS game, after all). Somehow, the creatures make chilling sounds (the moaning of the gargoyles in the late levels always gives me shudders), the devices make clean and satisfying noises when activated, the bad guy's laugh is intimidating and the clones' "Oh yeah!" at the end of each level is equally adorable and satisfying. That would be impressive enough, given the technology.
But then we have the MIDI soundtrack that was written by Wolfe Bowers of Figment Studios.
[Img_Inline width="375" align="right"]http://imageshack.us/a/img405/3350/twly.png[/Img_Inline]
And it is the best MIDI soundtrack that was ever written. Ever.
EVER.
Each chapter plays a random song out of a playlist of three (with a different playlist for each chapter). Despite this, the soundtrack never, EVER gets boring. After I finished the game, I took an hour and listened to the in-game jukebox. All of it. Wolfe Bowers did an insanely good job.
Each chapter's music suits it perfectly. The levels set in space have an aggressive robotic sound, the caverns have drips and rumblings, the mountains have an ethereal and light sound, etc. It is just. That. Good.
And then Figment Studios went down the drain and Wolfe Bowers was never heard from again. Even his entry on <link=http://amp.dascene.net/detail.php?detail=modules&view=12967>Amiga Music Preservation has a woefully incomplete list of the Clone soundtrack, and that's it.
This, children, is because there is not an ounce of justice in the whole world.
If I ever learn to use sound software properly, my first act will be to turn the Clone soundtrack into a fully orchestrated extravaganza. And that's all I have to say on that.
On the whole?
Play. This. Even if only to hear the music.
But even beyond that, I put this on the same level as Lemmings, The Incredible Machine and other great puzzlers from the nineties. It's a game so varied and so well designed that any puzzle fan would be utterly remiss to pass it by.
Plus, it's legal abandonware, repackaged by the author.
You can download it <link=http://dosgames.com/dl.php?filename=http://www.dosgames.com/files/clone.zip>here.
You'll need DOSBox to run it.
<spoiler=How 2 DOSBox>1. <link=http://www.dosbox.com/download.php?main=1>Download DOSBox
2. Open the options file from the start menu
3. Find "fullscreen" and set to "true" (or, press alt-enter when you run DOSBox)
4. Paste this at the bottom, under "autoexec":
mount c:
c:
clone.exe
5. Save, close, and run DOSBox
Thanks for reading. I hope we can make this ultra-obscure game a little bit less obscure.
<spoiler=Other stuff I have reviewed>Games:
<link=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.824389-Poll-The-most-inexplicable-MMO-of-all-time-Myst-Online>Myst Online
<link=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.307920-Tropico-3>Tropico 3
Not Games:
<link=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.825273-lacktheknack-Reviews-Dev-Musician>Dev (Musician)
<link=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.825489-So-I-got-Origin-from-EA-A-Review-Image-Heavy>Origin (Distribution Client)
<img width=500>http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/8/81005/2252236-clone_001.png
Heralding back from 1997, we have the brainchild of Antares Productions (later Silphid Creations, currently defunct) and published by LaserPoint Software (currently defunct), with music written by Wolfe Bowers of Figment Studios (currently defunct).
The above statement is the saddest thing you will read all week. The "defunct" part, not the creator list.
So what is it?
Clone is a DOS puzzle game, seen from an overhead perspective as the player character(s) move around the square-tiled board, interacting with puzzle elements. Controls are simple, with the arrow keys used to move, tiles are bumped into to interact with them, and the spacebar uses inventory items.
Sounds kind of standard and uninteresting, doesn't it?
But here's the thing: as the title suggests, the game is filled with clones. Specifically, your clones. Many of the puzzles revolve around getting all the clones into the correct spot on the board, keeping all of them alive, or simply stopping them from wrecking your carefully crafted puzzle solution.
"Wrecking it?" you ask. "You mean, your clones have free will?"
[Img_Inline width="375" align="right"]http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/8044/lt4j.png[/Img_Inline]
Not quite.
You see, all the clones respond to the same commands.
If you press left, ALL the clones attempt to move left. If you press down, ALL the clones will attempt to move down. And if you use an item, ALL the clones will use that item.
You can see where the puzzle aspect suddenly bursts forth.
So how does it play?
Stunningly well.
As mentioned, the controls are ludicrously simple: Arrow keys to move, space bar to use inventory. The game's simplicity is quickly forgotten, however, as you try to move around multiple player characters all at the same time. The only way you can move one clone but not another is to place one next to a wall, they can't move into walls and will remain in place while unblocked clones will roll happily into the next tile.
If you screw a level up beyond repair, you can press "A" to quickly restart.
The game supports gamepads/joysticks.
There are four types of puzzles in this game: "Slide the colored blocks onto the right tiles", "move the clones into the right tile positions", "get from point A to point B without triggering traps or environmental hazards" and "run like hell from those damned spiders".
Some of the levels have multiple puzzles in them, and you have to complete them all to proceed.
At the end of each level is a blue jewel. Sometimes, you have to complete the puzzle make it appear. To win a level, you simply have to move the last clone on the board onto it. It doesn't matter if all your clones are killed except one; if it makes it to the gem, you win the level. If all of your clones make it to the gem except for the last one, you lose. So plan carefully!
Some of the levels are not puzzles, but just chases (one memorable level is literally titled "RUN!", and has you race a damned spider to the end of the track).
There are some different-than-normal puzzles (such as randomly changing level layouts, hidden switches or hiding the clones) and a few timed puzzles, most of which are well-executed.
The story is trite window-dressing, and does not need to be elaborated on.
Let's look more into the nitty-gritty.
How does it look?
For a low-budget 1997 obscure game with a two-person design team? Absolutely brilliant.
Obviously, the game isn't going to drop anyone's jaws nowadays, but the details and bright palette are still very much worth mentioning. Everything is polished and properly animated, and it doesn't look like the scratchings of the programmer like so many other indie teams tend to.
[Img_Inline width="375" align="left"]http://imageshack.us/a/img198/6968/3b3.gif[/Img_Inline]
The game takes place over six wildly different locations, and each "world" has its tiles, enemies, and background adjusted to suit the theme. In the castle levels, the damned spiders look like damned spiders. In the mountain pass levels, the damned spiders have blue body markings to resemble damned ice. In the hellish levels, the damned spiders are now damned spiders with damned infections and blotches covering them, etc. It's great touch that goes a long way in keeping the player interested.
The levels are basically "gameboards" sitting atop of static backgrounds. The backgrounds range from mediocre (the "ice" and "lava" attempts are pretty poor) to cool but undistracting (the space background) to really creepy (the hellish background will never stop staring at you).
On the whole, the game looks as good as you could want it to. It's a bit low-res, though.
How's the level design?
Brilliant.
Just... brilliant.
Every puzzle is fair and interesting, each puzzle is a unique entity unto itself, and the puzzles that do repeat themselves have little twists and variances on each repeat (usually introducing a new enemy or puzzle element).
A puzzle game lives and dies by its level design, and it's good to see that the creator put so much effort into each level. There's dozens of little touches, from unique trees in the forest to water/lava falls to clever level shape, all of which add to the player's amusement and interest. Some of the levels are themed to the point of corniness (such as the human body shaped level) while others are strange and wandering mazes with little rhyme and reason, with a few truly inspired puzzles and some truly inspired puzzle-less asides (such as the subtly hilarious Football Against Demons level), and they all mix into a wildly interesting pack.
There's 20 to 22 levels in each of the six chapters, totalling at 125 in total. It breaks my mind that the amount of variety that we get.
In terms of actual playability, this is a rare game that actually requires notable mental AND physical dexterity to complete. While the majority of the puzzles are just that, and can be completed at your leisure with as much thinking as needed, there are a few levels that require you to move very quickly and solve on the fly. The last level of each world, for instance, runs on a timer before it releases a dozen damned spiders on your ass (except in the fifth world, where the timer counts down the time until the whole level just up and explodes). You have infinite restarts, and on some levels, you'll need them. However, with the exception of a few levels with too many baddies and one badly made level that pits you against a randomly rearranging maze AND a timer, none of the levels really frustrate. It's immensely satisfying to finally beat a level that has eluded you for a while.
And if a puzzle is too hard for you, don't worry, because...
How difficult is it?
Here is where the game totally shines.
Remember how I said there's 125 levels?
I lied. There is actually 375.
Every single level has an easy (Childish), medium (Kool) and hard (Foolish!) version. The easy ones are quite simple, while the hard versions can be immensely difficult.
The differences are usually subtle, but are very effective.
For example, here's one early level on easy:
And then the same level on medium:
And the same level on hard:
It may not look like a whole lot at first, but in practice, these carefully placed changes make a world of difference in how the level plays out.
The amount of effort put into the difficulty settings puts modern difficulty settings (increase damage, lower health, etc) to shame. It really is a thing of beauty.
If even the easy difficulty is too difficult for you, because you're having a weird day, you can't seem to control the character properly, or you're faced with damned spiders, you can skip up to three levels per chapter. You'll have to come back and finish them to access the last level of each chapter (which is usually pretty dang hard itself, and full often full of damned spiders). The difficulty of the individual levels does follow a rising curve, but they're still fairly scattered, so skipping a level may allow you to continue on for a bit before you need to return.
Overall, the difficulty is excellent for everyone from children to puzzle fanatics (although they can be a bit on the fluffy side at times).
How are the enemies?
The enemies are cool.
Each one follows a unique logic that you can exploit to avoid them. For example, boars are not dangerous, just annoying. They move random distances at random intervals in random directions, and your task is to work around them.
Beholders are nasty disembodied eyeballs that move like boars until they see you. If you look directly at them, you get hurt. If you look left or right away from them, they'll stare at you indefinitely, waiting for you to turn. Only by leaving their line of sight or looking the opposite direction of them will they continue wandering.
Sarcasm devils move randomly until they see you, at which point they will chase you. If you are killed by one of them, the affected clone will turn into one.
The damned spiders move much faster than you, but will run in predictable circles, only chasing you if they see you. If you get chased by a damned spider, you're doomed. They make damned loud chittering noises, too.
There are other nifty creatures and enemies, but I don't want to ruin everything, do I?
The enemies are not exceedingly common (they only show up about a quarter of the time), but they serve their purpose well.
How is the sound?
The sound design in this game is fantastic.
Usually, when you have a two-person team working on a game, one is doing the programming while the other does the graphics/audio/story/design.
That was not the case here. Instead, the main guy did the programming/design/graphics while the other guy was only there to do audio and soundtrack.
And it is great.
The sound is excellent, especially considering the lack of fidelity available (it's a DOS game, after all). Somehow, the creatures make chilling sounds (the moaning of the gargoyles in the late levels always gives me shudders), the devices make clean and satisfying noises when activated, the bad guy's laugh is intimidating and the clones' "Oh yeah!" at the end of each level is equally adorable and satisfying. That would be impressive enough, given the technology.
But then we have the MIDI soundtrack that was written by Wolfe Bowers of Figment Studios.
[Img_Inline width="375" align="right"]http://imageshack.us/a/img405/3350/twly.png[/Img_Inline]
And it is the best MIDI soundtrack that was ever written. Ever.
EVER.
Each chapter plays a random song out of a playlist of three (with a different playlist for each chapter). Despite this, the soundtrack never, EVER gets boring. After I finished the game, I took an hour and listened to the in-game jukebox. All of it. Wolfe Bowers did an insanely good job.
Each chapter's music suits it perfectly. The levels set in space have an aggressive robotic sound, the caverns have drips and rumblings, the mountains have an ethereal and light sound, etc. It is just. That. Good.
And then Figment Studios went down the drain and Wolfe Bowers was never heard from again. Even his entry on <link=http://amp.dascene.net/detail.php?detail=modules&view=12967>Amiga Music Preservation has a woefully incomplete list of the Clone soundtrack, and that's it.
This, children, is because there is not an ounce of justice in the whole world.
If I ever learn to use sound software properly, my first act will be to turn the Clone soundtrack into a fully orchestrated extravaganza. And that's all I have to say on that.
On the whole?
Play. This. Even if only to hear the music.
But even beyond that, I put this on the same level as Lemmings, The Incredible Machine and other great puzzlers from the nineties. It's a game so varied and so well designed that any puzzle fan would be utterly remiss to pass it by.
Plus, it's legal abandonware, repackaged by the author.
You can download it <link=http://dosgames.com/dl.php?filename=http://www.dosgames.com/files/clone.zip>here.
You'll need DOSBox to run it.
<spoiler=How 2 DOSBox>1. <link=http://www.dosbox.com/download.php?main=1>Download DOSBox
2. Open the options file from the start menu
3. Find "fullscreen" and set to "true" (or, press alt-enter when you run DOSBox)
4. Paste this at the bottom, under "autoexec":
mount c:
c:
clone.exe
5. Save, close, and run DOSBox
Thanks for reading. I hope we can make this ultra-obscure game a little bit less obscure.
<spoiler=Other stuff I have reviewed>Games:
<link=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.824389-Poll-The-most-inexplicable-MMO-of-all-time-Myst-Online>Myst Online
<link=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.307920-Tropico-3>Tropico 3
Not Games:
<link=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.825273-lacktheknack-Reviews-Dev-Musician>Dev (Musician)
<link=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.825489-So-I-got-Origin-from-EA-A-Review-Image-Heavy>Origin (Distribution Client)