JadeDragon's
game reviews and playing tips: Pocket PC games
ClayGun 1.0 by Eurosoft International www.ClayGun.com, Price: $24.95
Reviewed January 2006 by Jacob Spindel
When The Bad Dream Comes True...
In the distant future, a strange creature appears on the face of the moon, causing a horrible giant robot to appear and wreak havoc on the Earth. The game then poses the question, "When the bad dream comes true, who's gonna stop it?"
Okay, I don't totally understand the storyline either, so here's a simplified version: SHOOT EVERYTHING!
In this upward-scrolling shooter in the style of numerous classics dating back to the arcade game Xevious, you choose one of four characters and then embark on your quest to gain enlightenment and freedom, and/or blow stuff up. The characters include Natasha Kurosawa, a ninja; John Doe, a Tibetan monk; M.I.S.H.A., an android; and Baudolina, an orphan who was raised by rats. Each has three different attacks and different strengths and weaknesses for you to consider as you fly upward while facing an onslaught of increasingly difficult enemy creatures. You can choose any of the four characters, although you can't change characters in the middle of a game.
Getting Started
Installation for ClayGun is tougher than average for a Pocket PC program. It's understandable that it requires about 23 MB of storage space (you can use a memory card) as well as about 12 MB of free program memory, but the installer also requires a rather complex process of obtaining an actual key file on the desktop, rather than just entering a code on the Pocket PC. This can be frustrating if you're one of the few who use Pocket PCs with a desktop platform other than Windows. I think it also means that if you try the demo and then purchase the game, you will have to download and install a totally new version of the program rather than just unlocking the one you have. Even once you get the CAB fully transferred to the Pocket PC and the final installation process started, you have to be careful not to disconnect your Pocket PC until you are told, or the process may not complete properly.
Once the game is running, though, I found it to be stable and reliable. I occasionally tried to start a game and instead ended up on a strange, frozen screen that I had to do a soft reset to get out of, but I can't reproduce this issue consistently. Other than that, the game has never crashed or exhibited any noticeable bugs, even when I accidentally turned my Pocket PC off while the game was running.
Clay Play
The game is comprised of six levels, each containing a main boss at the end, sub-bosses in the middle, and an enormous number of smaller enemies throughout. In a somewhat unusual move, the developers made the game reward what you might call "loyalty," or dedication, more than skill, meaning that you start with a very small number of credits (continues) per game, and the way to earn more is to log more and more hours of total playing time, regardless of how well you actually do. However, you must always start each game at the very beginning, since there is no way to save or resume a game or otherwise store progress, except for earning more continues and eventually free-play mode.
As you shoot the enemies, they frequently leave behind rewards, such as coins that increase your power or your score multiplier, as well as bombs. The ultimate goal is to rack up as many points as possible and make it into the game's high score list.
Blister Pack
Eurosoft did as much as they possibly could in terms of controls. The brilliant "AutoFire" feature takes the old rapid-fire idea to a new level, by making your ship fire constantly without you having to do anything at all. Enabling this feature has no negative effects on how fast you can move or your other capabilities. Mainly, you just have to steer to avoid enemies (and their fire) and aim your own weapons at the enemies to destroy them. You can do this using the directional pad that most Pocket PCs have, or you can use the stylus, though I found stylus mode to be a bit impractical because of issues with precision and reaction time. Since your main gun is always firing, you really only need the other buttons when you want to use one of your character's two other attacks, which are available in limited quantities and cause major damage to the enemies on screen.
If you're a purist, AutoFire can be disabled, but you might end up breaking your Pocket PC's buttons if you're not careful! Either way, you can assign each button to whichever button you want. You can't change the directional pad, but why would you want to?
In spite of all this, though, I repeatedly gave myself blisters while playing. The action in this game is fast and frantic, and it is difficult to react quickly enough without overstraining yourself. However, this may just be because of the ergonomics on my iPAQ, and other Pocket PCs may be easier to use for longer periods.
Screen shots:
Graphics and Sound
The graphics of ClayGun really shine. It is almost shocking how many enemies you will see on screen at once, most of them shooting a large amount of projectiles at you, and even with all this fast motion, I never observed any slowdown even on a 266 MHz CPU. The characters are detailed, and the backgrounds are colorful and multi-layered without being intrusive. Overall, I think the graphics are on par with a Super Nintendo game, which is better than I thought my modest PDA could achieve.
The sound in this game also works well; rather than being tinny or "bleepy," it sounds like actual music and realistic sound effects. The Asian-themed tunes are unusual and sometimes downright weird, but they always fit the mood well.
Conclusion
Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? My sore hands and fingers might make it seem that it is. However, if you can handle the fast pace, this game is detailed and well designed, and is definitely worth a look. Give the demo a try, and chances are you'll be hooked (or injured) within minutes.
Playing Hints and Tips
-Concentrate your fire on the strongest and most powerful enemies on screen. These are the ones that pose the greatest danger to you, and the wimpier ones tend to get wiped out in the crossfire anyway.
-Protecting yourself is more important than attacking the enemies. Although sometimes it makes sense to just go berserk against a large group of fairly easy enemies to try to earn lots of bonuses, for the most part it is best to play conservatively. Many enemies will eventually just go away if you fail to kill them, so survival is more important than destroying every last baddie. In fact, many times if you just ignore the enemies and focus instead on dodging their fire, you will find that you probably killed some of them without even trying (if you use AutoFire).
-Seriously, take breaks when you need them. You don't want an RSI. Okay, that's more of a "life tip" than a game tip, but this game is really pretty straightforward... it's hard to recommend much else besides, "Don't die."
Ratings (scale of 1 to 5):
Graphics
Breathtaking backgrounds and the ability to manage a borderline-ridiculous number of moving objects without slowing down or crashing is well beyond what I thought my Pocket PC could handle.
Sound
It's a real soundtrack, not a bunch of 80's-style beeps. The music isn't the catchiest, and the occasional voices aren't the clearest, but overall it fits the mood well and doesn't get in the way.
Fun Meter
The simple, fast-paced concept make this game easy to just pick up and play. However, even some seasoned gamers may feel overwhelmed by the incredibly intense and frantic action level, and some games may find it slightly repetitive. Also, the developers should definitely add a "Pause" function.
Addictivity
Gotta hand it to them here—I would've stopped well before I injured two of my fingers, if it weren't so addictive.
