A poor man's Braid: Clover on Xbox Live
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Jan 13th 2009 at 2:57PM }
Click for more watercolors!
But a closer look at that doggie in the window, Clover, reveals a game worth considering. Developed by indie outlet Binary Tweed Ltd., Clover is, in the words of its British maker, "a plot-driven platformer in the style of classic titles such as Fantastic Dizzy that sees the player solve logical puzzles by collecting items, talking to a diverse cast of characters and exploring artistically realised environments." It follows Binary Tweed's motto -- "New games that are a bit like old games, but better" -- by injecting modern trends like autosave and the dissolution of lives and health into the game's traditional framework. Still, Clover promises to be very much about death, as the orphaned player must deal with the sudden demise of the in-game mother and the larger political themes at play. A heady romp for a mere 400
($5) when Clover releases in Q1 2009 (that's soon!).Gallery: Clover
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ben! @ Jan 13th 2009 3:04PM
Looks worth checking out, though the South Park-esque art style is a bit of a turnoff.
soups @ Jan 13th 2009 4:26PM
i agree, south park style is a bit too familiar. looks like south park characters over some concept art
Mike @ Jan 13th 2009 3:08PM
I'll have to check that out.
Also, anyone who hasn't tried Blow yet absolutely should. It's an amazing game - well worth 400 ms pts.
ChooChooCharlie @ Jan 13th 2009 3:13PM
Agreed. It's the only Community Game I've found worthy of a purchase so far.
Alien Lord @ Jan 13th 2009 3:15PM
In the Pit is an awesome community game.
Mike @ Jan 13th 2009 3:16PM
http://checkyourhud.com/inteview-with-david-flock-developer-of-blow/
An interview w/ one of the two guys behind Blow - short, but a good read.
copa @ Jan 13th 2009 3:35PM
Thanks for the recommendation. I've tried blow, but the guy in the bathroom at the club never takes MS Points for payment.
Sir Buzz Killington( The Artist formerly known as Jakka) @ Jan 13th 2009 3:38PM
Did you try to double his entendre?
Mike @ Jan 13th 2009 3:09PM
ACK!! Where'd my profile go?????
Mike @ Jan 13th 2009 3:10PM
nvm - it's back - it was scary seeing the default mario head where my sprite should have been, along with "no profile found for this user" on my profile page, lol. All better now.
Lionbacker @ Jan 13th 2009 4:34PM
Crisis averted.
ChooChooCharlie @ Jan 13th 2009 3:15PM
Speaking of Community Games, where the hell is Dishwasher: Dead Samurai? I thought it was pretty much finished when the XNA beta was out.
Alien Lord @ Jan 13th 2009 3:16PM
Is this better then Braid cause that one was boring.
Readme @ Jan 13th 2009 3:27PM
Yeah, no aliens.
Scott @ Jan 13th 2009 3:24PM
Re: good Community games
Check out CarneyVale: Showtime. Awesome little game.
heavyness @ Jan 13th 2009 3:43PM
+1 CarneyVale: Showtime. good game.
Lee @ Jan 13th 2009 3:26PM
Oh this is rich. First the Joystiq staff go all snuggly with that mental person who locked himself in a room to make a game, but at the same time they're accusing this of being a Braid clone. Y'know despite the art style or gameplay style.
Use handdrawn art in a platformer and suddenly it's Braid?
Readme @ Jan 13th 2009 3:27PM
It's very dangerous to speak in a sensible manner round here, Lee. Watch yourself.
Ludwig Kietzmann @ Jan 13th 2009 3:48PM
Here's another accusation: I don't think you read the post.
Readme @ Jan 13th 2009 4:32PM
The title of the article remains, however.
McWeen @ Jan 13th 2009 3:32PM
I still want somebody to remake Custer's Revenge in 3D for the arcade.
Sir Buzz Killington( The Artist formerly known as Jakka) @ Jan 13th 2009 3:37PM
Now here's a true indie game.
Spending 600k on a full-blown art masterpiece is not indie.
I'm glad we got over the difference.
Tune in tomorrow for more flamewars like 'They're vs Their' and 'US Football vs EU Football'!
Lee @ Jan 13th 2009 6:28PM
Shirley you mean Everyone-but-the-US football and US football?
CrashSpyro123 @ Jan 13th 2009 7:21PM
Why are you so discriminatory to the Canadian Football League?
Markez (Anti-Panda Death Murder Squadron) @ Jan 13th 2009 8:35PM
I hear Doug Flutie is a hero in Canada.
Metal Gear!? @ Jan 13th 2009 3:45PM
I didn't read the whole story before looking at the pictures and the first game that came to my mind was Dizzy. I think the Braid comment is pretty stupid.
Like that one guy said, just because it has hand drawn graphics, you label it as similar to Braid?
Carnyvale(Vale whatever) is fun, but I don't think I'll ever buy a community game unless it is 200 points. In the Pit is also cool, but I don't have surround at home. Weapon of Choice seemed cool, but the trial was too short to make a purchase decision.
I do like Hexothermic, I might get that one of these days, if it is only 200.
Vcize @ Jan 13th 2009 5:24PM
So what you're saying is that you read the comment by the guy who was told off for thinking what you thought and not reading the article, and still didn't feel the desire to read the article yourself before making the same comment?
Interesting.
yyr @ Jan 13th 2009 5:59PM
The trial time for Community Games was originally 4 minutes. Since then, it's been extended to 8 minutes, so you may want to give it another go if you didn't try the game recently.
Metal Gear!? @ Jan 13th 2009 7:14PM
No, I did end up reading the whole thing. I just meant that to even think "Braid" when you take a glimpse at it seems stupid. I was just saying that I hadn't read the whole thing before looking at the picturesand that Dizzy came to my mind before I read that the developers compared it to Dizzy.
I didn't think I had to spell it out, j-a-c-k-a-s-s.
Metal Gear!? @ Jan 13th 2009 7:16PM
Oh, yyr, if that is indeed true for all games, I will check it out again. Thank you.