Glover

"The best 3D Platformer ever."

Alright, let me be honest. I've played a lot of 3D platformers. There were two I enjoyed: Glover and Sonic Adventure. Of the two, Glover is more fun, in my opinion.

Graphics 10/10
Today they aren't as impressive, but when this was released, it was outstanding. These graphics are very good. The draw in is infrequent. Also, both the characters and the backgrounds are detailed and polished. The motions are all fluid. It's great. The only problems, those with the camera, are easily fixed by occasionally rotating it manually with the C buttons. Although these graphics aren't terribly realistic, they don't try to be, and instead try to be both cute and surreal. They also succeed.

Sound 10/10
Sure, the tunes aren't terribly loud, and are rather tranquil. This is brilliant though. The entire game is sedate, and the music fits... like a glove. :Þ I personally also enjoy the sound effects and Glover's lines.

Control 10/10
The control is very simple and responsive. There is absolutely no learning curve whatsoever in this game, which is great. Bad control, after all, ruins a game.

Story 10/10
A wizard kept some crystals on his house to protect it. One day, while he was mixing chemicals, something went wrong. One glove, Glover, landed outside safely. The other fell into the potion and became evil. Glover turned the balls into rubber balls so they wouldn't break. Sadly, they bounced everywhere. Glover has to recover them and stop the evil glove, who now intends to take over the world.

Mood 10/10
I like this a lot. It's rather sedate, but there are some serious tests of your ability and mobility. The cute feel of it only enhances the experience. I mean, come on, imagine if they tried to make this game serious. It would be terrible. Might be funny, but it'd be terrible. Also, the animations for when you lose the ball are some of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life.

Gameplay 10/10
As I said, the game is sedate, yet has some serious tests of skill. There actually aren't too many enemies. I look at this as a good thing, as it allows more focus on escorting the ball safely, rather than taking out enemies. The clever puzzles really make you think. The game has fairly small courses, but the challenges expand the game a lot. You will die many times, but somehow you won't mind. It reminds me of Contra or Donkey Kong Country. Very few games use blistering difficulty to the advantage of the game, but this game does.

Challenge Very High
I've had this game for around two years and I'm still not halfway through...

Buy/Rent/Ignore
It's only $7 now... I paid $50. Ah well, I've had it for more time! :Þ

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/24/01, Updated 12/24/02