Chameleon Twist

"Sigh... another platformer.."

Ah, what a strange game. The box art quickly caught my attention – interesting name, a chameleon that looks nothing like a chameleon, and bright colourful art. Chameleon Twist is a simple platformer – you’re a chameleon that has an extra long tongue. You have special moves. You run around the stages solving puzzles and defeating enemies. But that’s the one player mode - there's also an awesome multiplayer mode. All of these things make this game not bad, unique and fun. It's different from the average platformer, in a good way. There's quite a bit of variety in the one player game and the multiplayer will have you coming back for more - but even with all this, the game isn’t so great. Rent this game over a weekend to see if it's the kind of game you like. Whew…

If Chameleon Twist were worked on for a few months longer – it would’ve helped a lot. The game has a rushed feel – the one-player mode won’t last very long. Even Multiplayer won’t appeal to everyone because of the lack of variety. I believe Chameleon Twist could’ve been a lot more – something to break through the monotony of ‘me too’ 3D platformers. But, it didn’t. Bosses are fun to face – but too easy. The puzzles are no challenge at all and boring. But you have to remember this game is aimed towards kids who have no gaming skill. Sigh…

The graphcis are standard – bright and colourful ‘happy’ graphics. Dancing cookies, and cartoon insects are within CT’s arsenal. This is really one of the ‘cutesy’ games – which I have no problem with, it all comes down to gameplay. As I said earlier, Sunsoft coul’ve done so much more with this one – maybe the sequel improved over this? Maybe I should check it out. On the other hand I really like the box art – it caught my eye and got interested. I know I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover – but I read the back and it sounded like something I’d like. Gah…

Kooky, upbeat music inhabit the world of Chameleon Twist. Music is easily forgettable, and the sound effects are average at best. That’s all there is to say for such simple audio. But then again, high-quality music and sound effects are hard to come by when playing N64 3D platformers. Doo doo doo…

Don’t buy this game on the spot unless you have kids that are developing their video game talent. Rent it over a weekend, and chances are you’ll get bored of it quick. Unlike great platformers such as Mario 64, Banjo Kazooie (sp?), and Rocket – Chameleon Twist doesn’t provide a challenge, a long-lasting adventure, or multiplayer satisfaction. CT was a good try – but I can see that not enough effort was put into it.

***
Sushi’s Quick Sheet™

Gameplay : Not bad. Could’ve been better.
Graphics : Bright, colourful – nothing spectacular.
Controls : Just fine.
Music : Blah
Sound : Average at best.
Multiplayer : Somewhat disappointing
Replay value : Not much to come back for.
Overall : Probably best suited for kids.wer's Sc
***

Scores
Gameplay : 7
Graphics : 6.5
Controls : 10
Sound : 5.5
Music : 2.5
Replay : 4
Overall : 5.5

Sushi says : “A title that had potential… but did nothing with it. And I'm sorry this review is so short - I couldn't think of much to say about this one.''

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 06/13/00, Updated 06/13/00