Kid Klown in Crazy Chase

"Perhaps I would have liked it ten years ago."

Introduction
Kid Klown in Crazy Chase is an unresponsive, frustrating game that wasn't one of Kemco's greatest ideas. Admittedly, it did harbor a whole new kind of action/platforming, but it didn't succeed all too well. Kudos to it for trying something new, but it really didn't work out. Also, this game has absolutely no universal appeal, because it seems to be targeted towards preschoolers with its goofy graphics and basic story.

Story- 4/10
Well, apparently some evil villain named Blackjack has kidnapped the princess of the Klown World, which is run by King Klown. And then, for some reason, the King appoints some klutz named Kid Klown to save her (which makes absolutely NO sense). So our hero hops onto his spaceship and—whoops, uh oh—presses the self-destruct button. So now, for some reason, you've landed safely and now your mission is to run down a hill. …yeah. So, as you can see, the story seriously lacks in originality and creativity and brings really nothing interesting to the gamer.

Gameplay and Control- 1/10
ARG. That sums up the gameplay and controls. ARG. Why? Because you will be so frustrated that ARG will begin to issue from your mouth every few seconds. The angle of play is very strange, as you view your character coming in a diagonal line from the upper left corner to the lower right. Blackjack lights a fuse and you have to run down a long, dangerous course in order to prevent the bomb from going off. You guide Kid Klown through an obstacle course of stray banana peels, puddles of water, hazardous spikes, etc. Now, you may think that sounds easy….but it's not. Not at all. First, it is extremely difficult to get Kid to move where you want him to. The unresponsive control makes you move too far to the left, or too far up, which wastes a lot of your time since, for some ridiculous reason, you aren't allowed to move backwards.

Controlling the character is a chore, but not nearly as much of a chore as the collecting you are forced to do. In every level, hanging balloons are scattered, waiting for you to jump up to them and grab what's inside. Hidden in these balloons are a spade, heart, diamond, and club. And you have to collect them ALL. That's right. You have to find each one and, if you miss one, too bad, because you can't move backwards. You'll be forced to look through every balloon, desperately trying not to miss one. And some even have bombs in them. Yipee. If you don't get them all, you get message that comes up, saying, “Not again!” because you have to start all the way at the beginning. What fun. Another downpoint of the gameplay (yes, there's more) is that when you fall into one of the obstacles, you won't get to move again for a long, long time. I'm guessing 50% of the game is you waiting for the Kid to recover from his strange accidents. If you land in a puddle, you have to spend a lot of time watching him dry himself off. Or if you get caught in a bush, you'll be spending the next ten seconds watching him jump around like an idiot. Patience doesn't even begin to describe what you'll need to get through this game without chucking your controller at the wall in frustration.

Music and Sound- 6/10
The music is clown-like, perky, up-beat, and gets annoying after a while. There's really nothing left to say about it. The sound is pretty good and realistic, especially the water splashes.

Graphics- 7/10
This is probably the game's best point, though it would probably appeal to my 5-year old brother more than it would to me. It's not that they're not done well, its just that half the images are made up of cute, colorful images that I'd expect to see in a nursery rhyme book. The graphics are well done, just not my style.

Replay Value- 2/10
Well, playing it through the first time wasn't much fun, so what would make the second or third time any better? Really, this game has very little replay value and, after the first time beating it, you may just keep it in your collection for a day when you are extremely bored.

Rent or Buy?
If you really want to try this game out, rent, but I don't know of many retailers that rent these kinds of games out. Anyway, if you can, borrow or rent it from someone, because once you play the first few levels you'll realize why I gave this game a four out of ten.

Closing
This game did open up a whole new level of gameplay, but new does not necessarily mean good. And that's the case with this game. It tried something new, but did not succeed as it had hoped. The gameplay is more frustrating than anyone could imagine, the controls will enrage you to no end, and the music and graphics are nothing to go ga-ga over. Get this game for nostalgia purposes only, because I can see myself liking it ten years ago, but now...no.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 06/19/06