Previous Next

Apparently there was this sacred amulet that was stolen by the evil druid, Maldur. And legend said that the last surviving Cariken, who went by the name of Ulopa, would retrieve the amulet thus restoring peace and prosperity to the land. So Maldur used up his remaining power in trying to destroy the amulet but only succeeded in breaking it up into twenty-three pieces. So Ulopa has to reassemble it whilst trying to evade the druid's vile minions. And that's where you come in.

The game is divided into five-level segments. After four levels in one scenario type a bonus level appears in which you can collect extra weapons and credits. This continues until each piece of the amulet has been collected. Then and only then do you get to travel through the heartland to do battle with the evil druid. If by the time you reach this stage, you have not amassed the maximum amount of weaponry, the fight against evil will be all but lost.

Initially you have three very similar weapons at your disposal in the form of types of orb which behave in different ways when you throw them. Deciding which type to use in a given situation is what much of the game is about.

Monsters are not impressive in their abundance but each type performs a different kind of attack and has been positioned to serve a very specific strategic role. In many parts of the game, it is vital to know a creature's attack method and how to combat it, in order to progress through a sub-section which might otherwise be missed. There are eight creatures in all: the Goulou which simply ploughs into you, the Green Goulou which is much more cunning, the Argous which vary in intelligence and either fly around randomly or make a beeline for you, the Gobe-Mouches which are, in effect, crocodiles, the Othous (not so much an evil creature as a spiky bringer of haphazard death), the Bothria which fragments into four pieces when shot at, the arboreal Hiboussa which leaps from trees and finally the Boa, a large tree snake who sways menacingly then bites you to death. Non-biological hazards include fiery pits, vertical flame-throwers which threaten to toast your buns, and large statues which kill you for no apparent reason.

Each time you kill one of these social outcasts, a bonus item appears. Most of the time it'll just be an extra credit but now and again you get extra lives, springs to make your jump higher, extra time or flutes. Flutes are used to summon magicians who can sell you items that may be of use in exchange for the credits you've picked up. There are other bonuses available which we have still to discover for ourselves. Don't you just love a mystery?

Twinworld gets more and more complex, requiring a huge amount of puzzle solving and map making. The sprites are excellent. When your character changes direction, he skids to a halt Chaplin-style, turns around then continues on his way. The disappointment with Twinworld comes from the lack of variety early on. While you travel through complex castles and underwater levels later on, the first eight sections are all much the same. That said, Twinworld is a highly playable and highly recommended game.

1. Excellent animation, especially on the main character.
2. Small number of strategically designed and placed enemies makes the puzzle element brain-teasing but not repetitive
3. Layout of levels ensures you'll be puzzling over some of them for a very long time.
4. Wide variety of collectable bonuses means you never get bored of the challenge.
5. Movement of character and generally addictive gameplay ensures a long-lasting interest.
6. Well weird weaponry.

1. Early levels use similar graphics.
2. Insufficient increase in difficulty on first few levels.