Publisher: Blitz Arcade
Developer: Binary Tweed
System Requirements: Windows XP SP2 or above, 2 GHz CPU, 1 GB RAM, DirectX 9.0c-compatible graphics card with Shader Model 2.0 support, DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card, 500 MB hard-drive space
Genre: Platformer
Release date: Available now

I don’t own an Xbox 360, so I’m not really cognizant of the independent game content available from the XNA community. In fact, I had to look up XNA and its relation to the Xbox before writing this review. The reason is that Clover: A Curious Tale is an independent game ported from the Xbox to the PC. It got some buzz last year for being one of the better XNA offerings. Reworking the original game with more content, Binary Tweed is hoping that PC gamers will find something worth an investment of time and money in Clover.

To call Clover a puzzle game is to ignore what’s really going on in the game’s mechanics and design. Blitz 1Up calls it a “political platform puzzler,” but that doesn’t really give a good description. Clover utilizes classic puzzle gameplay elements, combines them with a well done piano score and some beautiful watercolor art (the screenshots do not do it justice, trust me), and attempts to present you with a politically motivated story. While it would be going too far to say that Clover is a political propaganda tool, within moments of starting the game its persuasive elements are clearly at work.

The story is about Sam, a young lad whose mother has been killed in an attack upon his home country. As he explores his world and tries to find information about his mother’s death, he encounters the varied residents of his homeland and its culture. The fact that his country has instituted a number of annoying and repressive security measures, many of which become wrapped up in the puzzles he must solve, illustrates the political motive of the game right from the beginning. Solving the puzzles involves finding objects, using them in various ways to help people, and opening areas that are previously inaccessible. This includes the standard puzzle-solving tropes we have come to expect from this sort of game.

But Clover also uses side-scrolling run-and-jump gameplay that reminds me of the original Super Mario Brothers. There are no lethal enemies to avoid, but some important objects are only accessible while exploring the world and running or jumping to reach certain places. In fact, there are no lethal components to the game at all. The worst penalty you suffer is being thrown in jail when you violate the law, a common occurrence your first time through as you get a feel for what is appropriate. As it’s a simple matter to just walk out of prison and continue your adventure, the less-than-lethal law enforcement serves primarily as a gatekeeper for certain areas of the map. You are free to explore and solve puzzles at your own pace, with only minimal interference from outside influences.

As I played Clover, I found myself enamored with the game’s presentation and format, but some gameplay elements are a bit quirky. Sam’s inventory is very limited. While this might have been deemed necessary by the designers to make the puzzles work, I found it annoying that I had to dump items I found around the map and keep notes on where I left them. Even with expanded inventory buffs gained after completing certain quests, I found it less than immersive to go retracing my steps to grab the item I needed to solve a puzzle. I also would’ve liked a bit more in-game indication that finding newspapers is critical to the plot; even after finding your first newspaper, it’s not clear that the only way to advance the plot and open up the multiple endings is through the newspapers.

In spite of these issues, I found my experience with Clover: A Curious Tale to be a pleasant one. Even as I write this, I’m not sure how I want to view the political elements of the game, but I didn’t feel clubbed over the head with polemics. The relaxed gameplay will certainly not be for everyone, but gamers looking for something different should least check out the demo and perhaps pick up a copy. Clover is priced at $9.95 and is available at a variety of online outlets.

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