Gunman Clive HD Collection (Wii U eShop) Review

SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs will be posted tomorrow because tonight I have a second review planned to round out this month. First, however, let's return to the world of Hörberg Productions' Gunman Clive with his makeover in HD for the Wii U eShop. Here's my review of Gunman Clive HD Collection.

Two great games given a second time to shine in a higher definition spotlight

Bertil Hörberg and his small studio of Hörberg Productions might not be a household name by any stretch of the imagination, but don't write him off just because of that. Bertil has proven himself to be a highly capable developer with two Nintendo 3DS eShop releases under his belt, Gunman Clive and Gunman Clive 2. Not only were the games well designed, but the entry prices were so low that the games sold above expectations, particularly the original. Now, the games are making the jump from the small screen to big screen with Gunman Clive HD Collection for the Wii U eShop. For a handful of dollars, you get some of the finest run 'n gun games in recent memory, made better with high-definition assets and graphics.

I said reach for the sky, pardner. Not shoot for the sky.

For those who don't own a system of the Nintendo 3DS family or haven't played either Gunman Clive game, the games have a similar type of gameplay to Mega Man titles in their run 'n gun glory. You travel from location to location through linear levels where exploration takes a backseat to the action. Each level is devised of several rooms taking anywhere between 40-80 seconds to complete.

Draw!

Clive has the ability to pick up special guns which enhance his range, enable homing shots that target enemies, and unleash large bullets that leave big explosions in their wake. Having these special guns equipped helps out a lot during the levels, but the caveat is that with one hit you will lose the bonus.

Both games are brief rides from beginning to end, with Gunman Clive 2 being about double the length of the original. It's still less than an hour to complete the game. However, alternate characters and the pure joy of playing both games increases the amount of time you'll spend with the games exponentially. There are multiple difficulties for players to ease into the game-- with the Easy difficulty giving you a larger health bar to work with, as well as falling into a bottomless pit or a bed of spikes not automatically meaning you fail the level. Although levels lack checkpoints, them being so quick in length means you won't be cursing the folks at Hörberg Productions for dying over and over, which is quite possible to do as both Gunman Clive games can be quite challenging.

Alternate playable characters make for a different experience
when running through a familiar duo of games.

It also helps that both games are excellent for speed-running not only because they're so short, but also because they have such a satisfying flow and brilliant pacing to them. The variety of level hazards, enemies, and interesting level mechanics means you're always experiencing something new, whether it's riding on the back of a raging triceratops as you duck and jump over hazards or going all Donkey Kong Country with a fast-paced mine cart ride. There are odes to other games, such as what I assume inspired part of the gameplay of both games, Mega Man-- especially with Gravity Man level-style walls of gravity and disappearing and reappearing blocks.

There are some major differences between the original Gunman Clive and its sequel. One of these is that the original Gunman Clive uses the same range of tan, orange, and beige colors in its art style for the entire game, while Gunman Clive 2 opens up the amount of colors considerably, making for more variation for the eyes. Additionally, Gunman Clive 2 features several levels that take Clive out of his running and gunning preferences and puts him in control of a ship and a horse in behind-the-back 3D segments. While these remain as fun as they were in the 3DS version of Gunman Clive 2, the lack of any type of 3D means you can't rely on depth perception to avoid obstacles and enemies. It's a small issue, but an issue nonetheless.

The lack of stereoscopic 3D can make these sections a bit tricky.
Not impossible, but tricky.

Gunman Clive HD Collection runs at a steady frame-rate, and the moving sketchbook-like art style looks absolutely fantastic in high-definition. The colors pop on an HD screen, especially Gunman Clive 2's extravagant range of colors when compared to the original. The music of both games is remarkably well done, offering catchy and hum-able melodies that never get grating to the ears. Off-TV play is available for both games, and selecting which of the two games to play is as simple as moving the d-pad from one game to the other on the main menu. You can easily back out from one game's title menu to the game selection menu.

Don't get hit by this T-Rex, Clive, or you'll end up dino-sore!

With an absolute certainty I recommend the Gunman Clive HD Collection, especially if you've never played either game before. The low cost of entry should seal the deal for most potential buyers. If you've played both games to death already, then there is not much to make them worth returning to, even for the $4 price tag and the upgraded visuals. Still, Gunman Clive 1 and 2 are excellent games that have a new opportunity to capture a new audience in Wii U owners.

[SPC Says: B+]

Review copy provided by Hörberg Productions.

Gunman Clive 2 (3DS eShop) Review

It's already time for the first review of February, and as stated last week, SuperPhillip Central is now on a new grading scale system. My first game using this new letter grade review system is Gunman Clive 2 for the Nintendo 3DS eShop. Grab your six-shooter, pardner, and get ready for a good time!

Yee-Haw!

Gunman Clive was an unexpected hit and success story on the Nintendo 3DS eShop, one of the most prolific victories for the marketplace yet. It outsold the release on mobile devices and did well for the developer. What makes the story even more fascinating is that the game, other than the music, was created by one person, Bertil Hörberg. Rather than just resting on his laurels, Hörberg returns us to the world of Gunman Clive with a full-fledged sequel with amazing additions and spruced up mechanics, making Gunman Clive 2 a must-own for action fans.

Gunman Clive 2 contains the similar formula of the original. It is a retro-styled shooter and platform along the likes of games like Mega Man, only set in a Wild West world. Clive can shoot (picking up power-ups that can expand his firepower), jump, and crouch through the 25 levels in the game that contain a myriad of trials and challenges for him to overcome. From a castle with its own areas of directional gravity, sending Clive walking on walls and ceilings, to a Donkey Kong Country-inspired trek aboard a mine cart, riding through hazardous sections of track, Gunman Clive 2 offers plenty of level variety. They display a grand amount of evolution compared to the original.

Those varmints picked the wrong day
to mess with Gunman Clive's town.

This evolution continues into the boss encounters as well, showing off more complicated bosses, attack patterns, and means to defeat them. Whether it's a massive Tyrannosaurus Rex that chases our hero or a distinguished gentleman with requisite top hat and monocle, utilizing the game's gravity mechanic to dodge and defeat him, these bosses are definitely a step up from what we saw in the original Gunman Clive. Heck, the final boss is not only a great encounter, but it's also one of the more creative battles in years in how you scale the robotic beast to beat him.

Open wide for Gunman Clive!

Outside of standard 2D run-and-gun left-to-right affairs, Gunman Clive 2 splits up the action with special levels. For instance, one has Clive on an aircraft with a behind-the-back view as he shoots down enemy balloons and flies through rocky archways. Another level features Clive on horseback, riding through along a desert road, dodging boulders, dealing with fellow horseback riders, and leaping over obstructions in the road.

Ah... Sunglasses! I knew I forgot to pack something!

Gunman Clive 2 offers three difficulties, which alter how much health you are given to work with. There is no lives system in the game. When you die, you start from the beginning of the current stage. As levels are mostly short, death isn't that huge of a penalty. It's only later levels that are more lengthy that this can become annoying, especially levels with several "gotcha" moments, where you'll die simply because of a lack of reaction and response time to a specific obstacle. One such case is a falling platform that drops into the abyss. You have to have the reaction time of Sonic the Hedgehog to leap to the necessary platform in order to survive. There are more moments like this than I would have liked, but once they have been learned, the levels become easier to complete.

Gunman Clive's adventure takes him
all around the world.

There are four playable characters in Gunman Clive 2. The titular hero is the first, with Ms. Johnson being the second. Her Princess Peach-like ability to float in midair temporarily makes otherwise very challenging jumps more plausible. Then there is Chieftain Bob, who is the most difficult character to play as, as he can only utilize melee attacks via his spear. This takes learning enemy attack patterns a must in order to get close enough to take the appropriate number of shots on a given foe. The final character needs to be unlocked, and those who played and enjoyed the original Gunman Clive can probably guess who the character is and how much it changes up how Gunman Clive 2 is played.

Like Gunman Clive, Gunman Clive features a very satisfying art style that is reminiscent of an animated wanted poster, full of squiggling lines on the foreground and background. Unlike the original, however, Gunman Clive 2 isn't relegated to one color scheme. Instead, each level presents a different scheme, showing off an abundance of color used rather than the orange, brown, and beige that the original game only offered. The character models are a sight to behold, and the animations are fantastic as well. The music is also quite impressive, featuring a wealth of engaging music that you can catch yourself humming to. Overall, Gunman Clive 2 is a delight presentation-wise.

It's total panda-monium here!

Gunman Clive 2 is just wholly a plain delight. The side-scrolling 2D run-and-gun action is executed beautifully, the level and boss designs have evolved to be more interesting from the original, and the presentation is simply put, dazzling. It's astonishing that one person did the lion's share of development for this game. Gunman Clive 2 isn't a perfect game-- it's short and has some frustrating "gotcha" moments in its level design-- but it's a magnificent display of pure action gaming with a wondrous coat of paint.

[SPC Says: B]

Review copy provided by Hörberg Productions.