Constant C Review‏

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Have you ever met one of those really intelligent people, the kind that clearly has something interesting to say, but delivers it in the kind of monotonous, dull drone that invariably leaves the subject matter feeling dry and unappealing? Contast C feels a bit like that. This is a game that, while technically interesting, is artistically a complete bore. Developer, IGS have clearly put the work in and nothing about this game ever feels lazy or broken, it’s just, well, unappealing is the word that comes to mind.

It all starts from the title – Constant C. I was put off before I even knew what the game was. It’s a terrible name, and not in the weird kind of way that Bravely Default is either. At least that grabs your attention in the so crazy it’s interesting kind of way. No such joy with, Constant C though. Nope, just a boring title for what really is a rather boring game.

Not everyone will agree with me of course; I’m sure that some out there will click with the games’ ambient soundtrack, simple aesthetic and cartoon character design, but for me, nothing worked. I kept telling myself that individual aspects of the audio/visual design weren’t all that bad (and that might well be the case), but as a whole, Constant C delivers a drab and uninteresting experience. A real shame as the core gameplay and key hook are both rather solid.

There’s nothing genuinely fantastic to be found here, but while the platforming itself is a bit too floaty for my tastes (think LittleBigPlanet rather than Super Mario), the basics work just fine and the time (4th dimension) based puzzles are actually rather clever.

As a vaguely cute, but ultimately forgettable robot, you are tasked with returning the memory to the spaceship’s A.I. who, beyond talking far too much, has the ability to bring normal time back to the mysteriously empty, but again, ultimately forgettable spaceship that you find yourself on. Collecting storage devices throughout a collection of challenge rooms, the aim is to fix the A.I. and bring time and normality back to the ship.

Each stage is split up into a number of rooms with each room housing its own unique time or gravity based puzzle. Again, these puzzles, which are usually built around the 4th dimensional time field surrounding your robot all work well enough for the most part, and when combined with the changing gravity, can deliver a decent cerebral workout. This field brings everything it touches back into normal time which, in gameplay terms, means that you can get boxes to drop down when you are close enough to them. It’s obviously more elaborate than that, but that’s the crux of the experience. The field, in combination with the ever changing gravity allows for a smart combination of platforming and puzzle solving that would have been so much more fun if it weren’t for the borefest built around them.

The character design isn’t too bad, but the space station is horribly forgettable while the dialogue, in its vain attempts at comedy, fall horribly flat throughout. The music too; it just doesn’t work. It’s just kind of there. Everything about it is just kind of there. There is an attempt at a bit of back story, and the character design in these flashbacks are actually the best that the game has to offer, it’s just a shame that these moments of charm don’t find their way into the actual gameplay.

Constant C delivers solid game design throughout and plenty of interesting and often quite clever challenges. It’s just a shame that the packaging diverts from what is an otherwise solid puzzle-platformer. Obviously, personal taste will play a major part in your opinion, but I consistently struggled to find excitement in a world that I found so consistently boring. If you’re just looking for a competent puzzle-platformer to pass the time, Constant C will certainly do the trick, just don’t go expecting anything one might consider memorable.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Microsoft Xbox 360 code was provided to Bonus Stage for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to press@4gn.co.uk.

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