Evil Twin Cyprien's Chronicles Preview

After the success of cutesy titles like Rayman 2 and Tonic Trouble, Ubi Soft seems to be interested in walking down a different road. Although Rayman 3 is rumoured to be in the pipeline already, Rayman 2 developer In Utero wants to try its hand at something different. Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles was originally planned as an animated feature film, but has evolved into a video game. The game is based on surreal dreamworlds that bear resemblance to the skewed backdrops of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice or Nightmare Before Christmas.

The story is built around a young boy named Cyprien, who is celebrating his birthday when he is suddenly pulled into a parallel world filled with creatures from his nightmares. Cyprien is trapped in this world, and he can't return to reality until he's faced his worst nightmares directly. As such, he must travel to six different islands in search of the evil he must face. Each of the islands is filled with tasks, puzzles, enemies, and people he can interact with. Each island also has a boss who, when defeated, rewards Cyprien with either special abilities or more severe weaponry.

In the beginning of the game, you'll be equipped with only a slingshot and an unlimited ammo supply. You'll be able to choose between a subjective or objective view when you're aiming. The subjective view will switch to the first-person mode and let you shoot more accuractly. In the objective third-person view, the slingshot will automatically lock onto enemies who are close enough to be shot. You'll also be able to upgrade your slingshot throughout the course of the game. In addition to weapon upgrades, you'll also want to collect the game's other power-ups. While they haven't been named yet, the power-ups will be scattered about and will reward you with an extra life for collecting 100 of them. Other power-ups will let you save your game, gain extra lives, and regain lost health.

In his dream world, Cyprien has the ability to turn himself into Super Cyprien - a superpowered version of himself. If you collect enough power-ups, you'll be able to morph into this evil twin. When he's activated, you'll be almost invulnerable and will have new abilities and special powers. One of the more spectacular of his powers is the ionic plasma super ray beam, which kills everything it comes into contact with. While the beam attack is certainly impressive, it takes a great amount of energy each time it is used and quickly reduces the amount of time you can spend in your evil twin mode. A more practical weapon is the standard fireball. It's a ball of energy that is slightly more powerful than your slingshot but still behaves in much the same way. An interesting addition to this is the ability to freeze the game momentarily while the fireball is in midair. Seconds before the fireball strikes an enemy, you'll be able to freeze the game. Once this is done, the camera will swoop around the characters - delivering a Matrix-like feel - and pause, letting you redirect the fireball toward the proper target. Super Cyprien will also be able to use his powers to glide, which is helpful during a big jump.

Cyprien is a fairly agile little guy. He can jump, shoot, climb ladders or vertical roots, and swim. As the game progresses, you'll free some buddies, who will in turn give you special abilities or weapons. The first buddy you free will give Cyprien the ablity to shoot a climbing root. You'll be able to use the root to imprision enemies or to create a climbable beanstalk.

Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles will also offer some game options that will be opened if the console is connected to the Internet. You'll be able to receive cheat codes online if you collect enough bonuses. While there's been plenty of speculation, no other Internet modes have been confirmed to date. But the mixture of adventure, puzzle solving, and action, combined with the ability to talk to other characters over an Internet connection, could prove very interesting indeed.

If there's one thing French developer In Uetero is known for, it's the fantastic visuals employed in its games. Evil Twin continues that tradition with some of the most stunning graphics and lighting we've seen on the Dreamcast. If the game's gameplay and depth can match the outstanding graphical quality, you can bet Evil Twin will be a game of the same caliber as Rayman 2.