We received a copy of Chronos Twins from our good friends over @ Oxygen Games,  firstly i thought “Oh no not another platformer” but thought i would give it the benefit of the doubt. And was i right to do so? you better keep reading to find out :).

Chronos Twins incorporates time travel as you explore two different dimensions. This is a retro side-scrolling shooter with a difference, gameplay is split onto both screens of the DS, one is the past and the other present.

First of all the opening story seemed long winded until i actually started to read it where it gives you some great background knowledge of what the actual game is about and the main storyline.

“The planet Skyla is under alien invasion from an invincible, nameless enemy. This mysterious enemy cannot be defeated due to its ability to physically exist in both the past and the present at the same time. During the invasion Nash, one of the Llhedar race inhabiting the planet, is killed and his brother Nec is chosen to defeat the enemy and avenge his brother’s death. The Llhedar race are known for their psychic powers and being persistent in completing their goals, no matter the danger involved. This is why Nec is chosen for the mission by the Wise, the sages of Skyla who have invented the Dual Time machine allowing travel to two time dimensions at once. ”

Armed with this knowledge i pushed on into the game, to begin with I played Nash, and as the text above says i got annialated by the being. After this and a few cut scenes later i’m back at it as Nash’s brother Nec, it was after this that the fun really started first of all it uses one screen at a time easy gently getting me into the game with its very easy learning curve. Then both screens, slowly easing me into using both screens simultatiously, (which is no mean feat when your used to just gaming on one screen, and of course i am a bloke and am unable to multitask )  As soon as i hit level 2 the fun started when you have to really concentrate on both screens to get anywhere in the game, i lost count of the times i lost concentration and ended up shouting at the DS in frustration, with people in the office kinda looking at me funny thinking i am insane… :)

After a while the game is unforgiving in the way that if you use continues and have only 1 life you get sent back to a far away check point and have to do all the hard section again, but to be honest is great as it brought me down a peg or two. I thought I was good at platformers but reprogramming my head to watch the same character on TWO screens simultaniously is seriously hard work.

During the game you come across various ”beings” the main first one kills off Nash, then lots of lil gelatinous “non moving” beings that fire out green maggot like creatures that chase after you, these are kinda fun when they are appearing on both screens at once forcing you to be aware of both screens. 

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I am currently on Level 6 of 15… And I am thoroughly enjoying the game, With its retro feel and fantastic gameplay.
A real big thanks goes out to Oxygen Games for giving me the privelage of playing this, lets hope that more games come out with such excellent gameplay.

Gameplay - 9/10 - Innovative fun, very intense, Two screen madness. 
Graphics - 6/10 - Nothing special but the gameplay makes up for it.
Sounds - 7/10 - Quite a nice set of retro sounds added to the playability
Overall - 8/10 - Well worth a buy, its a great concept of a game, Frustrating to the point of shouting, but the mind stretch is well worth it.