The combat in Jekyll & Hyde is both silly and frustrating. Most
enemies can be dispatched by a single hit from Jekyll's cane or Hyde's
fists. In spite of this, the attack key doesn't always seem to register
properly, and this delay often results in the enemy getting in a free hit or two
against you. The AI is terrible and enemies will sometimes walk right past
you or stop attacking and turn their backs to you. Often you'll enter a
room, walk up behind an enemy, and dispatch him with a whack of your cane.
At other times you'll find yourself attacked repeatedly by an enemy hidden
around a corner. As a result, a lot of the fighting in the game is either
pointless or an exercise in frustration.
Jekyll & Hyde calls itself an action/adventure game, but fans of this
genre on computers will find that it does not really live up to this
billing. The game plays much more like a run of the mill console game,
where collecting items and moving from one platform jumping sequence to the next
is the game's mainstay. Sometimes these types of games can be enjoyable on
video game consoles, but they make poor excuses for PC adventure games,
especially when crippled by major control issues.
The game's frustrating points are further confounded by the way game saves
are implemented. The game can be saved at any point, but when a game is
restored, play begins at the last checkpoint passed by the player, which is
usually the beginning of the level. Saving after completing a difficult
series of jumps does you no good if you get killed soon afterwards, as you may
easily find yourself back at the beginning again. This coupled with the
fact that your character is only given a small amount of health and
health-restoring items are few and far between, means that far too many levels
will need to be replayed ad naseum.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 26%.
An interesting premise and unique look are completely neutered by terrible
control and frustrating gameplay.
System Requirements: 400 MHz Pentium II CPU; 64 MB RAM; 8 MB
Video RAM; 12x CD-ROM; Mouse.
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