Game Reviews

Chrono&Cash

Star onStar onStar onStar offStar off
Get
Chrono&Cash

OrangePixel is a studio with a clear penchant for the classic games of yesteryear.

It has released several games - including Meganoid and Stardash - which wouldn't look out of place on the Game Boy or SNES, so it should come as no great shock to learn that its latest opus retains a similar visual style.

However, it's not just the pixel-heavy 2D graphics in Chrono&Cash that hark back to a bygone age - the simplistic but challenging gameplay also feels like it has come from two decades ago.

Cash and carry

Chrono&Cash is all about collecting swag to complete each level. The stages - which range from bank vaults to Mayan temples - are littered with desirable commodities.

It's your job to leap from platform to plaform picking up these treasures, all the while avoiding the attentions of guards hell-bent on stopping you in your tracks. One touch from these hostile individuals and you lose a life. Lose all three and it's Game Over.

There's no way of fighting back in Chrono&Cash, so you have to rely solely on your reflexes and your character's nifty double-jump move, which allows him to reach difficult platforms.

Enemies appear from doors. You get a warning in the form of a yellow exclamation mark when one of these appears, whereupon you need to make sure you're as far away from that particular door as possible.

Although Chrono&Cash features varied locations and lots of different enemies, the core gameplay remains the same throughout. You're essentially chasing a high score, and the game reminds you of the importance of bragging by the fact that it attempts to auto-post your last score to Twitter at the conclusion of each game.

Like a thief in the night

If you're not the kind of person who revels in besting your previous score, then Chrono&Cash will lose its appeal quite swiftly.

Although there are achievement-style tasks to unlock and additional costumes to acquire, the game is relatively shallow - it's all about gunning for that personal score. While this isn't a bad thing in itself, it does limit the game's long-term prospects.

One big advantage this Xperia Play version has over the vanilla Android download is the introduction of physical controls, which do a great deal to enliven the experience. Later levels require deft reflexes and pixel-perfect precision, and as a result the Xperia Play's slide-out gaming pad provides the ideal interface.

Still, even improved controls can't fix the inherent problems that hold this game back from true greatness.

If you're a fan of old skool gaming, then you might be willing to forgive the brevity of the experience and embrace the finger-friendly arcade action that lies within, but the fact of the matter is that Chrono&Cash is too light on ideas and too heavy on repetition.

Chrono&Cash

Instantly appealing but quite limited in scope, Chrono&Cash seeks to emulate the coin-hungry arcade titles of the '80s, and is mostly successful. Just don’t expect it to keep you occupied for a long period of time
Score
Damien  McFerran
Damien McFerran
Damien's mum hoped he would grow out of playing silly video games and gain respectable employment. Perhaps become a teacher or a scientist, that kind of thing. Needless to say she now weeps openly whenever anyone asks how her son's getting on these days.