- Theme:
- Light
- Dark
 |
Sony PlayStation
Clay Fighter X-Treme
Platform: PlayStation
Publisher: Interplay
Developer: Interplay
 Click to enlarge |
The Basics
Those with fond recollections of Interplay's twin 16-bit satires of the fighting genre, Clay Fighter and sequel C2: Judgment Clay, almost had cause to celebrate, with Clay Fighter X-Treme. Was this to be old-time stop-motion animation artist Ray (King Kong, Jason & The Argonauts) Harryhausen's dream…or nightmare? We'll never know.
 Click to enlarge |
Originally planned for Matsushita's vaporware 64-bit gaming system, Interplay's onetime "Clay Fighter 3" was transformed into two virtually identical games on two quite disparate systems: Clay Fighter 63 1/3 for the Nintendo 64 and Clay Fighter X-Treme for the Sony PlayStation. Why was Clay Fighter popular enough to justify an update? Silly as the concept seemed, Clay Fighter was popular with parents who found malleable, bloodless clay far less offensive than the familiar "spine ripping" sights seen in some fighting games.
 Click to enlarge |
What made these titles exciting, though, was that Interplay took the fighting game aspects of the series seriously. While the latest Clay Fighter remained a 2D fighter, new elements such as 3D polygonal backgrounds, unconventional sight gag special moves, and breakthrough walls updated the game. The title also boasted an entirely new fighting engine, which Interplay touted as being as complex as any of the top fighters (the old games were based on a more simplistic, side-scrolling engine).
 Click to enlarge |
The story began in the sleepy burg of Muddville, where a meteor crashed down outside the town limits, spilling forth a sea of green claymutagen upon impact. The town then went "clazy;" buildings, people, and animals turned into animated clay. To make matters worse, the local community college professor, Dr. Kiln, became horribly evil and began creating powerful, mutant clay servants. The game picked up in a brand new locale (the mysterious "Klaymodo Isle"), and from there the battle began for Clayfighter 63 1/3 and would've begun for X-Treme.
 Click to enlarge |
The cast combined a mix of new characters and old favorites. There were four returning characters: Ickybod Clay, a crazy scarecrow; Bad Mr. Frosty, who's heart was as black as a Cola Slushee (well, OK, dark brown); Bonker, an insane clown minus his posse; and Taffy, a circus expatriate who had a score to settle with Bonker. There were new characters planned as well: Dr. Kiln, the often-mentioned but never before seen evil genius who planned to turn the entire world into clay; High Five, Dr. Kiln's severed hand, which took on a grisly, mutated life of its own; and LockJaw Pooch, a Dr. Kiln experiment gone horribly wrong. Also included, most likely as hidden characters, were Boogerman and Earthworm Jim (popular faces from Interplay's past).
WHAT HAPPENED?
According to Interplay's Lisa Fleury, "The reason that Interplay decided not to develop it [Clay Fighter X-Treme] is because it was not on schedule for release simultaneously with the N64 version. Rather than have it be perceived by PlayStation consumers as a late port, we decided to stop the project and focus on ensuring simultaneous releases for our other cross-platform titles."
| « Previous Page | Next: Show me more » |
