A Lighthearted RTS Adventure
If film and television has taught us anything about aliens, it’s that we should not draw too much attention to ourselves. Why? Because there’s bound to be some highly coveted, natural resource abundant on Earth that they want to get their slimy little hands on.
In Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids it’s called Brainium (I’m sure you can spot the theme here). These precious crystals have been stolen by the Brainioids in their Grav
Spheres, and the heroic duo Chip ‘n Clawz are humanity’s only hope.
Ground-Level Strategy and Action
In order to thwart the nasty floating organs, you’ll need to battle through a campaign set over several chapters and many different scenarios. You’ll cross the main campaign missions, and optional challenges too. Both play out very similarly to each other, tasking you with your main objective along with three secondary ones which aren’t mandatory.
Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids is an RTS but played mainly from the ground level perspective. Typically, you’ll need to get to work mining Brainium before you can do much else. Not only this, but before you can start building something, the corresponding Replikon needs to be activated. This then unlocks the blueprint for the building, which you can construct anywhere you like. This requires Brainium, but once built additional units will cost nothing extra.
Whether it’s boxer minions, shooters, artillery or even energy fences, getting the right mix is key to going on the attack and defending yourself. For example, if enemy artillery rolls in you need to react quickly, otherwise they will devastate your buildings from long range before you know it. The route to victory is more often than not destroying the enemy HQ whilst protecting your own.
Chip and Clawz Take Control
There’s a fairly simple command structure in Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids, as each of your four main offensive minions are mapped to a direction on the D-Pad. You can set a marker for them to move to from ground level, or zoom out, enter command mode and survey the battlefield. Sadly, you can’t split down the same types of minions into different groups, just move each class as a collective.
What makes Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids a little different, is that as well as issuing commands and erecting buildings, you can also get stuck into the action yourself as Chip, Clawz or alternate between the two. This is how you explore your environment, activate Replikons, deal some close combat beatdowns or get tooled up and unleash your arsenal of weapons. Charging in “Leroy Jenkins” style will end up with you getting knocked out by the enemy, however carefully planned strategic moves can make the difference.
Narrative and Progression
Each chapter ends with a boss battle, and these encounters are a little more complicated but a lot of fun too. It takes a planned approach to deal with the menacing Brainioid, whilst fending off their minions at the same time. Be sure not to get distracted as the battle can turn one way or the other very quickly.
Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids is a fast paced game which is easy enough to pick up and play. There are plenty of missions to tackle in the campaign, in fact you could argue there are too many. Throughout the first chapter each different building will be slowly drip fed mission by mission, helping you ease into things. However, once you’re familiar with everything, each battle has an air of familiarity about it. Whilst still fun, there’s no denying that niggling feeling of repetition creeps in.
Upgrades, Collectibles, and Co-op Chaos
The young inventor and his robotic cat come equipped with their own unique abilities which complement each other well. Chip is able to use Brainium to send units and buildings into overdrive, increasing the speed at which they operate. Clawz can repair these, again using Brainium, keeping them in the fight for longer. The garage also unlocks a nifty hovercar for Chip, and rocket boots for Clawz which greatly increases jumping distance.
Each battlefield has a number of comic books to collect which will fill in the backstory, along with blueprints which unlock new weapons, minion upgrades and more. You can choose three upgrades before jumping into each mission, and tailor them depending on the scenario.
You can play Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids solo if you wish, or there are a variety of multiplayer options. You can team up against the Brainioids via couch co-op or online which also offers cross-platform support with PC. If you are feeling a little more competitive, 1v1 and 2v2 PvP matches are also an option.
Those good people at Snapshot Games have also kitted out Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids with a Friend’s Pass. This means if one player owns the full game, they can invite a friend for co-op or PvP play and it won’t cost them a penny. Sweet.
A Highly Entertaining and Accessible Strategy Game
Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids is a lighthearted strategy game which doesn’t take itself too seriously and yet shouldn’t be overlooked. The colourful, comic-book world filled with goofy if not mildly amusing characters is suitable for players of most ages (think Ratchet & Clank). Don’t let first impressions fool you though, things may start off slow but get much more difficult later on. There may not be a complicated narrative, and you’ll hear the upbeat duo use the same lines to banter numerous times during the same mission, however none of that matters too much as it’s great fun to play.
You may be tempted to look the other way but don’t, because underneath the somewhat cheesy exterior of Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids is a highly entertaining and accessible strategy action hybrid.
Important Links
From the Creator of X-COM Comes a Cartoon Catastrophe in Chip ‘n Clawz vs The Brainioids – https://www.thexboxhub.com/from-the-creator-of-x-com-comes-a-cartoon-catastrophe-in-chip-n-clawz-vs-the-brainioids/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/chip-n-clawz-vs-the-brainioids/9NC8XKMWB5DJ/0010
