Glover (video game)

Glover
American Nintendo 64 box art
Developer(s)	Interactive Studios
Publisher(s)	Hasbro Interactive
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 64, PlayStation
Release date(s)	Microsoft Windows[1] NA October 26, 1998 EU 1999 Nintendo 64[2] NA October 31, 1998 EU November 1998 PlayStation[3] NA November 30, 1999 EU 1999
Genre(s)	Platformer
Mode(s)	Single-player
Distribution	Cartridge, CD-ROM

Glover is a 1998 platforming video game developed by Interactive Studios and published by Hasbro Interactive for Microsoft Windows and the Nintendo 64 in 1998 and for the PlayStation in 1999. The game features a magical, four-fingered glove named Glover.

Gameplay

The player uses Glover's "slap" maneuver on the rubber ball in the Nintendo 64 version.

Crystals are rescued by guiding Glover and his ball around six worlds, each containing three levels, a boss and bonus stage. The ball can also be transformed into one of four (five with the Power Ball cheat) forms. These are the rubber ball, a metallic marble, bowling ball, the ball's original crystal form and the Power Ball. The rubber form gives the greatest amount of abilities for the ball. It can easily be bounced, slapped, and thrown. The bowling ball form allows the ball to not break easily, sink in deep water, and kill enemies by slapping it. The metal form gives precise control over the ball, and can be used to throw and slap the ball more carefully. The crystal form is very fragile, but gives Glover exponentially increasing points for Garibs. This causes Glover to place great value on this form of the crystal. His apocalyptic wail is accompanied by dramatic zoom effect whenever the crystal is shattered by a thoughtless or malicious adversary. The Power Ball is a special cheat code that lets you use an indestructible and extremely bouncy ball.There are also plenty of magic potions to help Glover with his quest by giving him power-ups.

Glover's ball can be rolled, bounced, thrown, slapped, or walked on top of. While walking on the ball, the controls are reversed (except on easy difficulty). Walking on the ball is automatic while moving the ball across water. Glover can also collect cards (known as "Garibs") which allow him to access the bonus stages if he collects all of the Garibs in a given world.

Plot

In a peaceful, idyllic kingdom, a kindly wizard rules over various lands from his large castle. The beauty and harmony of the kingdom are protected by seven magical crystals, which sit on the spires of the castle. The wizard is aided in his magic by a pair of magic, four-fingered gloves, which are sentient. One day, though, the wizard accidentally mixes together a bad batch of potions, which create a massive explosion. The mishap turns the wizard into a statue, and sends his magic gloves in two directions—the right one flies out the window, while the left one lands in a cauldron. The explosion also shakes the crystals from the spires, and they hurtle to the ground. The glove that landed outside—Glover—quickly casts a spell to transform the crystals into rubber balls to prevent them from shattering on the ground. They bounce away in all directions, entering the magical realms around the kingdom. Without the crystals, though, the world transforms into a foggy, desolate wasteland. To make matters worse, the other glove, known as Cross-Stitch, arises from the cauldron, corrupted by its potion.

Glover realizes that he must find the seven crystals and restore them to the fountain underneath the castle. He traverses from realm to realm, and must protect the rubber balls at all costs. As he does, Cross-Stitch attempts to thwart him by setting traps and creating monsters, but Glover's magical skill defeats the beasts. As the crystals are returned, the world is gradually restored to its former state. In the end, Glover fights Cross-Stitch in an outer space–themed realm, and recovers the last crystal. The wizard is brought back to life, and uses his magic with Glover's aid to purify Cross-Stitch. All ends happily, and the world is once again at peace.

Cancelled sequel

An online advertisement for Glover 2, the cancelled sequel.

Hasbro Interactive had planned to release a sequel to Glover which had a boxing glove character and was to be released in 2000 named Glover 2 but the idea was scrapped, though gameplay videos and pictures about the game surfaced on nesworld.com, which discovered a work-in-progress version of the game.^[4]

Reception

Glover received mixed reviews by critics. The game was praised for its interesting game mechanics and variety, but criticized its bland storyline and confusing controls, depending on the console release.

IGN praised the Nintendo 64 version, specifically on its gameplay and sound. They wrote that the music matched the levels "perfectly".^[7] GameSpot recommended the game for patient players in search of a challenge.^[8]

Despite positive reviews for the Nintendo 64 version, the PlayStation version was heavily panned by critics. IGN, which gave the Nintendo 64 version an "impressive" 8.3, gave the PlayStation version a "Terrible" 2.6. They wrote that the game "looks bad" in comparison with both the Nintendo 64 version and other PlayStation games.^[9] GameSpot also criticizes this version, stating that "Glover, despite its interesting play mechanics, seems to have lost its soul in the port from the N64."^[10]

References

External links

• Glover at MobyGames
• Glover 2 prototype information at NESWorld.com