I'm writing this now because I may not have much time left. My life is no longer mine to control. All I can do in my few lucid moments is warn you to keep away from Gender Bender DNA Twister Extreme. Once you're hooked it's too late.

GBDNATE - I can't help using the acronym, I lost the ability to resist it days ago - is a visual novel* set in a small Australian seaside town. The story begins when two young research scientists, Liam and Derek, develop a serum that can change an organism's gender from male to female. Their plan is to test it on themselves, but a freak accident releases it in the form of a gas that gets into the ventilation system and turns everyone in the facility into girls.

That's the sensible bit...

To protect you from the fate I've had to suffer I will not direct you to Desura or Steam, where you can download free demo versions of this menace. Nor will I post links to YouTube, and the many playthroughs that will save you buying the full version.

And I really must not mention knightgraymon, who actually comments on the stories instead of merely reciting the words that appear in the text boxes.

Okay. I'm breathing easier now. I can beat this.

As long as they don't come up with a spin-off, maybe a cop series called Max's Big Bust or something...

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What do I really think of GBDNATE?

It's badly drawn, the text is semi-literate and full of typos, the story arcs are littered with inconsistencies, and the attitude towards gender change is for the most part that of a male adolescent, starved of regular female company, who imagines that if he became a woman the world would be bursting with beautiful lesbians eager to help him explore his new body. The fact that the writers seem to be aware of these shortcomings hardly excuses them.

Having said that, there is one genuinely tg character - Matt/Aleanne - whose story is worth following if only because it makes you wonder how good this novel could have been if the developers hadn't gone for cheap thrills and quick sales.

It's bloody good fun, though...

*For anyone unfamiliar with the term, a visual novel is a kind of interactive 'choose your own adventure' story. The characters appear against a static backdrop, and their dialogue - or internal monologue - materialises in a box beneath them. You move the narrative forward by clicking anywhere on the screen, although you also have an autoplay option you can set at your own speed. Most visual novels reflect the genre's Japanese origin by adopting an anime style, and despite its Antipodean setting GBDNATE is no exception.