Chicken Shoot – WII – Review

Since before
the Wii Zapper was announced, the Wii remote has been perfect for lightgun
shooters. Its bull’s-eye accuracy and fast response times are better than any
stand-alone peripheral, as evidenced by the first Rayman Raving Rabbids. The
first-person, on-rails shooter stages were a blast, leading the way for this
year’s announcement of Resident Evil, Ghost Squad, and Medal of Honor Heroes 2.

But before
the Zapper is blasting up Wiis everywhere, younger Nintendo fans have a chance
to put the fear back into fowl in a game called Chicken Shoot. You play as an
angry old farmer type – a guy no animal would ever want to approach. Shotguns,
handguns, uzis, and high-powered automatic military weapons (the stuff all
parents want their kids to play with) are available to make your targets run
away like, well, chickens! The game is one giant cartoon, so mom and pop don’t
have to worry about blood splattering across the screen. Chickens perish by
crashing (if flying when shot), passing out, or by holding up a flag as if to
say, "I surrender!"

Flat
Screen

Chicken
Shoot’s levels are comprised of still drawings that look like they came out of a
coloring book with the color already added. The stills are rather long, roughly
two to three times as long as a standard 4:3 television (which makes me wonder
what could be done with two HD TVs placed side-by-side). You navigate the screen
by aiming in either direction. The picture automatically adjusts to reveal the
rest of each 2D backdrop.

Having no
clue that they could soon be roasting on a hungry man’s grill, chickens flood
each environment without fear. They may be flying, carrying a box (full of new
weapons and ammo, of course!), basking in the sun, or listening to music with
headphones. What they’re playing we’ll never know, but I think you can rule out
“Sweet Home Alabama,” a.k.a. the theme of Kentucky Fried Chicken commercials.

This
guy is a six-piece, slaw and biscuit waiting to happen.

Three game
modes are offered: Arcade, Classic, and Catch an Egg. In Arcade mode, players
fight the good gobble. It’s a single-barreled battle against the power of
poultry. Levels are completed by shooting a set number of chickens.

Classic mode
is a battle against the cluck – er…clock. Score the specified number of
points (by shooting chickens) within the time limit to advance to the next
stage.

Catch an Egg
is an exasperating mini-game where you must grab the eggs before they roll off
and hit the ground. They come tumbling down, slow and steady at first but soon
become fast and sporadic. Nothing bad happens to the eggs that crash – the
yellow chicks hatch and walk away. If only life were really that kind. You only
have three lives to spare, so it’s best not to let any break free. To catch an
egg, tilt the Wii remote toward the platform the egg is rolling down. Be fast,
get good at predicting the eggs’ locations, and whatever you do – don’t
scramble!

Chicken
Chute

Like a jet
pilot escaping death before an unplanned kamikaze, Chicken Shoot exits quickly.
It grabs the nearest parachute and takes a dive as soon as the 10th level has
been finished.

Aside from
playing through the game a second time, there isn’t anything left to do after
the credits roll. Chicken Shoot doesn’t have any replay value. In fact, you
might not be compelled to play past the first level. The controls are better
than most pre-Wii lightgun games, but no other integral pieces are in place. You
have a decent arsenal of weapons to use, but in all honesty, what shooter
doesn’t have shotguns, handguns, and at least one automatic weapon? When
developers start including uzis in games rated E for Everyone, you know it’s
commonplace.

You’ll shoot
the same sprite 10 or 20 times before a level is finally completed. Some
chickens fire back with eggs, and though they can be terminated with a single
bullet, you don’t lose much health for taking the hit. What’s the point in
rushing to defend yourself if you don’t need to most of the time?

Review Scoring Details for Chicken Shoot

Gameplay: 3.0
There is one good
thing about Chicken Shoot: the controls aren’t terrible. They’re not great, but
they’re better than most lightgun games (no doubt because of the Wii remote
technology). Other than that, this game is as stale as old bread: it’s crusty,
moldy, and well past the expiration date.

Graphics:
1.0
You’ll find more
visual excitement on Game Gear.

Sound: 1.0
Someone call a
doctor – the cotton (I stuffed in my ears to drown out the sound) has gotten
stuck.

Difficulty: Easy
Like stealing
candy from a … rooster.

Concept: 3.0
Less than a dozen
barely interactive, two-dimensional backgrounds have been slapped together to
give the player something to look at while shooting the equally unexciting array
of chicken sprites.

Multiplayer: 3.0
If you and a
friend were stranded on a desert island and Chicken Shoot was the only game
available, you might find it more compelling than the alternative (staring at
the sun, picturing large bodies of water that don’t really exist, etc.). But if
you’re reading this review, chances are you’re somewhere civilized and have
access to actual entertainment.

Overall: 3.0
As a Virtual
Console release or a tech demo for a bigger project, Chicken Shoot might’ve been
iffy – possibly Ok, if it were a buck or two. But as a full title on a Wii disc,
it can barely compete with games released 10 years ago, let alone what we have
today.