You can’t
keep a good chicken down. You can have it grilled, marinated, or deep-fried,
but you can’t keep it from returning (especially if it’s undercooked, but
that’s a whole other issue). Chicken Little, the most popular of the species
next to Tyson and Kentucky Fried, is back in action. He’s brought a few
friends along to for this adventure – Ace, Runt, and Abby. Each comes toting a
different gift: a blaster weapon, a fully operational tank, and a ship
constructed to go deep into space.
Ace, Runt
and Abby are the characters you’ll control in Chicken Little’s newest
adventure, Ace In Action. Their gifts aid them in combat while dispersing
gameplay styles that switch off at the end of each level.
The game
starts with the man of action, Ace. A brief tutorial with on-screen commands
shows you exactly how to play. Whereas most shooters have a typical
third-person style, Ace is not controlled with the stylus. His firing range is
not solely determined by the D-pad. The D-pad is important – you use it to
maneuver Ace through each environment.
Enemies
travel in groups and can spawn into the game at any time. They’ll send
anywhere from a few to several dozen blasts in your direction. Weaving in and
out of them would prove to be difficult in a third-person shooter, hence the
inclusion of a control system that mirrors that of a top-down shooter. The
camera angle is not top-down, but it is high enough for you to see the action
and play the game from a similar perspective.
Press the
D-pad and Ace will move around swiftly and efficiently, as he should. Now tap
the A button and watch what happens. Ace just fired a shot to the right of the
screen! Press the Y button and he’ll fire left. Do you see where this is
going? Holding X and Y will make him to shoot toward the top left corner of
the screen. This can be done with the other buttons as well, giving you a
total of eight shooting directions – the max number for most games of this
type and the max number you’ll need to abolish the enemy assault.
Although the
gameplay sounds as violent as any T-rated shooter, Ace In Action is fine for
children. I’m not going by the ESRB’s "E for Everyone" rating, but by the
actual content. You won’t see any blood, or any characters get hurt. Most of
the enemies are robots, so while you’re blasting to no end, you’re really only
destroying a hunk of walking metal. Alien life forms do come into the picture,
and you can lose if you take too many hits. This elimination is not a death
scene, but rather a zap from what appears to be a teleporter. It takes you out
of the level; continuing to play will bring you back.
Runt, the
warthog with a love of destructive vehicles, commands a tiny tank through each
world he visits. The tank controls are not that different from Ace – the A, B,
X and Y buttons change your firing range while the D-pad controls its
movement. Press up twice and the tank will lunge forward, crushing everything
in its path. And that’s no understatement – enemies and roadblocks (and crates
that appear in levels for no given reason) are destructible and can be taken
out with the wrath of Runt’s tank.
There is a
limit to how much of his wrath his enemies will face, and that has to do with
his power meter. Replenish that power with Fizzle, Mega and Giga Watts – small
two-legged, three-eyed creatures with heads that are shaped like cones. Their
detail isn’t that great on screen, but their color makes ’em stand out, so you
shouldn’t have any problem spotting them in the game. You can get a better
look at this alien species in the instruction manual. Though if you’re like me
you probably only read manuals when searching for the name of a particular
item or character.
Abby, AKA
the spaceship gal, flies above the action to take out enemies far away from
the atmosphere. Her controls are like a 2D space shooter, with her ship placed
at the bottom of the screen. Enemies come in from the top. The ship moves
forward on its own, removing the need for Ace and Runt’s control scheme.
Rather than pressing the face buttons to aim in different directions, you’ll
tap two buttons to release two different weapons: missiles and laser blasts.
Missiles are
good for taking out structures, which you’ll see a lot of in the game – more
than you’ll see enemies in some cases. Some of the structures don’t seem to do
anything. I could fly right past them, reach the end of the level, and win the
mission regardless. Enemy ships, on the other hand, should be dealt with
quickly. They fly in patterns like the bugs of Galaga, firing blasts from
pre-determined locations. You’ll pick up on their patterns pretty quickly, and
when you do it’s bye-bye enemy.
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Gameplay: 6.9
You’ll constantly
blast your way through this one. Ace In Action isn’t as fun or expansive as
last year’s game, but it offers 20 times the action of most kid-targeted
titles. It’s simple, short, and the camera angles aren’t always clear. The map
isn’t either, which could cause some kids to lose interest. But if you love
Chicken Little or know a child who does, this sequel should fulfill most of
their needs.
Graphics: 6.9
Chicken Little is
in 3D, but he’s far from detailed. This wouldn’t be a good game to use as a
question on Jeopardy. You can tell who you’re playing as, but only because
you’re looking for a specific character. But if you were to stack these
characters next to those from other games, Chicken Little’s cast wouldn’t
stand out.
Sound: 6
Generic blast-‘em-up
sounds fill these speakers with repetition.
Difficulty: Easy
Simple shooter
fun for the kiddies.
Concept: 7
Chicken Little:
Ace In Action’s audience is likely too young to remember Smash TV, a top-down
shooter with gunfire in all directions. This game is a friendlier, 2.5D
version of that with bigger levels and polygon graphics.
Multiplayer: 6
Goofy mini-games
like Alien Collection ask players to place as many aliens into their holes as
possible. Not too exciting, but kids might find it entertaining – if
they have someone to play the game with (multiplayer requires two game cards).
Overall: 6.9
Three types of
laser-blasting fun: on foot, in a tank, and in a spaceship. The first two are
pretty close in controls and level layout. They differ in speed and weapon
type, but not much else. The last one – the spaceship – is a slow clone of the
top-down, side-scrolling space shooter genre. It’s only fun you have something
to blast. Needless to say, this one is strictly for kids.
