chimgen little: the game
chimgen little: the game
the lost tier of games
vulbyte, 2024/02/25Introduction:
Hook
chicken little is a better game then most modern titles
Context
recently, on a whim we have noticed that me and bubbs have discovered that chicken little is somehow still available on steam. and this isn't a cheap remake or some knock off or even a port, this is the actual native version, and guess what? it runs fine, flawless even!
please note, if the above link is broken that means the game has been removed from steamDescription of the Subject:
Overview
before we get too into the weeds, let's actually break down what this game is.
chicken little the game
is a game which-
nonono, you know, imm a just pull an illuminautti [context]and read the wiki
Chicken Little is a 2005 action-adventure game developed by Avalanche Software for GameCube, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox and by Artificial Mind and Movement for the Game Boy Advance; both were published by Buena Vista Games. Based on the 2005 film Chicken Little, they were released in October 2005.
Plot
The game follows the same plot as the film Chicken Little. The game also features the original actors reprising their roles in the game, except for Joan Cusack (Abby) and Don Knotts (Mayor Turkey Lurkey) (who are replaced by Pamela Adlon and Jeff Bennett respectively).
Gameplay
Chicken Little is an action-adventure game. The player takes control of Chicken Little; occasionally the player is able to play as Abby, Runt, and Fish Out of Water in six different levels and Mayor Turkey Lurkey in one level. The player has to collect five baseball cards throughout each level of the game, the cards unlock special bonus mini-games in multiplayer mode.[2]
and that's it, that's the whole wikipedia, holy sh*t no one cared about this game! except for me and you're about to hear me rant about it!
Specifications
according to the above it was realeased on most major platforms in 2005 and received 6-7 out of 10, with the game being rated the highest on pc, and the lowest on ps2, the same console i attempted to beat it as a child.Personal Experience or Opinion:
First Impressions
my first experience with this game was back when i was like 12 or so. my parents were nice enough to afford me a ps2 slim, which i had a few games for. it was so long ago i'm not certain where we got it from, i believe it was either a walmart discount bin where we got it for like 5$.
Personal Experience
after opening up the packaging up i remember eagerly putting it into the ps2 and eagerly starting it jaws agape on the old black crt, the amazing title screen of "chicken little" came up on the screen and i stared thinking this was the coolest thing
recently, on a whim we have noticed that me and bubbs have discovered that chicken little is somehow still available on steam. and this isn't a cheap remake or some knock off or even a port, this is the actual native version, and guess what? it runs fine, flawless even!
Critical Analysis:
next, let's discuss the actual game, if you want ot play it now is your time to check it out, but considering you're had 19 years to play this i'm going to just go ahead
late for school
the game starts with a cute little entry section, and of the game being played wayyy to loud, followed, where you need to get to the school on the other side of the level.
after making your way through the grassy hills, you arrive at the school where you need to run around the outside to collect 20¢ worth of pennies to eventually buy a soda and launch yourself into the school, ending the level.
dodge-ball hall
after launching in through and landing in a mop bucket, the player then navigates through a subway surfer section until they crash through the doors into the gym where there's now a minigame of playing dodgeball.
goosey chase
after the dodge-ball game, you're then chanced back through the hall that you just came from with loosey goosey chasing you occasionally throwing dodge-balls at you
then after making it to the end, it kinda awkwardly cuts to the scene of them in the car talking about how little wants to try baseball
uniform hunt
this mission starts with you in a dingy back ally after foxy fox held chicken little at gunpoint. this is a relatively straight forward mission where you unlock the ability to grapple. After making your way from the ally to the town square it then opens up and after you make it to the town square it then opens up and let's you get the rest in any order you prefer. And once you manage to find your uniform your simply head to the field and the level ends.
batting practice
the level is essentially a level where it's a guitar hero esc section followed by a timing event. this level serves as purely practice for the "main game", which will let vary on what type of hit you get based how many notes you hit, making the timing at the end easier based on how many you hit. getting various scores based on how well you do, such as a single, double, triple, or if you nail it, a home run. this level is semi unique, as it's basically the only level with a player defined end, letting the player practice as much as they want before you carry on to the big game
the big game
after doing the practice, you'll move onto the big game where you make it through a half baked game of baseball,
carpool craze
after that, following in step with the movie the "sky falls" and the others are called, and this is one of the big asides from the show, because then is when chicken runt steals a car and the whole thing turns into fast and the furious. It has you running some side quests before moving eventually arriving at big clucks house
backyard pursuit
after fish is abducted, you unlock the power attack, which is basically the new attack you'll permanently be using after just saves a lot of time and has a large aoe. This level is a great little platforming level that has you chasing after fish, eventually arriving at the ship. This one is just like the "uniform hunt" level mechanically, having you chase the fish, but adding some pipe sliding sections
space simulator
This is a pseudo star-fox clone, which is honestly a little fun, you can collect different weapons that last for a bit, and you have an alt fire where you can fire missiles and stuff.
alien abby
flash ahead to runts escapethis level takes place with you as the player navigating through the ship after infiltrating it,
but is relatively nice being a fun 3d platforming section with some fun little timed challenges mixed in
runaway rust
this is where there's another nice mix up, you the player getting to play around with one of those alien suits to make it through the ship. this is one of those tank sections but i won't complain about more game
space alarm
this now has you navigating through the ship once again as chicken little! there's some nice little mix ups, some tedium as it's similar to alien abby. but i won't be upset as this is the last level
space simulator II
this game is one those top-down scroller shooter rai-den arcade game, it's rather similar to the first, but it's a nice mix up where it mixes up the gameplay from the last but i don't mind it at all
tube surf
this is where you then cut to whatever fish was up-to. this is when you play vortex for the iPod classic 3rd gen
cornfield escape
after escaping the ship, abby run and fish are standing in the baseball field where they entered the ship, and
and you need to gather them again
cannon chaos
after getting them all again and escaping, then what ends happening
you take out something like 15 ships then the level ends.
firetruck frenzy
suddenly you witness runt hotwire a firetruck and then there's another firetruck level, but this time instead of running a bunch of errands you instead are chasing after this ship having to pass through each one of these rings to gain time and not... have something i'm sure undesirable happen.
tube tumble
after you get to the mother ship,
and end up in this runt section which has a weird difficulty spike, but this might just be a hard mode difficulty spike. this is just the fish section again but you get the idea. same compliments and complaints.
alien little
and after runt being saved, we're now in a ship where-
gravity grab
space simulator III
final boss
this boss requires you dodging and or baiting attacks, hitting a trigger to make a weak point appear, that you can then wail, after three phases you then win.
runts escape
okay, well, whatever, same as the previous runt level and the fish level. it's boring but whatever
space armada
Pros and Cons:
Strengths (Pros)
the game is fun?
one thing that was genuinely shocking about this game for me was that this game was genuinely fun genuinely!
stable
this game is schockingly solid, relitively bug less, and is very consistent, expecally compared to the current market of games is (cyberpunk footage here)
it also had a nice range of mechanics that made the game feel a lot less repetitive and interesting
Weaknesses (Cons)
the graphics are dated
now i don't want to sound like a dingle, but i will say the graphics are rather dated. and this isn't a "i don't like the style" way, but more a "this was published in 2005 and i can see it". that being said i don't want to make it seem like i'm hating on them, given my limited knowledge of graphics programming, and how
the ps2 had a clockspeed of ~295MHz and about 32mb of ramthis is extremely understandable. can you even download a phone app that isn't at least 30mb now? at least one that isn't a "lite" version or a glorified web wrapper
the cuts between the story and gameplay are rather jarring
speaking of graphics i find it rather jarring how the cuts between the movie, and the game are. i'm not trying to be rude when i say this, but when i play the game, i can get immersed in the less ideal graphics. the issue though is then i have these cuts between the movie and the in game animations it is VERY jarring to me, and makes me commonly comment how stark i feel the difference is. again, i think the game looks great but with the contrast in how the a prerendered movie is vs an either real time or in game cinematic is, it's rather jarring and i sorta with they would have done the whole thing in game. but i understand budget and time constrains probably wouldn't allow that.
the game has its repetitive moments
this is a thing that is rather rad to say, but the game really felt like crunch was hitting near the end, as the finale platformer is effectively a repeat of only a few levels earlier. which really made the last level feel much more like a victory lap then a proper level.
the game changes the story of chicken little
another issue i have with the game is they change a good chunk of the story and how it goes, and i'm generally not opposed to things being changed; however in this case it feels like it was to simply hold the game together and add more levels. and i completely understand why they did this, however but i don't personally think the story benefits from the changes, and some of the major off branches from the story are some of my more tedious and less favorable levels.