Crazy Chicken: Director's Cut 3D (3DS)

Details: Category: 3DS; By Cheryl Gress; 19.Dec; Hits: 6515

Game Info:

Crazy Chicken: Director's Cut 3D
Developed by: Teyon
Published by: Pheonomedia
Release Date: Nov. 7, 2013
Available on: 3DS, DSi
Genre: Shooter
Number of Players: Single-Player
ESRB Rating: E10 for cartoon violence
Price: $1.99

Thank you Teyon for sending us this game to review!

Crazy Chicken: Director's Cut is a follow up from a similar shooting game called Crazy Chicken: Pirates 3D. While both games involve shooting chickens, the Pirates 3D game gives you a limited amount of time while Director's Cut gives you a limited amount of ammo.

There are only two levels in this game and you start off with the horror movie set. After you clear all of the objectives, the sci-fi movie set becomes available and you switch between the two until you run out of ammo. The objectives consist of shooting a certain number of objects or type of chicken.

Highlights:

Strong Points: Cute, inexpensive, and funny game
Weak Points: Only two levels; control scheme was not intuitive
Moral Warnings: Cartoon violence

Each bullet counts so accuracy is key. The close range chickens are worth five points while the ones in the background are worth twenty-five. Do you have the accuracy to take that risk?

Another conundrum is deciding on how to use your bullets. You can make the game last longer by only shooting at the objective, or you can shoot everything else and possibly earn big points for solving the puzzles within the level. I personally did a little bit of both. After all, it is more fun to shoot the main actors and director (both are chickens) than the extras. Each level has several mini puzzles within that can net you some points if you can shoot items in the proper order. Rumor has it that there are hidden ammo stashes, but I have yet to discover them.

Score Breakdown:
Higher is better
(10/10 is perfect)

Game Score - 72%
Gameplay - 13/20
Graphics - 8/10
Sound - 7/10
Stability - 5/5
Controls - 3/5 Morality Score - 90%
Violence - 8/10
Language - 10/10
Sexual Content - 10/10
Occult/Supernatural - 7/10
Cultural/Moral/Ethical - 10/10

There are various achievements that can be earned and unlocked. After you run out of ammo, the game is over and you can see your score ranking online if your DSi/3DS system is connected to the internet. While this game is cute, there is not much variety, and beating your previous score and friend's scores is the only replayability you'll find in this title.

Fortunately, the asking price is a reasonable $1.99. I love the lightheartedness and homage paid to various horror and sci-fi movies out there. Unfortunately, I was not familiar with the control scheme used in Crazy Chicken: Pirates 3D or Kid Icaraus Uprising since I have yet to play either title. While the left analog stick pans left and right in this game, it does not go very far vertically. I thought there was an issue with my 3DS, so I calibrated it. I felt a bit sheepish to realize that the bottom screen along with the stylus is used for aiming and the triggers are used for firing.

After I figured out the control scheme, I enjoyed this game and finding the hidden extras. The backgrounds are colorful and the chickens are nicely animated. It's a cute pick up and play game, but it won't hold your attention for very long. If you do splurge and get this game, you'll get your money's worth.