  Our fine feathered hero.
For more screenshots from 'Chicken Little' check out the Screenshot Gallery. |
There are two kinds of people in this world. There are the doomsayers who believe the sky is falling all the freakin' time. You know these people. They panic and raid the local drug store each and every time a new cold or flu virus is discovered. They believe the ozone layer is depleting and ultimately the sun is gonna barbecue us all. They think that in time, we will run out of fresh water and air.
Then, there are those who see Mother Nature as the most powerful and adaptive force on Earth and try as we might, we stupid humans cannot permanently harm her. They believe that as a whole, Homo sapiens may be selfish and arrogant beings but when the chips are down, we always do the right thing.
You can mark me down as one of the optimists and that's coming from a guy whose job for the last ten years is to read and edit all of the stories about the brainless things humans all over this globe do to each other every working day as well as view the photo evidence of it too. If there is anyone who should be screaming at the top of his lungs that the sky is falling, it should be me.
You cannot help but to feel for the title character of Disney's latest animated opus 'Chicken Little'. Everything is crumbling around him and yet he has enough faith in himself and the world to believe that "every day is a new day" and that everything will be okay in the end. The game based on the flick shares that same positive attitude as well. Nothing can keep the feathered runt down.
'Chicken Little' from Buena Vista Games is one of the most expansive, colourful and riveting children's titles of 2005. In the Xbox version, there are 24 varied levels so it is not something that a kid will be over and done with in a week or two. It will take them a great deal of time to complete the entire adventure so parents needn't worry about this title gathering dust any time soon. There is no chance of that happening. No chance at all.
Following the movie's storyline but expanding many of key happenings to enhance the gameplay, kids play mostly as Chicken Little but at various stages can be his faithful pals Abby Mallard and Runt-of-the-Litter too. Ever since the embarrassing sky is falling incident, Chicken Little has been on a mission to prove to everyone, including his father, that something other than an acorn bashed him on the noggin' and that his hometown is truly facing an unknown threat from outer space though as we learn soon enough, things aren't always what they seem.
As kids play through Chicken Little's zany escapades at school, in his hometown and during the slam-bang finale in outer space (the best part of the game), cut scenes ripped right from the movie tell the story. The best part of 'Chicken Little' for the Xbox though, is that the gameplay and the objectives keep on changing. It is really like having a handful of games in one. There is your standard jump-around-and-collect-things missions but children will also have the opportunity to drive a car and a firetruck around town, fly an alien space craft, play a game of dodgeball, go to bat in a baseball game and control one of the spider-like alien robots from the film.
If that wasn't enough to keep a child entertained for hours on end, there are multiplayer minigames too. Players can compete in a car races in addition to battling each other using space ships and the alien walker thingys.
As resourceful as McGyver, Chicken Little also has an assortment of neat gadgets on hand to support him. He has a multi-purpose yo-yo that he can use to shimmy up poles, swing across obstacles and bonk bad guys like replica robots of himself. There is also a slingshot and a bottle rocket that acts like a jet pack.
The only shortcoming of this otherwise rich and extensive title is that a couple of the missions are awfully, awfully hard. The sequential button slamming "Baseball Practice" level is a chore to complete, as is the timed jumping that's required in the "Alien Abby" stage. Younger children will surely need a helping hand to get by these phases or somehow "fluke it off", as we old-schoolers say, with enough replays. The developers must've realized this though and have mercifully taken a child's frustration level into account when designing the game as there are a multitude of checkpoints throughout each level and it is really easy to regain lost lives. That surely does eliminate a lot of the distressing foot stomping and hair pulling a parent might otherwise witness.
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Chicken Little swings to safety. |
Although not as nearly as intricate as the Xbox version, 'Chicken Little' for the Game Boy Advance is great fun too. Dodging nosey paparazzis and such live-draining obstacles as hot steam pipes, Chicken Little also gets to race in a firetruck, play dodge ball and utilize his multi-faceted yo-yo and bottle rocket jet pack. By collecting acorns, you can purchase new racing vehicles and unlock dodgeball players, balls in the general store. What sets the GBA title apart though is kids can play as the Commander Ace (the action hero rendition of Chicken Little) and Fish-Out-of-Water characters from the motion picture. Kids will surely get a kick out of those twists.
In a market bursting with children's titles that are either not challenging enough or are too darn complicated for youngsters to puzzle out on their own, it is wonderful to see that there is a developer out there who has the foresight to not only strike a healthy balance when it comes to the gameplay but is also very mindful of who their prospective audience is. A child's capacity for learning and as well as their frustration levels have all been taken into account. A lot of extensive planning and thought went into the 'Chicken Little' releases. That much is very clear. From the quantity of gameplay choices that are available to the simple to understand yet challenging levels, parents couldn't hope to get more bang for their buck without all the headaches and worry. While there is some debate as to whether the sky is truly falling or not, one thing is certain, Chicken Little rules the roost.
WHAM! Rating: |
9 out of 10 |
ESRB Rating: |
E 10+ (Everyone 10+) |
Official Web Site: |
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