Well Hatched Idea- Chick Chick Boom Review

Four years after the release of the Wii, developers are still struggling to create functional control schemes. Instead of playing to the Wiimote’s strengths, instances of superfluous waggle or convoluted gestures are all too common. Developer Tons of Bits seems to be acutely aware of the quandary. The studio’s recently released Chick Chick Boom could have easily required elaborate controller motions for its fiery fracases. Cleverly, the Wiiware title eludes convention, obliging players to draw each piece of hardware to use in the game’s turn-based battles.

Each variation of Chick Chick Boom tasks players with protecting a posse of poultry from a procession of life-threatening events. The hatchings don’t attack directly, instead they naively hop around a pen, awaiting misfortune. It’s up to gamers to launch several destructive devices over the fence of their color-coded rivals. Each turn, players may dispatch a beehive-looking bomb, falling anvil, or enormous Venus Chicken Trap by tracing a dot-to-dot outline. The quicker each weapon is drawn, the more powerful it is; particularly rapidly rendered items even give gamers an additional opportunity to augment their artillery.

Once each offensive device is released, the other player has the ability to protect themselves by drawing a countermeasure onscreen. From enclosing explosives to drawing an irresistible  stake for ravenous plants to ascend, each attack can be deflected with a properly-timed sketch mark. Depending on which stage a player choosing, additional elements complicate the proceeds. Ominous clouds conceal lightening, UFO’s can employ a tractor bean to abduct chicks; there’s even a corncob man which relinquished nourishing kernels when shot.

With players can take on Chick Chick Boom‘s CPU opponents in standard , timed or endless matches, the title lends itself to a competition with a adjacent competitor, as the upper level AI is relentlessly precise. Like Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, the game’s bouts are triumphantly jagged- with ample ‘last ditch effort’ wins, and a spirited, retaliatory drive. Regardless of which mode is being played, gamers can unlock a decently sized collection of headgear for the chicken’s top wear.

Visually, Chick Chick Boom is blissfully clean, the game’s stark white foreground complemented by deep hued scenery. Between the title’s chirpy music, rotund bouncing baby fowls, and cartoonish arsenal, the download conveys a pleasing sense of whimsy, making it a near-textbook title for Nintendo’s console. Unfortunately, WiiWare’s file size stipulation might have instigated the game’s sole flaw- both the death of  single player campaign and the game’s scope are comparatively small. Once you played for an hour, you’ve seen most of what the title has to offer.