Review: Chicken Riot

You are going to need Colonel Sanders and General Gau to help you battle these chickens, as what was supposed to be a relaxing day on the farm turns into an all out war thanks to City Interactive and their shooter game called Chicken Riot.

You will fight wave after wave of chickens coming at you from the ground and the air as you move from the farm to the graveyard to thwart their attempt to overtake you in this first-person shooter. These chickens throw eggs at you and will charge at you to reduce your health. But you do have a trusty gun at your side, and that allows you to shoot the chickens and their projectile eggs, giving your “fingers” a workout.

In addition there are specialty items you can shoot during the game to “soup” up your character. They include extra points, more health, unlimited ammo for a short time, a machine gun, a shotgun, a time warp which slows down time for you, golden eggs, and even a bomb.

You can play with the Wii remote, but it’s more fun to “wing it” and use the Wii Zapper or Nintendo Gun. It takes first-person shooting to the extreme. The story line is quite amusing, and so are the different cartoon chickens you have to fight. My favorite are the Foghorn Leghorn lookalikes. It usually takes two shots to knock them down. Along the way you will have some great boss battles including Viking Chickens, Ghost Chickens, Robot Chickens, Spaceship Chickens, and even Darth Chicken. There are even a few bonus levels and a two-player mode to keep things interesting.

I expected this game to be a bit “sweet and sour”, but instead Chicken Riot is one of the few games I will turn my Wii on to play. If you fondly remember the old Duck Hunt from the Nintendo NES, you will love Chicken Riot. You should be able to find this game new for under $20.

(Editor’s Note: I take no responsibility for Holy Goalie’s “egg-stremely” bad puns — E.S.)