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Chicken Run (video game)

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This article is about the video game. For the film on, see Chicken Run.

Chicken Run
Developer(s)Blitz Games
Publisher(s)Eidos Interactive
THQ (GBC)
Producer(s)Patrick Cowan
Programmer(s)R. Fred Williams
Composer(s)Rob Lord
Platform(s)Game Boy Color, Dreamcast, PlayStation, Microsoft Windows
ReleaseGame Boy Color, Dreamcast, PlayStation
  • NA: 2 November 2000 (GBC)[1][2]
  • NA: 13 November 2000
  • EU: 24 November 2000
Windows
  • EU: 15 December 2000
  • NA: 14 January 2001
Genre(s)Platform, stealth
Mode(s)Single-player

Chicken Run is a platform-stealth based 3-D platform video game based on the 2000 film of the same name. The game is a loose parody of the famous film The Great Escape. The Game Boy Color version is a 2D isometric puzzle-solving game. The game's plot is about chickens escaping from a farm from their evil owners and fighting for freedom.

While characters, mainly Ginger and Rocky, were voiced by professional voice artists, Benjamin Whitrow and Lynn Ferguson reprised their roles as Fowler and Mac.[3]

Gameplay

Dreamcast/PC/PlayStation version

Gameplay generally consists of the player taking control of either Ginger, Rocky, or Nick and Fetcher, and searching the Tweedys' farm for objects to be used in an escape attempt by the chickens.

This section of the game features stealth gameplay not too different from Metal Gear Solid, as the player will have to avoid guard dogs and the Tweedys themselves, in addition to searchlights, sources of light in general and noisy surfaces, since these will alert the security to the player's presence.

Should the player be caught, they will be sent back to the entry point of the current area, and will lose either their most recently obtained item or their currently equipped item which goes back to where it was originally found. In addition, the player will occasionally have to push objects about, or use the environment in order to get to a hard-to-reach item.

Each act ends with a boss level. In Act 1, the chickens have to control a mannequin of Mrs Tweedy. The Act 2 boss is a linear platforming level where Rocky has to avoid hazards to get to Ginger in the pie machine. In the Act 3 boss the chickens fly the 'Old Crate' and have to stop Mrs. Tweedy from reaching the top of the rope hanging from it.

The second two acts contain minigames representing an escape attempt, which in Act 2 involves launching chickens over the fence with a seesaw, catapult or fireworks. In Act 3, the minigames involve assembling a part of the 'Old Crate' and getting its engine running. Act 3 also contains a minigame in which the player has to get the hens in Hut 2 to lay eggs to pay Nick and Fetcher though this can also be played in the first two acts but without the player getting to keep the eggs.

Success is generally measured by how many chickens the player can save, or how fast the player can finish the task and the player can be awarded with bronze, silver or gold medals by Fowler for good performance.

GameBoy Color version

The GameBoy Color version is very different in which the player controls Ginger who has to lure the chickens to the exit of each level using corn while avoiding the dogs and searchlights in the chicken coop and the magic eyes and laser beams in the pie machine within the time limits. Upon completing a level, the player is awarded medals by Fowler which act as the password to access the next level should the player turn off the console before reaching it. New items are made available as the player progresses through the game.

Plot

In keeping with the film's story, the game takes place on an English chicken farm and follows a group of chickens as they try to break out of confinement.

Players must help Ginger and her flock make a break for freedom, while avoiding the evil Mrs. Tweedy and her oafish man Mr. Tweedy, who wants to turn them into chicken pies.

Reception

The PlayStation version received "generally favourable reviews", while the Dreamcast and PC versions received "mixed or average reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[8][9][10]

Kevin Rice of NextGen said of the Dreamcast version: "This is a surprisingly good conversion of a movie into a game. It's graphically brilliant in its similarities to the movie, and the gameplay is smart."[30] Four-Eyed Dragon of GamePro said that the same console version "plays as perfectly as the hilarious movie of the same name, but with its frustrating controls, you, too, may feel trapped in a pen."[34][a]

Notes

  1. ^ GamePro gave the Dreamcast version 4.5/5 for graphics, 4/5 for sound, and two 3/5 scores for control and fun factor.

References

  1. ^ "THQ SHIPS CHICKEN RUN™ FOR GAME BOY COLOR [date mislabeled as "November 8, 2000"]". THQ. 2 November 2000. Archived from the original on 16 April 2004. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  2. ^ Harris, Craig (3 November 2000). "Chickens Run to Stores". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Chicken Run (2000)". Behind the Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Chicken Run for Dreamcast". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Chicken Run for Game Boy Color". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Chicken Run for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Chicken Run for PlayStation". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Chicken Run critic reviews (DC)". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Chicken Run critic reviews (PC)". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Chicken Run critic reviews (PS)". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  11. ^ Thompson, Jon. "Chicken Run (DC) – Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  12. ^ Thompson, Jon. "Chicken Run (GBC) – Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  13. ^ Woods, Nick. "Chicken Run (PS) – Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  14. ^ Steinberg, Scott (19 January 2001). "Chicken Run – Dreamcast Review". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on 7 February 2001. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  15. ^ Wolpaw, Erik (20 January 2001). "Chicken Run". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on 4 March 2003. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  16. ^ Laws, Wen (May 2001). "Chicken Run" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 202. Ziff Davis. p. 88. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  17. ^ Einhorn, Ethan (February 2001). "Chicken Run (GBC)" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 139. Ziff Davis. p. 144. Archived from the original on 11 February 2001. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  18. ^ Kujawa, Kraig (February 2001). "Chicken Run (PS)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 139. Ziff Davis. p. 140. Archived from the original on 11 February 2001. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  19. ^ Brooks, Mark (31 January 2001). "Chicken Run (PSX)". The Electric Playground. Greedy Production Ltd. Archived from the original on 6 July 2003. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  20. ^ Bramwell, Tom (19 December 2000). "Chicken Run Review (PSOne)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 29 March 2001. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  21. ^ Helgeson, Matt (January 2001). "Chicken Run (DC)". Game Informer. No. 93. FuncoLand. p. 124.
  22. ^ Helgeson, Matt (January 2001). "Chicken Run (GBC)". Game Informer. No. 93. FuncoLand. p. 138.
  23. ^ Lopez, Miguel (30 November 2000). "Chicken Run Review (DC)". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  24. ^ Osborne, Scott (16 January 2001). "Chicken Run Review (PC)". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  25. ^ Lopez, Miguel (30 November 2000). "Chicken Run Review (PS)". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  26. ^ Nix, Marc (23 November 2000). "Chicken Run (DC)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  27. ^ Harris, Craig (11 November 2000). "Chicken Run (GBC)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  28. ^ Steinberg, Scott (17 January 2001). "Chicken Run (PC)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  29. ^ Smith, David (28 November 2000). "Chicken Run (PS)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  30. ^ a b Rice, Kevin (March 2001). "Chicken Run (DC)". NextGen. No. 75. Imagine Media. p. 84. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  31. ^ "Chicken Run". Nintendo Power. Vol. 139. Nintendo of America. December 2000.
  32. ^ Steinman, Gary (February 2001). "Chicken Run (PS)". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. No. 41. Ziff Davis. p. 94. Archived from the original on 18 April 2001. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  33. ^ Awasti, Rajiv (March 2001). "Chicken Run". PC Zone. No. 100. Dennis Publishing. p. 71. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  34. ^ Four-Eyed Dragon (February 2001). "Chicken Run (DC)" (PDF). GamePro. No. 149. IDG. p. 80. Archived from the original on 29 October 2004. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
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