Chicken Invaders

Chicken Invaders is a series of shoot 'em up video games, developed by InterAction Studios and released for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux systems. Currently, there are four video games in the series, along with three special editions.

The main theme of the game is a battle between a lone combat spacecraft and a technologically-advanced race of space-faring chickens intent on subjugating (and later destroying) Earth. The games vastly employ humor, especially in form of parodies of Galaxian, Starwars and Startrek.

Chicken Invaders

Sometime in the near future, Earth is invaded by chickens from another galaxy, bent on revenge against the human race for oppressing earth chickens!

InterAction Studios^[1]

Chicken Invaders, the first video game in the series is a very simple game: The levels consist of ten waves of attacking space chickens. The waves never differ, keeping in the same order wave after wave, but they do increase in difficulty. In all the waves, the enemy (chickens) drops eggs from the top, which have to be dodged. Player needs to collect gifts (parcels) to receive points and to upgrade the primary weapon. Primary weapon can be upgraded up to 8 levels. One or two players can play the game. The player may also collect and use Missiles. A missile is hard to acquire but can wipe out an entire wave of chickens. The game does not have a storyline beyond one sentence description given by the producer.^[1]

Chicken Invaders 2: The Next Wave

Chicken Invaders 2: The Next Wave is the second game in the series. It can be played by one or two players.^[2] The player takes command of the same lone spacecraft of the previous and must eliminate the chicken infestation of the solar system. The game features eleven levels, each of which consists of 10 waves of attacking hostiles. In all the waves, chickens attack by dropping eggs which have to be dodged.^[2]

Player may collect different items that helps him in the game. Primary weapons may be changed by collecting parcels. Power-ups may also be collected to upgrade the primary weapon. Weapons may be upgraded up to eleven levels. The eleventh level however, is only acquired by collecting ten power-ups. Player may collect and accumulate drumsticks to get missiles, powerful weapons that can wipe out an entire wave.^[2]

In all levels, except in the asteroid belt level, the ninth wave has a bonus usually a new weapon, or extra firepower) awarded for not using missiles throughout the level, while the last wave features a boss.^[2]

InterAction Studio has also released Chicken Invaders 2: Christmas Edition in which eggs are replaced with Christmas balls and drumsticks are replaced with holly leaves.

Chicken Invaders 3: Revenge of the Yolk

Chicken Invaders 3: Revenge of the Yolk comprises the main game together with Easter and Christmas editions. It is similar to the second version (with up to 4 player cooperative play). It has 120 waves, in 10 levels across 12 systems in the galaxy.^[3] There are 30 bonuses.^[3] Weapons have 11 power levels, and a secret 12th level, which can only be reached by acquiring an additional 10 powerups after the 10th level powerup (the 20th). There are also eight which are unlocked after repeatedly completing the game.^[3]

The plot has the hero heading to Space Burger, famished as usual, when a twinkling behind the sun was spotted. When the hero arrives at that twinkling, he comes upon a giant egg that may or may not my built out of the Mother Hen ship. This egg, known as the Yolk Star, pushed the player into a black hole after the player gets him angry. The player arrives at the other end of the galaxy and must battle his way back and destroy the Yolk Star before it destroys earth.

Chicken Invaders 4: Ultimate Omelette

The fourth game (UO) is similar to Revenge of the Yolk. It has 120 waves across 12 levels. It includes weapons which can be upgraded through 11 power levels, with a supercharged 12th level. The weapons from Revenge of the Yolk are available as 'unlockables'. Ultimate Omelette unlockables can be purchased individually by collecting keys, which are dropped from destroyed enemies during the course of the game. A new feature in this game is the capability of the player's spaceship to face in any direction depending on the level (it was always facing up in previous games), and the camera can also zoom in or out depending on the wave (boss fights typically have the camera zoomed out to contain all the action). evel The plot begins with the player/hero at Space Burger. A portal suddenly opens and a ship comes out. The ship says its name is Hen Solo and urges the hero to follow him to his galaxy to see the Chickens' latest creation, the Egg Cannon. The player heads through his galaxy and other strange places to confront the Egg Cannon.

On 24 June 2011 the UO was updated to version 4.05, which added support to German, Spanish, and for the first time Russian. The Russian translation was performed with poetry forms and multiple allusions to classic literature (e.g. J.Steinbeck, H.Miller and many others), Russian music (Nautilus Pompilius, Kino, Zemlyane and others) and Russian reality.

Reception

CNET gave 4 out of 5 stars to the first Chicken Invaders, highlighting the humour, graphics and sound but criticising the lack of any features for customizing the gameplay.^[4] CNET also awarded The Next Wave 4 stars, again commending the graphics but criticising the lack of a windowed mode.^[5] The Next Wave was rated "mediocre" by Gamespot, criticising the repetitive gameplay and indistinct enemy bullets. However, the colorful, cartoony graphics where highlighted, as were "flashes of understanding of what makes a good shooter".^[6]

Shortly after its release, Ultimate Omelette was included in Adrenaline Vault's "Top Casual PC Games of 2010" list. The reviewer described it as "the most fun arcade space shooter [...] in a very, very long time". The original orchestral soundtrack was also praised as rousing, invigorating, and "simply the absolute best".^[7]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Chicken Invaders". www.interactionstudios.com. InterAction Studios. http://www.interactionstudios.com/chickeninvaders.php. Retrieved 2007-01-26. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "Chicken Invaders: The Next Wave". InterAction Studios. http://www.interactionstudios.com/chickeninvaders2.php. Retrieved 2007-01-26. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Chicken Invaders: Revenge of the Yolk (Christmas Edition)". InterAction Studios. http://www.interactionstudios.com/ci3/chickeninvaders3xmas.php. Retrieved 2007-01-26. 
4. ^ "Editor's review of Chicken Invaders". cnet.com. http://www.download.com/Chicken-Invaders/3000-2099_4-10076979.html?tag=mncol&cdlPid=10182779. Retrieved 2007-06-02. 
5. ^ "Editor's review of Chicken Invaders 2". cnet.com. http://www.download.com/Chicken-Invaders-2/3000-2099_4-10182776.html?tag=mncol&cdlPid=10336709. 
6. ^ Navarro, Alex (2005-08-26). "Because the first Chicken Invaders was so great, it needed a sequel, right? Right? Hello?". Game Review - Chicken Invaders: The Next Wave. GameSpot UK. http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/action/chickeninvadersthenextwave/review.html?sid=6158734. Retrieved 2007-01-26. "Shooter fans will likely garner some amusement from Chicken Invaders: The Next Wave, but they won't want to pay full price for it. It's a legitimate distraction that wears pretty thin pretty quickly, and there just isn't a compelling enough product here to really make it worth your time." 
7. ^ "Top Casual PC Games of 2010". The Adrenaline Vault. http://www.avault.com/features/top-casual-pc-games-2010/?page=2. Retrieved 12 March 2011. 

External links

• InterAction Studios official site
• Chicken Invaders Wiki