Game Reviews

Chickens Can't Fly

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Chickens Can't Fly

It's seems bizarre that a game like Chickens Can't Fly can feel positively old skool when smartphone games themselves are still in their infancy.

The game's influences aren't hard to spot. Built to take charge of the handset's accelerometer, Chicken's Can't Fly echoes Doodle Jump throughout - from the controls through to the intentionally sketchy visuals.

That's not to say it's entirely unoriginal. Indeed, Chickens Can't Fly has one or two tricks up its feathered sleeves.

On its head

Firstly, this is Doodle Jump in reverse. Rather than heading for the skies, here you're plummeting to the ground - remember, chickens really can't fly - and success is judged on your ability to stay out of trouble.

This means tipping your phone left and right to avoid everything from spinning razor blades to butchers who want to lop your head off. Make it to the bottom in one piece and you move on to the next.

At almost every turn, Chickens Can't Fly encourages you to take risks - and the gameplay is all the better for it.

While the levels - which are randomly generated - come sprinkled with with power-ups to keep you ticking over (making you smaller, slowing down your pace, etc), there are also those that have a negative effect on your progress.

Better the devil you grow

Though certain power-ups hamper your progress no end -causing you to grow dramatically or, in one early level, making the screen shiver left and right like a cheesy TV flashback - picking several up without dying multiplies your score.

It's a brilliant system that caters both for thrill-seekers and those who prefer to play it safe.

Chickens Can't Fly is nothing spectacular, but it's fun enough and pretty enough to justify a few hours of cheerful bird-brained screen-tapping.

Chickens Can't Fly

Almost old before its time, Chickens Can't Fly remains an endearing and - most importantly - brilliantly barmy accelerometer puzzler, with a twist that really sets the cat among the chickens
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Keith Andrew
Keith Andrew
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font. He's also Pocket Gamer's resident football gaming expert and, thanks to his work on PG.biz, monitors the market share of all mobile OSes on a daily basis.