The Evil Chicken of Doom by Mel S

The Evil Chicken of Doom Reviews
Author: Mel S
Date: 2004
ADRIFT 4.0

Score: 2 Otters

ADRIFT author Mel S. is probably best known for zany horror-comedy hi-jinks (light on the horror), but he didn't always write in this style. Prior to this game, it seems most of his work was of the Deadline murder mystery type. In Mystery's ADRIFT-O-Rama, Mel's course is themed around the murder mystery rather than comedy. It seems that the inception of Speed-IF compilations in the ADRIFT community (and for the purists, this one is a true, one-hour-only Speed-IF) fundamentally changed the major output of this author with their constraints. The author has recently stated that these are his favourite sort of games to write. In fact, it seems that every game he has written since this one has been written as Speed-IF with his now trademark wacky tone.

So how does this one hold up? If off-the-wall, amped-up freak outs over the impossible and the absurd make you laugh, this one definitely will. It merrily defenestrates mimesis. It even shows good characterization for its scope. Unfortunately, probably as a side-effect of being made in an hour, it does suffer from Guess the Verb (one annoying instance, for example, where “take” is accepted, but not “get”) and Guess the Syntax problems, but if they really stymie you, there's no shame in turning to a walkthrough. These problems, however, are few. Little replay value except in booting this crazy, li'l thing back up to show your friends, but hey.

Ultimately: like drinking absinthe and novocaine from a little shot glass with a big, dangerously pointy chip in the glass, it is perhaps best done fast and with a little guidance, but if it's your thing-- oh, you will laugh.

I was a little sceptical when I downloaded this game, if only because I knew my laughter would be at the expense of a defenceless, two-nosed chicken. The humour is not subtle. There are no puns. There are no pop-culture references. It's just funny - utterly, laugh-out-loud funny. You're trying to kill a two-nosed chicken. That's the entire premise and as far as the game goes. But the game really runs far with that premise. Apparently, you can't just strangle the chicken. You have to find a more creative way.

The puzzles are perfect for IF beginners and provide very little challenge. But it's worth playing for the jokes (which is something I usually never say about an IF game). Even the hint-system - or lack thereof - is written in an amusing way. Just type 'hints' once. I promise you won't get any.

Play The Evil Chicken of Doom to brighten up your day. And don't worry - the chicken will be avenged in the end.

Reviewed by David Whyld

Hilarious, if completely mad, comedy game. One day, you and your friend Steve discover that your chicken has two noses. On account of this, you decide to kill it. Cruel? Yep. But it *is* giving you evil looks so you've probably got justification. Not a game that will occupy you for very long and the humour is probably an acquired taste, but it's certainly one I enjoyed.

My fave out of all of the one hour games, The Evil Chicken Of Doom was genuinely comical in places and (in my humble opinion anyway) quite a bit better than some of Mel S' full length games.At heart it's pretty much a nonsense game about (yep, you guessed it), an evil chicken that has two noses. On account of this, you and your friend Steve decide that the best thing to do is kill it. Cruel? Perhaps. But then it does have two noses and is giving you evil looks.Buried amidst the silliness there is actually quite a good game here. Short, of course, being written in an hour but proof that you don't have to spend ages on a game to write something worthwhile. Re-written as a full size game, this would be quite something.

Woody's One Hour Game Comp Reviews - Posted on ADRIFT Forum

Reviewed by Woodfish

Authors deserve feedback, so here are my reviews of the games made in one hour, up on the ADRIFT site. Note that these are one minute reviews also!

THE GREEN PRINCESS---------------------
Very short game. Bit of GTV. Quite a humorous idea, decent effort. 6/10

A MACHOISTS HEAVEN---------------------
Funny little game, fairly good considering it was made in an hour. Some good ideas. 7/10

MICROBE WILLIE vs. THE RAT-------------
Different idea, not that well executed. Room descriptions too short, good concept, though. 5/10

HIDEOUS HOUSE OF HORROR----------------
Quite good, decent puzzling adventure, pretty well made. 7/10

PRINCESS IN THE TOWER------------------
Very good for a one hour game. Funny in places, some good descriptions. 8/10

EVIL CHICKEN OF DOOM-------------------
Quite funny, good ideas, fairly well made. 7/10#

A MONKEY TO MANY!----------------------
Quite good, but has some GTV and is very short. 7/10

JASON vs SALM--------------------------
Nothing much too it, only good feature is the ability to choose your player. 4/10

ULTIMATE WARRIOR-----------------------
Not very good, not much to do. Not very well made. 2/10

PICK OF THE BUNCH: Princess in the tower by Davidw

THE GAME TO END ALL GAMES
After the Death Agency start, this picked up quite well and used several interesting ideas. Well worth a look. 6/10

THE GREEN PRINCESS
Quite a bit of guess-the-verb and descriptions were sparse. But for a game written in an hour it wasn't too bad. 4/10

A MASOCHIST'S HEAVEN
Quite amusing if a little hard. Descriptions were pretty decent. No masterpiece but certainly worth playing. 5/10

MICROBE WILLIE vs. THE RAT
Interesting enough idea but the sparseness of the room descriptions left a lot to be desired. 3/10

EVIL CHICKEN OF DOOM
My favourite (well, I can hardly choose my own now can I?) Very comical and some quite good puzzles. Actually better than some of Mel S' full length games (bigger too). 6/10

A MONKEY TO MANY!
Certainly well written. But too short, even for a game written in an hour. 6/10

JASON vs SALM
Interesting idea in that you can pick which character to play but not really much of a game besides that. 4/10

ULTIMATE WARRIOR
Not even a game, just a collection of pictures. Even for a game written in an hour, this was bad. 1/10

OVERALL FAVOURITE: THE EVIL CHICKEN OF DOOM

Home \| About Me
	DELRON The Home of Otter Interactive Fiction

Any donation would be much appreciated to help keep the site online and growing.		To help make your donation quicker and easier just click the "Donate" button and you will be taken to the secure Paypal donation page.
		Home \| About Me

DELRON The Home of Otter Interactive Fiction

DELRON

The Home of Otter Interactive Fiction