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"[Game] Ultimate Chicken Horse"

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Sun 16/04/17 at 09:36
Regular
"Ghosts Can't Die!"
Posts: 774
Back in 2015 Nintendo released a fantastic little game on its now extinct Wii U called Super Mario Maker. It gave gamers like me the chance to create our very own 2D adventure with everything from giant chain chomps and a pipe firing goombas to flying bullet bills and even Sonic the Hedgehog. Suffice to say it was a dream and even managed to claim my title of best game of that year.

There was one thing that was missing though – multiplayer. While not a negative point against the game itself it did get me thinking about the possibilities of how a creation- focused platformer might work with a group of people. Enter Ultimate Chicken Horse, a competitive platformer where crafting devious assault courses to screw over your friends is key.

Up to four players can take part in Ultimate Chicken Horse, choosing one out of a small handful of critters (horse, chicken, raccoon, squirrel etc…) to run, hop and leap their way through what will eventually become a nightmare of obstacles. Every game starts out on a simple, empty canvas. The only thing that’s clear is where you start and where you need to get to. Each round then begins by offering five random items to players for them to place on the stage, the hope being that it makes it simple enough for you to complete but difficult enough for others fail. If the stage is too easy and everyone makes it successfully then no one gets any points. If even one person fails then the victors claim extra points. If no one makes it then the next round will allow players the chance to focus on making the stage at least doable.

The tools at your disposal offer a great mix of simple, useful, destructive and chaotic. Crates, planks of wood and staircases offer players the means to actually traverse the environment while bow and arrows, flaming tennis ball catapults and hockey puck launches add an extra element of panic to the proceedings. Some of my personal favourites include the teleportation devices and spinning buzzsaws. As you can imagine I’m first to snatch up the more deadly items.

The range of items is plentiful and with multiple people using them in their own unique ways, you’ll soon discover new tricks and combinations you never knew were possible. Without spoiling too much let me just say that the black hole obstacle offers the most experimentation.

Stages themselves offer as much obstacle as the tools. While early levels are simple left to right affairs, later unlockables soon have you moving up the screen or introducing fresh gimmicks such as a floating ship or disco lights. While ten stages in total may seem a little low, the fact you are essentially creating the stages themselves means the count is technically infinite.

Points are key in winning overall. Completing the stage gets you one step closer to the end goal, finishing first throws you a few more points for good measure. Coins that can be placed on the stage also offer a nice bonus for anyone willing to go the extra distance while fallen players succumbing to your nasty deathtraps also rewards you too. With all these methods of scoring it really does give you the chance to plan how you tackle the stage. Do you focus on getting points via your platforming ability or instead pick up change by good weapon placement?

While party mode is where you’ll want to spend most of your time, the game does offer a normal creation option too where creators can post their levels online for others to topple. While not as strong as the main game it is a nice distraction and does allow you to polish up your platforming skills.

The game has a wonderfully cute cartoony aesthetic to it, environments bright and covering all the usual tropes you’d expect to see from the genre. Every animal pal is full of charm too their fun little dances never failing to make you raise a smile. In a word it’s delightful.

Controls are nice and simple and while not as tight as a Mario game offer enough accuracy that you’ll soon be pulling off wall jumps and dead defying leaps aplenty.

Ultimate Chicken Horse is a brilliant multiplayer experience with endless potential. No two games will ever be the same. A PC download at the moment, the game is also due for release on consoles later this summer. I cannot recommend this game enough for anyone into their platformers or simply looking for a unique multiplayer experience. Become the Ultimate Raccoon today!

9/10
There have been no replies to this thread yet.
Sun 16/04/17 at 09:36
Regular
"Ghosts Can't Die!"
Posts: 774
Back in 2015 Nintendo released a fantastic little game on its now extinct Wii U called Super Mario Maker. It gave gamers like me the chance to create our very own 2D adventure with everything from giant chain chomps and a pipe firing goombas to flying bullet bills and even Sonic the Hedgehog. Suffice to say it was a dream and even managed to claim my title of best game of that year.

There was one thing that was missing though – multiplayer. While not a negative point against the game itself it did get me thinking about the possibilities of how a creation- focused platformer might work with a group of people. Enter Ultimate Chicken Horse, a competitive platformer where crafting devious assault courses to screw over your friends is key.

Up to four players can take part in Ultimate Chicken Horse, choosing one out of a small handful of critters (horse, chicken, raccoon, squirrel etc…) to run, hop and leap their way through what will eventually become a nightmare of obstacles. Every game starts out on a simple, empty canvas. The only thing that’s clear is where you start and where you need to get to. Each round then begins by offering five random items to players for them to place on the stage, the hope being that it makes it simple enough for you to complete but difficult enough for others fail. If the stage is too easy and everyone makes it successfully then no one gets any points. If even one person fails then the victors claim extra points. If no one makes it then the next round will allow players the chance to focus on making the stage at least doable.

The tools at your disposal offer a great mix of simple, useful, destructive and chaotic. Crates, planks of wood and staircases offer players the means to actually traverse the environment while bow and arrows, flaming tennis ball catapults and hockey puck launches add an extra element of panic to the proceedings. Some of my personal favourites include the teleportation devices and spinning buzzsaws. As you can imagine I’m first to snatch up the more deadly items.

The range of items is plentiful and with multiple people using them in their own unique ways, you’ll soon discover new tricks and combinations you never knew were possible. Without spoiling too much let me just say that the black hole obstacle offers the most experimentation.

Stages themselves offer as much obstacle as the tools. While early levels are simple left to right affairs, later unlockables soon have you moving up the screen or introducing fresh gimmicks such as a floating ship or disco lights. While ten stages in total may seem a little low, the fact you are essentially creating the stages themselves means the count is technically infinite.

Points are key in winning overall. Completing the stage gets you one step closer to the end goal, finishing first throws you a few more points for good measure. Coins that can be placed on the stage also offer a nice bonus for anyone willing to go the extra distance while fallen players succumbing to your nasty deathtraps also rewards you too. With all these methods of scoring it really does give you the chance to plan how you tackle the stage. Do you focus on getting points via your platforming ability or instead pick up change by good weapon placement?

While party mode is where you’ll want to spend most of your time, the game does offer a normal creation option too where creators can post their levels online for others to topple. While not as strong as the main game it is a nice distraction and does allow you to polish up your platforming skills.

The game has a wonderfully cute cartoony aesthetic to it, environments bright and covering all the usual tropes you’d expect to see from the genre. Every animal pal is full of charm too their fun little dances never failing to make you raise a smile. In a word it’s delightful.

Controls are nice and simple and while not as tight as a Mario game offer enough accuracy that you’ll soon be pulling off wall jumps and dead defying leaps aplenty.

Ultimate Chicken Horse is a brilliant multiplayer experience with endless potential. No two games will ever be the same. A PC download at the moment, the game is also due for release on consoles later this summer. I cannot recommend this game enough for anyone into their platformers or simply looking for a unique multiplayer experience. Become the Ultimate Raccoon today!

9/10

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