A Cluckin' Fun Detective Story--Chicken Police

I've been on the lookout for cheap-ish but still enjoyable games popping up on Steam as part of their random sales.  I decided to roll the dice on an interesting but potentially odd-ball game--namely Chicken Police: Paint it Red!  For $9.79 I got to enjoy a somewhat predictable, but strangely creative film-noir style point-and-click story...starring anthopomorphized animals.

Sonny and Marty hash out the details.

What is it?

Chicken Police: Paint it Red! is a point-and-click detective story with a classic film noir setting and feeling.  Players follow the storied detective Santino Featherland as he tries to solve a case that involves a series of threatening messages aimed toward the local femme-fatale--Natasha Catzenko.  Like any good film-noir style story, it starts off with a pretty lady who has an unfortunate problem showing up in the office of a down-and-out detective who has had a bad run of luck.  The clincher that makes Chicken Police unique...the characters are all animals.

Part of the gameplay revolves around investigating different areas for clues.  The other part is interrogating people to learn pertinent facts related to the case.  Everything is point-and-click, so the mechanics are all simple.

I finished the story in 8 hours (and possibly missed 1 location) and that seems to be a pretty standard amount of playtime.  I didn't try to 100% anything (which might have taken longer but would've required looking up a guide.

Pros:

+ The anthropomorphic characters give the world and characters a unique spin.  Different types of animals live together in the city of Clawville--predators, prey, and insects--and the world has been developed with a deeper amount of lore than one would expect from a point-and-click detective game where you play a chicken detective.  

+ It's forgiving (maybe a bit too forgiving...) and there are plenty of chances to re-play interrogations you mess up.  Each time you interrogate a new suspect you receive a score based on how well you manage to keep the interrogation on the right track.  The goal is to pick the correct questions (based on character traits you learn during the interrogation) and to keep the conversation on track.  You're offered the chance to immediately re-play interrogation sequences once you've finished.

+ It has a fun film-noir feel--from the black and white graphics to the general vibe of the characters and world.  If classic films and old school detective stories are your jam, it'll be right up your alley.  Personally, I enjoyed the classic movie posters with new animal stars and names.

+ The story is somewhat predictable but was still entertaining.

+ The voice acting is shockingly good.  It's also carefully crafted to give the game that film-noir vibe.  The dialogue is pretty good and includes plenty of animal themed jokes.

Cons:

- It's the type of game that you'll probably play exactly once--for the price of $10, I guess that's fine.

- I wish some of the mechanics were a little bit deeper.  For example, there is an inventory where you can collect items pertinent to the investigation.  You can sort of take a closer look at the items (they will get somewhat larger and there's some commentary on the item) but I wish you could inspect it for clues.

- Most of the "puzzle" type of scenarios in the game are very simple but can be frustrating.  Namely, I wish there were a few nudges to point you in the right direction if you get stuck.

Recommendation:

I found Chicken Police to be a unique and fun detective game.  There's nothing overly difficult about it and the story, characters, and lore are entertaining.  If you are looking for something light, short, and fun, it'd be a great buy for about $10 (I'd grab it on sale give the fact that it's a one and done kind of deal).

 

Old News is Good News

It has been a busy few weeks for me and I missed one of the big breaking pieces of gaming news--namely the fact that CDPR decided to release a teaser about the next game in The Witcher saga.  The teaser came in the form of an image of a lynx medallion half-buried in the snow and led to many predictions about what could possibly take place in the next game.  Everyone is making their own projections about the next game, so, why not me too?

New medallion; who dis?

The lynx medallion seems to indicate that next game will focus on an entirely new school of witchers.  Throughout the games and books there's mention and interaction with witchers from some of the other schools--the school of the cat (home to witchers who tend to dabble in assassination) and the viper (the school of the witcher-come-kingslayer Letho)--come immediately to mind, but nary a word about a school of the lynx.

I think we can read a few things into this message--firstly, it looks like we probably won't see the series staple characters--no Geralt, Ciri, Triss, or Yen.  I don't think this is a bad thing as we've had three games to get to know and basically set these characters on their various paths.  Maybe we'll get some cameos and surprise appearances, but I have my doubts that any of them will play a major role.

Secondly, the slate has been wiped clean in regards to the protagonist, the setting, and the storyline.  A new witcher means an entirely new story and that is exciting!  This leaves a ton of unanswered questions--will the story still take place in the Northern Kingdoms?  Could we possibly get a choice as to the gender of our new witcher (I would love to be able to choose a male or female option--before people get all bent out of shape about "canon" though--yes, I know there are no female witchers in the books)?  Maybe we'll get a story based somewhere new and more exotic; maybe we'll get some new sorceresses (or sorcerers) and fun companions; maybe we'll get an even better Roach!

There has also bee a lot of buzz this week about the fact that several games (including the upcoming Witcher game) have announced the fact that they will be using Unreal Engine 5.  I don't know anything about how these engines work and the development process, but all of the images of characters I've seen look really amazing.  Maybe by the time the game releases there will be some affordable GPU's so that we can all take advantage of the amazing graphics.

Okay, so now for the fun part--my wishlist for the next Witcher game!

Wish #1:  As previously stated, I think it would be great to have the option of choosing a male or female option for a new protagonist.  I mean, CyberPunk gave us this option, so why not the next Witcher game? 

Wish #2:  Related to wish #1--the ability to custom create your witcher.  I know, I know--we've never had this option, but CyberPunk did it well with V.

Wish #3:  A new setting--the Northern Kingdoms are great and all, but I feel like the first three games have really covered that territory.  The Blue Mountains--maybe an elfier plotline?  Zerrikania?  Nilfgaard?  I just think it's time for somewhere new.

Wish #4: Improved combat/new abilities.  I know that many people find the combat in the series to be a weak point (to me, it's fine--I would rather be more focused on the story and characters) and would like to see it improved.  I think after three games and introducing a new witcher school, there's some room for new and improved abilities.

As a big CDPR/The Witcher fan, I will be keeping my eyes peeled for any and all news related to this upcoming game.  I can't wait to learn even more!