Title: SHOOTING CHICKEN BrutalSuckers
Format: Xbox Live Indie Game
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: June 10, 2012
Developer: Kohei Gallery
Price: 80MSP
SHOOTING CHICKEN BrutalSuckers is the follow up to Kohei Gallery's SHOOTING CHICKEN Revenge. It's a classic, side scrolling shooter with plenty of features and bonus content, but BrutalSuckers has a few issues that keep it from being a truly standout XBLIG release.
Gameplay:You play as Haruka, a girl with some serious guts who doesn't mind blasting chickens to bits. And this game features a surprising amount of variety when it comes to weapons to help you get the job done. You start out with a shot gun, submachine gun, assault rifle, magnum, flamethrower, and grenade. Clearing levels and finding money bags adds to your score and gives you bonus CP. With enough CP, you're able to unlock other items throughout the game.
The controls are pretty typical for a shooter. But the actual feel of the mechanics seem stiff and awkward - especially while aiming. For those of you familiar with the SNES game Time Slip, this will guarantee to bring back painful memories for you. The speed boost was also tricky to direct, and it's kind of a bummer that you can't jump while performing the boost.
Graphics & Sound:The sound of the flying chickens can become annoying after extended playthrough, but the soundtrack is good - albeit a little repetitive at times. The quality of the graphics really stand out compared to the average XBLIG, but the frame rate issues are what hold it back. There are frequent glitches while running, and the game slows down to a crawl when there are incoming hordes of chickens. There are also inconsistencies where enemies are able to jump up through the platform to get to the top, while you on the other hand, cannot.
Overall, this is a game that has a lot of good ideas and plenty of potential. Although the graphics are pretty impressive, the frame rate issues make it nearly unplayable at times. BrutalSuckers could still use a lot of work, but Kohei Gallery's latest release is definitely off to a decent start.
S&S Rating: 6.5/10
