CHICKEN POX Review for iOS

What’s a chicken to do when he wakes up one morning to find that his precious eggs have scattered themselves all over his farm (and to lands beyond)? He uses his assortment of advanced land, marine, and air vehicles to gather them of course! Nosy Jones’s Chicken Pox for iOS, in which we play as the lovable chicken farmer, “Pox,” on his quest to round up wayward eggs, has all the makings of a casual, yet addictive mobile game.

Gameplay

Chicken Pox’s main feature is a list of colorful stages, which players can unlock one by one as they pass each level. Each stage takes Pox to a different environment (e.g. a new place on his farm), where he must collect his eggs in a timely fashion without running out of gas for his vehicle. As a pleasant addition, after a stage’s completion, players are shown a bird’s-eye view of the path they took, which often takes the shape of some important object or animal. This is used as a form of identification for each level and makes each stage more memorable.

There is technically only one game mechanic: using your finger to drag Pox in a direction to collect his eggs. As long as players are mindful of gas levels and time, they can move Pox as quickly or as slowly as they wish, or turn his vehicle around on a dime. Although this may seem initially uninteresting, Chicken Pox spices up gameplay with the addition of a litany of obstacles, such as bouncing sheep and wandering cows, which will chunk away at Pox’s gas levels if hit. If Pox loses enough tanks of gas by failing to complete a stage, players will have to wait a certain amount of time before they are refilled (or succumb to monetary payment for immediate gas refilling). These characteristics, along with the creative stages and occasional mini-games, will manage to maintain player interest.

The only complaint I would make about mechanics are the “hitboxes” of the blue eggs. These eggs, which are not necessary to complete a level, are often placed in obscure corners of the stage and easily passed over unless players keep their existence in mind.  The challenging placement of these eggs is fine and enjoyable; however, I would occasionally run into the scenario where I could not get Pox to collect the egg even if it appeared that he was completely on top of it.

Story

There is nothing more to the storyline then what was already mentioned. Its simplicity is part of its charm.

Aesthetics

The graphics in Chicken Pox are not those of your run-of-the-mill mobile game. Sure, it has a cutesy and cartoonish style, but it is very obvious that the developers put a lot of care and thinking into the crafting of the games components, most noticeably its stages and various cool vehicles. Even Pox’s elated or frustrated expression after finishing a stage is a nuance that adds to the players overall experience, one that I did not know was uncommon until I compared Chicken Pox to similar games that I have played before.

Rating

I have been careful to not assign a specific type of player-base to Chicken Pox and perhaps that was for the best. Although its bright and simple palette obviously appeals to younger audiences, it is not hard to see any age picking up this game for some casual fun. Chicken Pox deserves a high score of 8.2/10.

Take a Look at the Chicken Pox Gameplay Trailer:

Chicken Pox is available on iOS and Android for FREE and includes in-app purchases. 

Annie Khuu

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In second grade, I received my first console, a purple GameCube on which I would spend hours playing games such as Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, and Zelda Wind Waker. Although those GameCube days are long gone, I have continued to play and be fascinated by games more than a decade later. My current university schedule keeps me busy, but I still enjoy playing Smash with dorm-mates and friends, torturing myself by trying to climb on League of Legends solo queue, and exploring mobile games

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