Twitch and Spaz Go to the Movies:
Evil Dead and Chicken
Run

By Twitch
and Spaz

Twitch: This week we’re going to review two movies that have
been made into games.

Spaz: Dude, this was the scariest game I’ve
ever played. When those vampire chickens started pecking on the other animals
in the barnyard, well, let me tell you, I’m afraid to eat bacon now.

Twitch:
Whatever are you blabbering about?

Spaz: The Evil Dead Chickens.
Man, that was some petrifying poultry.

Twitch: Dude, sometimes I
think your brains have been sucked dry. We’re reviewing two very different games
this week: Evil Dead and Chicken Run.

Spaz: Uh, yeah
… I knew that. Hey, you know why a vampire reminds me of Jen? They both bite.

Twitch:
All right, that’s enough. Evil Dead: Hail to the King is based on the
classic horror trilogy starring Bruce Campbell. While it initially seems like
Evil Dead will just be another run-of-the-mill survival horror game, by
the time it has concluded you realize you have played a minor classic. What at
first seems like it will just be a rehash of the movie soon becomes a worthy sequel
highlighted by a classic Evil Dead twist ending.

Spaz: And
Bruce Campbell is a hoot. No half-hearted effort here, he reads his lines with
relish, and anyone who found the cutting sarcasm of the movies funny will find
the game just as humorous. In fact, in a spark of inspiration inspired by the
finishing moves of Mortal Kombat, Ash (Bruce Campbell) can finish off opponents
by blurting out a snappy one-liner.

Twitch: If there is one noticeable
problem with this game, it is the respawning of the numerous foes–the Deadites,
the Wolverine Troops, the Hellbillies–sometimes it feels as though the constant
battles are slowing down the game. Thankfully, as the game progresses, there is
less fighting and more puzzles.

Spaz: The puzzles are not the typical
“find a key, open a door” that are usually found in this type of game.
Instead, there are actual inventory-based puzzles that would make any adventure
gamer proud. No, they aren’t so difficult that they will keep you awake all night–you
find a wrench, you use it to fix a pipe–but this game is about fun, it’s not
a Mensa test.

Twitch: If you’ve seen the movies, then you know the
weapons are fun also. Nothing fancy here, no lasers or nail guns, just a good
old-fashioned axe, shotgun, rifle, and, of course, Ash’s famous chainsaw. Inventory
items include journal pages, research notes, and pages from the Necronomicon.
Health potions are plentiful and save points evenly spaced so that if you lose
a life, you shouldn’t have to replay a major portion of the game.

Spaz:
So what is Evil Dead: Hail to the King about? Honestly, does it really
matter? Does anyone remember what the movies were about? But if you must know,
Ash is having nightmares about the cabin in the woods so his girlfriend Jenny
drives him back to confront his fears. Does Jen then get kidnaped? Does Evil rear
its ugly head? Does Elvis live? What do you think?

Final Grade: B+

Twitch:
Our second game is based on that summer blockbuster movie, Chicken Run.

Spaz:
Not only were no chickens harmed in the making of this game, but we understand
it stars the original chickens from the movie and Mel Gibson’s voice!

Twitch:
It does not! Stop that. If you saw the movie Chicken Run and thought
it would make a great game, you were right, but this isn’t it. Too hard for children
and too boring for adults, Chicken Run falls into that netherworld of wasted
potential.

Spaz: The graphics and voices are marvelous, but the
game limits where you can go and what you can do. To make matters worse, as you
sneak around the barnyard attempting to avoid the hounds, you have to keep an
eye on a small radar screen displayed in the corner, and the reaction time between
spotting danger on the radar screen and actually being attacked is so minuscule
as to raise your frustration level to extra crispy.

Twitch: The game
more or less follows the plot of the movie as you sneak around collecting various
items that can help escape from the Tweedy’s farm. This leads to a lot of to-and-froing
and repetition that quickly become boring. Mini arcade-style games are spaced
throughout, but unless you find collecting eggs rolling down chutes as fast as
you can enjoyable, then you’re sure to not find any of this egg-citing.

Spaz:
Probably the best thing about this game is that when you are finished, you
can deep-fry the main characters in eleven herbs and spices. Just try to ignore
Ginger’s cackling as you drop her into the hot oil.

Twitch: Dude,
that’s too gross. Hey, pass me one of those drumsticks.

Final Grade:
C-

Minimum System Requirements:Pentium
200 MHz or equivalent
4 MB 3D graphics card
100 MB of free hard drive space
32
MB RAM
4x CD-ROM drive
Sound card (any SB or DX compatible sound card)
Microsoft
Windows 95/98
DirectX 7