Fowl Space

Developer: Pixelante
Released: Mar 2012
Hours Played: 2.9
Similar To: Fury Unleashed / Guns, Gore & Cannoli / Rocketbirds / Zombie Kill of the Week
Rating: 2/5 Parsnips




GAMEPLAY
Here you assume the role of a large chicken who moves by use of the WASD keys and who's out to do away with any vikings who stand in his way. You may do a double-jump but it is a very float, hover-like move. You come equipped with a large weapon that's attached to your back which you aim and fire with the mouse. It functions like a machine-gun but, fitting in with the heavy use of double-entendres that you'll encounter in the text, actually fires white globs resembling spurts of semen. You'll get two more upgraded weapons as you go but you'll curiously need to downgrade to deal with certain enemies later.




BALANCE & PACE
There are just four levels which you could probably finish in about 30 minutes each, plus one very short fifth level that's more or less a cut-scene. You do get a score but the game really works best to romp through in a couple of hours making the loot-drops worthless. With coffee-cups acting as health, deaths are not really punished (not on the setting I played anyway) as you're thrown back in from exactly where you left off with all progress intact and with no extra enemies respawned. There are a few puzzle-based areas but these usually involve getting to switches and shooting at them to de-activate locked doors. There is also a fair bit of precision jumping involved like avoiding spikes or jumping onto moving platforms.



PRESENTATION & DESIGN
All characters, including the protagonist, are in deep-black silhouetted form. Your main focus will be on your cock (oo-er) and the weapon that he wields which is ether the sperm-thrower, the flame-thrower or the cat-hurler. Missiles are rendered in white or lighter shades of grey. The backgrounds come in deep and vibrant primary and secondary colours with swirly grey patches on the walls which gives the game that rich atmosphere. There is no substantial music worth speaking of and no voice-acting either. You get a straightforward start-menu with a few vikings in the background and the simplest of pathways as a little ambient music simmers away in the background. Options give you the usual sound and full-screen options along with the choice of four levels of difficulty. 


PROGRESS SYSTEM
On pressing Play you're taken to a level-select screen where you can replay a previously completed level or start the level you are currently on. There are also nine extra levels that get added on as a bonus while you play and these can be accessed by clicking on the small black and orange icons at the level-select screen. There are five levels with the penultimate one being very short and the last being more or less a cut-scene. The game uses regular check-points and you can resume your game from the main menu. Finally, the game does give a score as you collect loot but, as this score seems not to be recorded anywhere, seems totally useless and irrelevant.



CONCLUSION
Although there are 3 or 4 difficulty levels, Fowl Space is a very forgiving game. You get unlimited ammo and there are many places to pick up coffee cups which replenish your heath generously. Even when you do die, after you click "Continue" from the death-screen you return straight back into the game with full-health as if nothing had happened anyway. It doesn't force you to do any of the game again and as the score in the game seems irrelevant it's really all about storming through it - which you can probably do in about 2 hours. For this reason Fowl Space is your typical, throwaway casual platformer. Blast your way through and move on.