Nobody at Gamestyle enjoys wanton cynicism. At its worst it can be unwarrantedly damaging, at its most faddish it is feeble and irrelevant. A critical eye unabashed with genuine appraisal is necessary but it must be tempered with understanding and zeal and without looking to childishly score points. You will find no Croshawism here. At the same time, it is important to make sure that enthusiasm does not cloud judgement. It can be easy to let mishaps be or make concessions because an indie game is so charming or the 8-bit aesthetics recall days when Tron was regarded as clairvoyance. chick chick BOOM could have, should have been more: a tremendous shame then that it is not.
An unescorted run at the game will most likely leave you with a single thought: this will be a fantastic multiplayer game. The tutorial is sharp but the hollowness of the single-player, devoid of a campaign mode or worthwhile unlockables, does little to justify solo perseverance. The AI reactions are distinctly limited and the single-player only Survival Mode is monotonous rather than gruelling, tedious rather than spurring. However it is regardless of this that you will believe chick chick BOOM to excel as a multiplayer game. Everything screams of possibility. Think frantic Worms or dragging a kicking and screaming Gorillas out of Qbasic.
Regrettably, dedicated multiplayer quickly reveal the numerous shortcomings. The crux of the control, joining dot-to-dot outlines of your weapon of choice, is too finicky for first-timer but there is little impetus to take pleasure in improvement as matches inevitably fall into stock tactics. The Plant weapon is too easily countered, something the AI rarely attempts with diligence in single-player, and moping up solitary chicks can extent matches beyond enjoyment. An unsatisfactorily artificial method of levelling the player field, it is not unusual for matches to descend into dreary and dismally prolonged exchanges with each player attacks aimed outside of their control until a stroke of luck concludes things, to mutual satisfaction regardless of the outcome.
It is impossible to be encouraging about a multiplayer game that enables players to celebrate the end of a round with frustration, boredom and not a care of a win. A good multiplayer game makes you want to shout, scream, swear and throw the controller at your opponent – unavailable on the Wii if you're wearing the remote strap. A good multiplayer game makes people talk about that stolen victory or salivate at that chance of a desperate rematch. chick chick BOOM does a lot of things right. It looks and sounds polished and attractive and the core mechanics have promise. It feels like it deserves better. But comparisons with luminary artillery games are foolish; there are too many imperfections to leave them unmentioned and any multiplayer game that leaves you celebrating the end for the end's sake is a failure. chick chick BOOM could have, should have been so much more: a tremendous shame that it is not.
