iHop – Getaway Chicken HD Review

iHop – Getaway Chicken HD-2

iHop – Getaway Chicken HD-2

[rating: 4/5]

iHop – Getaway Chicken HD Review: Using Your iPad to Bounce to Freedom

A fun iPad app that will have you bouncing through the countryside as you attempt to make your escape from the farmer’s festive but fiendish plans.

In iHop – Getaway Chicken HD ($1.99) your job is to fly the chicken coop before becoming someone’s idea of dinner. By using the accelerometer, you move the iPad to bounce your chicken off the hay bales and scoop up coins and food along the way. Of course you also need to avoid the bats and birds in your path. And the meat products. You’re a vegetarian, you know.

Using the accelerometer to control your bounces is a really natural way to play this game. It doesn’t take much practice to direct your chicken along a path you choose. But choosing the path is what makes this game difficult. You have to be quick about choosing a landing spot, picking up fruits and vegetables as you bounce along. You can tap the screen on the left to shoot eggs to knock out the bats and birds or you can tap the screen on the right to bounce higher to avoid or connect with objects crossing your path.

This game is part of the GameCenter network, but it’s also part of the WEMO network. On GameCenter you’ll be able to compare yourself to friends and track achievements and rankings. But with WEMO, you’ll be able to see ghosts within the game as you pass your friends’ highest accomplishment.

iHop – Getaway Chicken HD also has in-app purchases available that can make the game easier to play. Skis to allow you land on smaller surfaces and a tri-hop skill are the most popular. But of course, you can also do quite well in the game without these additional items.

The graphics and music give the game a zany feel. The music is carnival-like and spunky, even bouncy. (See what I did there?) It has a fun feel, but could use a bit more variety in the look/feel/play of the game. A different background may not be enough to keep some people’s attention.

Overall, iHop – Getaway Chicken HD is an easy to pick-up game that will have you thinking you’ve got it mastered as it defeats you soundly. The accelerometer control means this probably isn’t a game you can play as you are sitting through a meeting, but it does make for a natural interface. There’s plenty here to keep you coming back to test your skills.

What we like:

  • Puts the accelerometer to good use for controlling the game
  • Backward movement allowed
  • Multiple objectives to accomplish increases the complexity

What to know:

  • Advancing can be prolonged and a bit difficult
  • Could use some more variety in the environments

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