Super Chicken

Faster than a speeding nugget!

I always say this, but I’m dead chuffed when I come across summat new for the ST. Well, new to me, anyway. Odds are, everyone else already knows, and it’s just me who’s been left in the dark? With that in mind, here’s a game I happened to stumble on by chance while moochin’ through the Hang Loose archive.

The moment I saw the name Super Chicken, I was amusingly intrigued. I chuckled to myself, assuming it would be some childish, half-baked attempt at a shooter or something. As it turns out, it’s actually a platformer developed in STOS by a guy called Thomas Smith in 1996. Maybe some of you have heard of it before, but I certainly hadn’t - because, around that time, I packed up my ST and went the Mac route.

The objective of the game is simple - just collect all the eggs and make your way to the exit. However, there is a catch! As soon as you pick up an egg, the floor tile beneath it becomes electrified, meaning you can’t step on it again. So, you’ve got to grab the egg and keep moving, or you’ll end up as fried chicken! Along the way, you will come across ladders and escalators to help you reach other eggs. Some tiles even have two eggs, but you can only pick up one at once! The exit remains blocked until all eggs are collected.

Super Chicken is all about planning the best route in real-time as you walk, making sure you never have to step on the same tile twice. Well, you physically can’t, unless you fancy getting zapped! Miss just one egg, and there’s no way to go back for it. No matter how many others you collect, the exit will remain blocked. It’s incredibly frustrating - especially when you realise you’ve left just one egg behind (as in my screenshots).

I think this is surprisingly good for a homebrew game released in the ST's dark ages. It’s frustrating, yet incredibly addictive all at the same time. I was shocked to stumble across it - but even more surprised to find that it looks comical, scrolls smoothly, and sounds great. Thomas clearly knew his stuff! It’s just a shame it came out several years too late for most ST gamers to hear about it. Or is it just me, again?

Give this a download - I’m sure you’ll enjoy it for a few plays! Let me know what you think in the comments. This review is dedicated to Miesiu who visits AtariCrypt all the time and leaves comments on so many pages! Okay, since this isn't a commercial title, I’m giving it a solid 60% because it’s damn good fun!

• The Hang Loose Archive on Pigwa: http://ftp.pigwa.net/stuff/collections/AtariSTarchive/...
• Atari Legend has this on Serenade #83 menu disk: https://www.atarilegend.com/menusets/...
• AtariUpToDate has it on a great Floppyshop disk: https://www.atariuptodate.de/...

This is the start, shall we take the escalator or ladder route?

Can you see where I went wrong here?

Foolishly I thought I was rocking the opening level.

Yep, I missed one egg so I could not exit... ARGHHH!!

Instead, I was fried alive like something from an old cartoon!