Review: Mad Chad - A Pigeon Is A Football Player's Best Friend
by Felix Xiao
November 22, 2010
Overview
A while back, Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Chad Ochocinco tweeted that his pregnant pigeon had been stolen from its cage. Regardless of whether the report was true or not, a new Ochocinco app has appeared in the app store. This time, your goal is to catch the thief of the prized bird in locations around the world.
Features
There are 20 levels in which you control a cartoon Chad as he runs, jumps, and slides his way from South Beach to Australia. In each level, you have 3 lives that are taken away when you hit an obstacle. Scattered through the side-scroller are many silver coins that can be obtained for more points, as well as gold coins that appear when you tap on an enemy to eliminate it. After running through each part of the world, Chad is graded based on the number of lives remaining and coins collected.The Good
Mad Chad is a nice Canabalt-style game with simple and effective controls that make it easy to play. There are 2 arrow buttons on the sides of the screen that are used to make Chad jump and slide. Some obstacles can be removed by tapping on them, while others must be avoided to retain all lives. The coins, especially the gold ones, add a challenging element to the game.
By now, most football fans should know that most things having to do with Ochocinco are usually quite entertaining. Mad Chad is a game that will make you smile, as it shows a somewhat younger version of the wideout chasing a thief while jumping over beach stands and sliding under balloons. There are different obstacles in each level based on the location, helping to give the game some variation. There are some nice fun facts at the bottom of the screen too, and after playing a few levels, you'll be sure to know that Chad Ochocinco once beat a horse in a race.
The Bad
There really isn't much to do in the game, and it ends up being very similar to any other running game available. A lack of an endless mode, leaderboards, and achievements really hurts replay value, as you can only play each level independently. There is no depth at all, and you do the same thing over and over again on different backgrounds. Although it does get more challenging as you progress, the missions feel long and repetitive,
Mad Chad also pales in comparison to Run!, an extremely similar running game. With more game modes, including a customizable one, Run! provides a much more enticing experience for the same price tag. Besides that, there are so many more endless side-scrolling games that contain better gameplay.
