Prehistoric Boot Call: Chop Chop Kicker
Chop Chop Kicker ($0.99) by Gamerizon brings the cute caveman from Chop Chop Caveman to the catapult-game genre. If you know Sheep Launcher or Kick Buttowski you know this type of game.
But, it brings a surprising element of skill to the genre, by incorporating a little something from hit games Solipskier, and Tiny Wings as well as Max and the Magic Marker.
What you get when you add all these ingredients together is a colorful raptor-stew of gaming fun.
Chop Chop Kicker is a clever little time passer set in the Paleolithic era, that let’s your caveman kick dinosaurs (the historical accuracy of the backstory is wanting, it’s just a game). You draw paths with a magic marker, to guide the prehistoric beast as far as possible.
Along the way you need to collect the jellybeans that refill the marker and avoid obstacles.
Some of the creatures will aid you, ironically, by kicking you when you’re down, and there are Easter eggs that refill your pen quickly. You can even do cloud-touches, straight out of my current iPhone addiction, Tiny Wings. Chop Chop Kicker certainly borrows from the best.
Check out the game trailer:
You know what? It’s fun. It’s not going to pass hours or tax your brain, but for a casual game it is a solid choice for the family.
You earn coins by completing levels which allow you to unlock backgrounds, special items and best of all, new dinosaurs. They don’t do much, but neither do new Dojo blades in Fruit Ninja and that doesn’t stop players from wanting to collect every one.
The game features OpenFeint support if you care to boast about your record-breaking kicks too.
On the downside, the marker does seem to have a slight lag; it doesn’t feel like drawing in real time, which can cost you. Also, it’s hard to tell friend from foe.
The real issue is replay value. This game is a fun distraction, but essentially you are doing the same thing over and over. And over.
The games it borrows from like Solipskier and Tiny Wings are compulsively replayable. Chop Chop Kicker is not likely to be habit forming.
That said, the game is $.99. It’s cute, it’s kid-safe, and it offers a little something new to both the catapult genre and the Chop Chop line. You could call it Easter-themed, but for the fact that the Paleolithic era predates the holiday by a few years.
Chop Chop Kicker is not a must have, but if you like any of the games mentioned, or any of the other games in the franchise, it’s worth the dollar for the pleasant distraction.
