Love them or hate them, you need to hand it to Sega; they’re one of the few developers who are truly willing to take a chance on something new. From innovative new concepts like Jet Grind Radio, to ambitious epics like Shenmue, to being among the first to experiment with online console gaming with Phantasy Star Online, Sega may not always succeed, but they certainly aren’t afraid to push the envelope. As a result, when Sega’s Sonic Team puts out a game starring a boy in a chicken suit who pushes eggs at his enemies, I was willing to give it a shot, even though the story sounded strange.
That, in a nutshell, is the premise of Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg for the GameCube. The title character is a boy, seemingly picked at random, to don a magical chicken suit and come to the aid of the roosters of Morning Town. You see, the crows (who naturally like the dark) have captured the chief roosters of the different lands of Morning Town. Since the sun cannot come out until the roosters crow, the lands have been plunged into eternal darkness until the roosters are freed from their golden eggs. It’s a far-fetched story, of course, but Rainbow Six this isn’t; besides, after the initial movie, the story is only advanced very infrequently.
Billy by himself is fairly helpless, unable to muster up even the weakest of punches; he can only run around like a chicken with his head cut off (my apologies for the bad joke) and crow at things. Billy’s main weapon, instead, are the multicolored eggs scattered around the various levels. Billy can use the eggs offensively in various ways, including rolling them over enemies, pushing them at enemies, and throwing or slamming them down from the air. In reality, most of the attacking will be done up-close and personal, since the projectile egg attacks are often inaccurate and more trouble than they’re worth.
As Billy defeats enemies, they leave fruit in their wake, which the eggs can roll over to grow larger, and do more damage to enemies as a result. (Apparently, the boys over at Sonic Team didn’t sit through the same sex ed tapes that I had to watch in high school…) After consuming enough fruit, the eggs can be hatched (by crowing at them), to reveal either items or helper animals to assist Billy on his journey. The helper animals are by far the most interesting element of the game, as each has a particular element associated with it (e.g. fire, water, ice, etc.), which must be used to pass certain obstacles in the levels. For example, a switch might be surrounded by fire, and you’ll need to use your water helper’s abilities to douse the flames. It’s very interesting, and well-placed at times, but the game occasionally places obstacles in places where there is no easy way to get back, and no appropriate eggs nearby, which can be maddening, especially considering the limited number of lives that the game imposes on the player.
Other than that, though, Billy Hatcher is similar to just about any other linear 3D platform game of the past couple of years. There is generally one defined path from start to finish for each mission, and once one figures out what that path is, the levels really are not all that difficult, although much trial and error is involved. The game consists of seven areas, each with five missions apiece to start, though that number eventually grows to eight missions per area as different conditions are met. The areas themselves are mostly standard themes, with an ice area, a lava area, a forest area, a circus area, etc. Some of the theming is interesting, like the trapezes that the eggs must traverse in the circus area, for instance, but the level design is otherwise nothing outstanding.
It should be noted that the player needs complete the first two missions in any given area to advance to the next area; the first mission involves hatching the golden egg in which the rooster is imprisoned, and the second is generally a trek across the stage that culminates in a boss battle. The rest of the missions are there to experience or not experience as the player sees fit. That said, a player seeking to reach the ending sequence could conceivably blast through the game with a dedicated day or two of play. However, reaching 100% on the game will require quite a larger time investment, especially considering that the game ranks the player’s performance on each level, so even completing all the missions is not necessarily enough to reach 100%.
A multiplayer mode is also included, in a sort of deathmatch mode where up to four players can roll eggs at each other. It’s interesting for a few minutes, and some will likely enjoy it, but I found it to be rather lacking. Some egg-related mini-games might have been more in line with the game’s theme, or the ability to play against computer opponents with a single player might have made this mode a bit more enjoyable. As it stands, it’s there, but it’s not going to make Billy Hatcher into a party game like Super Monkey Ball did.
This is all well and good in theory, but the real problem with Billy Hatcher is that it falls short in implementation. That is to say that the control basically ruins the potential that this game had to be another GameCube must have. The main challenge of the game is found in fighting with the egg to move in the direction you want it to go, and not in traversing the actual levels. Basically, the main problem is that it is much too easy to let go of the egg. This is achieved by pushing away from the egg when stopped. The problem is that the egg has such momentum that just trying to stop the egg’s forward momentum often results in letting go of the egg, and the controls are loose enough that moving it short distances is nigh impossible without circling the egg several times. Even worse, there is a move that allows Billy and the egg to bounce off the ground to higher than normal heights by pressing the jump button while in the air, which can often be used to reach high ledges. For some reason, however, Billy spins around the egg as it bounces, so when the egg barely lands on the ledge, Billy often falls back where he started from, unable to jump up to the ledge under his own power. What then happens is getting a second egg to try again, in the video game equivalent of throwing a football at the Frisbee stuck on the roof to knock it down. These problems both could have been solved very easily by assigning a button to release the egg rather than simply moving away from it; that way, there would be no frustration about Billy letting go of the egg when he shouldn’t be, leaving him completely defenseless.
Other than that, the game is fairly easy to pick up and play. Most of the controls are concentrated on the face buttons and should be second nature by the end of the first mission. While the control is simple, the game provides no tutorial at all, despite the new concept that may not be familiar to most gamers. That said, those experiencing Billy Hatcher as a rental may be completely relegated to trial and error for the first hour or so of play.
Graphically, Billy Hatcher is a colorful and vibrant game, but with a few technical issues. The game utilizes a lot of primary colors and bright light (except for the first mission of each area, before the rooster brings the sun out, of course), and the game looks very cartoony, but deliberately so, and is fun to look at. The crows, who morph into other animals, are mostly recognizable as the animals they are imitating, and have their own unique animations that give them personality. The game does have some significant slowdown issues, especially when several enemies are on-screen at one time, however. Even when the screen is not crowded, however, the framerate can take a hit for no apparent reason, which can make the game difficult to play.
One area in which Billy Hatcher truly excels, however, is in its sound. While there is no voice acting, it is not really missed because the story doesn’t really require it. The extent of the voice acting is a muffled “Good Morning!” that Billy yells after completing a mission, and the “Cock-a-doodle-doo!” that he shouts when hatching an egg, but both of those are done well enough that they don’t get boring to listen to over and over again. The music is cheerful and jaunty, and good enough to get stuck in your head, again, without getting boring Basically, Billy Hatcher is a fun game to listen to.
Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg looked to follow Super Monkey Ball and its sequel as one of the most innovative and fun games available for the GameCube; however, while the Super Monkey Ball games are designed to be difficult, Billy Hatcher is difficult as a result of its design, and that is where it falters. What’s most disappointing about Billy Hatcher is that it could have been a top-notch game if only the control was more refined. As it is, though, the control, along with a small number of other poor design decisions, takes the game from being a blast to being an expensive bundle of frustration. Billy Hatcher isn’t necessarily devoid of value, but the unnecessary pain involved in getting to the fun hardly seems worth the effort. That said, if Billy Hatcher still sounds interesting, make sure to rent it first; at least that way you’ll know what you’re getting yourself into.
