Space Chicks (out now, $0.99) is not about baby chickens hopping about, but an astronaut adventuring across galaxies saving gals stranded on unfriendly planets.
Though essentially an endless runner, the game differs from others in the genre due to its physics mechanics. In addition, unlike other endless runners in which you’re forced to keep moving forward, and fast, Space Chicks allows you to move at your own pace and even go backwards.
You start on your green home planet, running circles. All it takes for you to leap into space is a tap. Gravity will pull you to the nearest planet or asteroid, and again, you’ll run circles. Although you’ll be running continuously whenever you land, you can leap freely to any celestial bodies, as far back to the left as you like. Your objectives are to collect as many gold coins as you can and deliver the stranded girls to their rocket ships.
Of course, there are enemies and obstacles to dodge. These are quite varied and range from stationary green blobby monsters and giant purple caterpillars to bombers and space fiends who will chase you about. If you touch one or get blasted upon, you’ll lose a life and some coins. If you’re carrying a girl, you’ll drop her too and have to pick her back up. You’ll have five lives initially, though you can occasionally gather hearts (extra lives).
When you get to the end of a series of planets, you’ll jump into a spaceship and fly off, collecting coins and occasionally hearts, until you crash-land onto the next planet. Each time you progress to the next series of planets, the game gets a little tougher.
Space Chicks is a whole lot of fun in itself, and its in-game store, called The Lab, makes it an even greater blast. You can purchase power-ups to be delivered in airdrops, various upgrades, better ships, and also costumes. You can even arm your gal with a hammer to mash your enemies. For those with a friend to play against, you can challenge each other in the local multiplayer mode.
iFanzine Verdict: Space Chicks is well worth a buy for those who enjoy endless runners or platformers. This may not be the most politically correct title, but I’m sure the developers meant it in good fun. Fun is something the game certainly isn’t short of, especially with its cute enemies and catchy music. Besides, the gals you ferry may end up saving your life with a mean hammer.