In the video game world, it is uncommon that a new franchise comes out of nowhere and delights gamers with its charm, presence, and polished gameplay. Titles such as Cave Story, Super Meat Boy, and World of Goo have defined this recent trend in the industry. Chick Chick Boom is the next hopeful in these lines of independent games, presenting itself as a wacky title brimming with potential. Sadly, the final product fails to truly engage the player, with limited depth and repetitive gameplay.

Spooky explosions await!

Chick Chick Boom is a battle/arcade game in which players must defeat their opponents by launching attacks at each other. While this may sound like the concept of a strategy game, the title plays around with this and includes a lot of wacky cartoon mayhem. You play as a group of chicks who defend their territory by throwing anvils, planting piranha plants, and more. The controls of these attacks are one of Chick Chick Boom's most fascinating features. With the Wii Remote's pointer, you draw an outline of the weapon you are about to use. If performed well, the weapon will appear on your enemy's territory.

Surprisingly, there is a layer of depth to this mechanic as you can do more with the Wii Remote pointer. You can protect your group of chicks by drawing lines over the weapons, essentially becoming shields. The weapons can also be upgraded. Sometimes, when selecting the weapon, a scrolling icon will appear on top of it; if you hit the icon at the right time, the weapon will be upgraded. For example, the anvil will turn into a couch, and the bomb will leave acid puddles behind. Status ailments, such as blurry vision, can also be casted upon your opponents so that drawing a weapon is more difficult. 

Warfare has never been cuter!

Chick Chick Boom also proves to be a solid multiplayer title. Strictly a two-player affair, there are both competitive and cooperative modes. In co-op, players help each other create weapons to toss onto enemy territories. They can be offensive and defensive, which is a neat way to play the game. Chick Chick Boom also features is duel mode in which players can set the number of rounds, a time mode, and a pro mode (the title’s "survival" mode).
The other notable aspect about the game is its presentation. Chick Chick Boom features a very clean, cartoon look that is appealing to the eye. The chicks themselves are simple in design, but they have a lot of personality, despite their minimalistic portrayal. The music is also quite effective with its cartoon melodies, as is the sound with itscomical yells of the chicks during heated battles.

Unfortunately, as polished as the overall game is, the gameplay isn’t that engaging. It can get very repetitive tossing the same weapons back and forth, and there is a short waiting time between attacks that tends to slow down the pace significantly. Chick Chick Boom tries to incorporate a series of ideas that seem fine at first, but eventually lose their novelty as the game drags on.

This doesn’t make Chick Chick Boom a bad game, though. A lot of thought and creativity went into the creation of this title. For a first time effort, it impresses. But as you spend time with it, its novelty begins to disappear. It’s fun for a few hours, but soon you will be craving for something with a little more meat on its bones.