Scot Bennett is wondering if anyone fancies an omelette.
Eggs aren't something commonly associated with videogames. Perhaps this is why the latest offering from Sega's Sonic Team is more bizarre than it would normally be. It would have to be with a main character that runs around in a chicken suit wielding giant eggs as weapons, powered by fruit pieces that are dropped by the foes that were previously flattened with said dairy product. However, underneath the cartoon-themed wacky antics lies a puzzling platformer, one that certainly boasts many innovative ideas but one that finds working out the right formula for them slightly difficult.
The basic premise behind Billy Hatcher is easy enough - the evil crows have cast nightfall over the land of Morning World permanently, encasing the chicken elders of the land in eggs. Noted for his courage, Billy is called upon to stop the evil and restore light to the kingdom. By slipping into his magical chicken suit (oh boy) he gains the power to control eggs, his biggest weapon against the crows.
The key to progressing through the game are the eggs themselves. Billy can roll the eggs around the level, smashing anything that gets in the way. These include crates, enemies, barriers or even other eggs. Sometimes destructible objects leave fruit behind, which are used to "feed" the egg, until it eventually takes on a healthy glow, signifying that it is ready to hatch. Hatched eggs contain power-ups, varying from elemental animals, special abilities, extra lives and GBA mini-games.
The game is structured similar to Mario Sunshine, in that there are numerous worlds within which numerous missions must be completed. After each mission, you're given a pendant and the next mission is unlocked. After a set amount of missions have been completed, a new land is unlocked and you're free to tackle the levels there. It's not quite as open-ended as Mario Sunshine, but there is still a small degree of freedom available to you.
More importantly, it's fun. Billy Hatcher is certainly a lovable platformer, and one that will appeal to fans of both Mario and Sonic. The gameplay is lovably addictive and many people will endeavour to collect all 72 different eggs, viewable in a gallery on the level select page with information relating to the powers they contain. Fans of the genre will definitely find something to love about rolling giant eggs over their enemies, and the platforming sections that the eggs have been tied in wonderfully.
Unfortunately though, Billy Hatcher is flawed in areas where longer development time may have helped. Billy only automatically grabs hold of the egg when he's running, resulting in the occasional platform jump being missed due to slightly fiddly controls. Combat is relatively simple; a case of simply rolling the egg through an enemy repeatedly until they fall over. There are always a sufficient number of eggs around so taking care of the one you're controlling is never an issue - something I would have liked to have seen implemented.
Perhaps the most disappointing thing about Billy Hatcher is that despite the obvious amount of effort Sonic Team poured into making this something special and unique, it never really clicks like you expect it to. No matter how much fun you are having with it, you feel that there's always something missing that could have pushed it further. It's a very entertaining game no doubt, and one that I would happily recommend to any fan of the genre, but unfortunately Billy Hatcher just doesn't quite live up to the potential.