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B.I.R.D.

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Developer: Rainbow Creatures
Publisher: Rainbow Creatures
Genre: Adventure > Platform
Released: Sep 18, 2005
Players: 1

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- B.I.R.D. Review

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Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's... oh, it is a bird after all. But not just any old bird, it's...B.I.R.D.! Feel free to use your imagination to assign meaning to the mysterious acronym, it defied even the closest scrutiny of the admittedly very sparse game documentation, suggesting that it just might be completely meaningless after all. However, the search wasn't completely useless - it did uncover the developers' dislike towards using B.I.R.D. in cyber café settings. Anyway, back to the topic: this new release from Rainbow Creatures (not to be confused with the hideously mottled toy line) explores the age-old rivalry between man and beast, delving into the mind of the latter and exposing the motives behind a horrifying phenomenon - the fly-by droppings.

The game puts you into the role of a vigilante poo-slinger, a droopy-eyed, slightly lethargic-looking birdie with little on its mind except for getting its precious eggs back in the silliest way imaginable - by throwing its �€˜natural ammo�€™ (as the game calls it) at suspected egg-stealers and performing outlandish maneuvers to anger them as much as possible. Not a lot of the plot is explained (including the exact relation between the rock-flinging boys and your eggs, though they're probably planning to use them in some kind of a nefarious world domination scheme) but the quirky premise serves as the base for some fun mechanics which differ from the regular 2D-platformer gameplay you might expect even after a look at the screenshots.

Your unusual protagonist will make its way through 30 levels, interrupted by an occasional boss fight thrown in for good measure, with the goal of most levels being the acquisition of a certain score before the time runs out. But how do you do it? Each of the "active" enemies (the ones who aren't just a part of the scenery but count towards the level completion score) has a handy little anger icon above his head, filling up as you either fly closely around the rocks they throw at you causing near-collisions, or simply, you know, do what birds do best. Acrobatic flying is usually a lot more productive in terms of points than utilizing your rear cannon, and there are a bunch of power-ups you can collect along the way, mainly affecting the timer, your "ammo" count, and game speed. If it sounds confusing, don't be afraid, the gameplay elements are introduced very gradually, and everything is explained in detail through short text snippets (note to Rainbow Creatures: please run the text through a spell checker) at the beginning of each level. It's not that hard to get a grasp of the basics.

A few simple but cool subgames, such as the shmup-like magic carpet ride, do a good job at breaking the monotony of the level progression and keeping the game fresh - it almost feels like Capcom's Three Wonders at times. Moreover, the level password system (keep a post-it or two at hand!) functions as an incentive to play on, since the passwords, though handed out quite liberally, aren't present after each and every level.

Graphics: 7/10
Throughout the levels, B.I.R.D. will have you gazing in admiration at different wonders of both magic and technology - flying carpets, zeppelins, steampunk flying machines and more, most of which are working against you in one way or another. All are drawn in the same style, with smooth heavy highlights similar to sprites from Amiga oldies like James Pond (albeit with less lavish colours), and sprinkled around on backgrounds resembling stills from a cutesy Korean cartoon.

It's very nice to see that there's still someone out there practicing the neglected art of spritemaking, and the overall atmosphere of the game should be very appealing to the casual player. But the repetitive sprite animations could definitely benefit from a few more situation-specific frames instead of what appear to be constantly playing loops, and the otherwise very nice backgrounds are nothing to write home about as far as any kind of movement is concerned. Though the standard tricks of the trade like parallax scrolling are used on occasion, most of the background images are completely static as the majority of the levels consist of a single screen. So they just end up sitting there and looking pretty - no wind in the trees, no movements of the clouds, nothing. Now that's where a looping animation would have done some good.

Sound: 7/10

The very minimal sound effects and cheerful background tunes heard in B.I.R.D. are exactly what you'd expect from an arcade with such a silly theme. No glaring faults here (apart from the lack of catchiness to the tunes), but the sounds could have been used to create a more fitting atmosphere in some situations. There's no real sense of urgency even when you're a few seconds away from your timer reaching the dreadful zero, and the blame for this partially falls on the aural monotony. The music remains the same, and though you can hear the timer ticking, there are no other indicators that the level is nearing its end mark. In theory, it should be very hard to miss the timer sound effects, but when concentrating on the aerial stunts, levels somehow seem to end very suddenly.

Gameplay: 6/10
The already mentioned timer forces the player to be very precise at certain points in the game even in easy mode, grabbing a time bonus at the last moment or doing that final maneuver in order to win before the time runs out. Therefore, it should be safe to assume that the control scheme is smooth, allowing you to perform even the most complicated stunts with relative ease. But it's not. The mouse controls act quite weird, sometimes giving your poor unsuspecting birdie enormous speed boosts at the slightest move of the mouse, making the mouse completely unsuitable for serious acrobatic flying. The simplistic keymap (arrows+space) works much better �€“ there are no unexpected movements unless you somehow manage to accidentally hit the mouse while struggling not to collide with a particularly dense contingent of rocks.

If you can come to terms with the control system, there's still a big hurdle you must overcome - what makes the gameplay suffer the most is the collision detection system. At first it seems kind of random, but upon closer examination it becomes apparent that the actual collision areas are much smaller than the enemy sprites. Needless to say, something like that can cause some very frustrating situations, sucking the enjoyment out of what would otherwise be a pleasant gaming experience. You can pretty much forget about hitting your adversary with a single shot even if your aim is nearly perfect, which makes concentrating on the flying part of the game without relying on the birdie's built-in artillery device a much safer venture.

Value: 6/10

B.I.R.D. is a great little timewaster, at least for a while, but $19.95 (on the indie game market, of course) tends to buy you a product with some more longevity. Unless you're either a very inexperienced arcade player, or perhaps really into high scores, you'll be done with the game in as little as two or three days. Once you figure out the exact nuances of the scoring mechanics there's a slight incentive to replay some of the earlier levels, but it likely won't prolong your interest past the second time around.

Concept: 8/10
The risk vs. reward concept is taken to the extreme in B.I.R.D., making what could have been a mere bonus system in a more conservative title the focal point of the game. Extra points for just about every action and crazy combos are a sure way to make the player happy (if the game itself isn't dull - just look at the Tony Hawk or the SSX series) during a casual playing session, and overall, the main idea is pretty solid - the only problem is the less-than-stellar execution.

Fun: 7/10
It's debatable whether the game only seems fun because there's not much time to be bored (due to the constant race against the clock) or if the gameplay has some real merits. Given the interesting concept, it's not at all wrong to claim that there's a lot of potential for fun gameplay in B.I.R.D. Unfortunately, it mostly falls short of actually delivering what at any given time seems to be right around the corner and being one of those games you just can't put down.

Overall: 6/10
This game, with the addition of a proper collision detection routine would be a solid representative of how games were made in the nineties, and reminiscing about those times usually brings back some fond memories. Sure, such titles are usually found on handhelds nowadays, but it doesn't mean they don't deserve their niche in the computer gaming market. B.I.R.D. is, thanks to its main character and the cute visuals, also one of the rare games you can't play without smiling at least a little bit. A longer more polished version, or even (gasp!) an upgraded B.I.R.D. clone could be a smashingly successful "casual game" - anyone who managed to find enjoyment in games like Brave Dwarves will find little to dislike here. Even if it's not your cup of tea, a real life lesson derived from the game is still worth remembering: whenever a birdie "accident" happens to you, shrug (and wipe) it off without getting too angry. It only helps the bird win.

By: Damjan Flegar
Posted: Thursday January 26, 2006