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Portabliss: Chickens Can't Fly (WP7)

Did you know that you can download handheld games now? That's amazingly convenient! The only inconvenient part of it is finding the right games to buy -- and that's where we come in, with our Portabliss column. In each installment, we'll tell you about a downloadable game on the iPhone, iPad, Android device, DSi, 3DS, PSP, etc. Today: Chickens Can't Fly.


Chickens Can't Fly for Windows Phone 7 isn't a unique game, but it executes its simple design well. You control the direction of a falling chicken by tilting your device and flap the chicken's wings by tapping and holding the screen, slowing its descent to avoid obstacles and reach the bottom of the screen.

Scoring is based on the collection of corn kernels, which give you a medal rating at the end of each randomly generated level. As Chickens Can't Fly progresses, new objectives are added and more dangerous obstacles are thrown into the mix. What begins as a mindless excercise quickly becomes both challenging and strangely rewarding, at least at first.
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Along the way, you get help in the form of power-ups that help decrease or increase the chicken's speed, magnetically draw the kernels toward it, or cast a shield of invulnerability around the flightless bird.

Levels are broken into sections and offer a good amount of variety. Control can be difficult at first but, after a few sessions, things become less focused on survival and more on reaching your goal as quickly as possible.



Dying results in a restart of the level or checkpoint. Later levels are so large that the action drags on for far too long, shifting the game from an easily consumable experience that works into something that chews up too much of your time.

Ultimately, it's the asking price that puts us off Chickens Can't Fly. At $2.99, there isn't much here to get excited for; however, if you spot it for a cheaper price in the future, Chickens Can't Fly is a fun distraction.


A downloadable version of Chickens Can't Fly was provided by Microsoft. It is currently available on the Xbox Live Windows Phone 7 Marketplace for $2.99. We're always looking for new distractions. Want to submit your game for Portabliss consideration? You can reach us at portabliss aat joystiq dawt com.