Now in Technicolor, the poultry gags are back in Chicken Police: The Hive - available now at all good pharmacists. It won't solve that rash you developed in Magaluf, but it will make you appreciate dimly lit rooms, smoke, whiskey, and cheap puns.
From The Wild Gentlemen - the chaps who did the original, as well as Zipp's Cafe, we join the detectives three years after the events of the first Chicken Police and finally - finally - Sonny is just about ready to retire. But... he has to ride out the cause and effect of that last big case, as Wessler's absence has paved the way for plenty more crimes.
Jeitaro
Aside from the jarring colour used at the start of the game (we don't pay a fortune on our ultrawide OLEDs to play games in colour, don't you know? Roll on monochrome), Chicken Police: The Hive is similar to the first game; focusing on a strong noir narrative in the form of an anthropomorphic visual novel, blended in with point and click elements with the odd mini-game.
This review isn't to showcase the reviewer's expertise in Raymond Chandler or cheap dick (private investigators) jokes, so look elsewhere for the me-me-me article. However, if you like that sort of thing and enjoyed the first game - which was superb - you'll enjoy this caper, too, but it doesn't have the same impact as the first. Not that the first game was revolutionary, it's just that there wasn't anything else like it that made visual novels seems cool - they were always anime-influenced romance shenanigans.
In terms of story, we have the typical traits of a femme fatale and somewhat stereotypical identifiers, with the only real 'new' thing being the colour and the mini-games. One such mini-game was card-based, which is always a damper, but it was alright here. The colour aspect is optional, and wonderful as it may be - like WWII In Colour - it didn't have the same impact as the original aesthetic. Each to their own.
Jeitaro
Once again, Chicken Police: The Hive opts for a tricky interrogation process. A gauge measures how apt you are at either putting your suspect at ease or grilling them [insert your own food reference], to gain the information you require for 100% achievements. Sure, you can easily progress with the story without perfecting your interview techniques, but that retry button's there for a reason, and you'll likely have a few attempts until relatively satisfied. Or until a walkthrough becomes available.
Is this one worth getting immediately or adding to your wishlist? The second, at the very least. The first game is a no-brainer and a <ahem> game-changer. With Chicken Police: The Hive, it's more of the same with only a couple of risks taken, such as the themes and potential discourses that can trickle over into the university canteen. It doesn't have the same impact as the first, and the storytelling does lose the way, still, it's one of the best visual novels out there, regardless.
