A Penny For The Ferryman

Reality On The Norm: Vengeance Of The Chicken
CREATED BY:     Ed Day

CLICK HERE FOR WALKTHROUGH

GENRE:     Adventure

DOWNLOAD SIZE:     488 KB

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

Windows

Your brother Fred has just been murdered.  Shot dead in cold blood!  Why?  Well, the assailant was actually aiming at Davy Jones (I'm not quite sure why Davy was being targeted), but missed, and accidentally shot your brother instead.  You are understandably very upset by what has just happened, and vow to get revenge on the person that shot your brother.  If you only knew who that person was, then you could even the score.  But who was it?  Who committed such a terrible crime?  There must be someone who saw what happened.  There's just one thing... you are a chicken!  A talking chicken!  With a thirst for vengeance...

This is the second of the Reality On The Norm games.  Just like the previous game, this one was made back in 2001, and it can be tricky getting it to work on modern computers.  Try running the Setup programme first, and set screen resolution to 960 x 600 (Vista users may have to right-click on Setup, go into properties, and run as administrator).  Anyway, this is a very amusing game, with some witty dialogue.  The whole idea of playing as a chicken really appeals to me.!  I love how the Crazy Bum can change character with each game.  This time, he thinks he is a vulture, hehe.  Icons at top of the screen (move your mouse up there) allow you to look, talk, touch, and generally interact with the RON world.  You can see what items you are carrying by clicking on the suitcase icon.  You can Save, Load, or Quit at any time, although since the game is short, you shouldn't need to save it.  

Vengeance Of The Chicken takes place at night.  Everything is dark, and there are stars in the sky.  Light from the window in Crazy Bum's screen casts shadow on the ground, which was a nice touch from the creator.  Rich, strong colours have been used throughout the game, making it fun to play.  I did find the text quite small and hard to read, though, but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying the game.  The chicken is a great character.  I love how he walks - his little legs can sure move fast.  And his beak even moves as he talks, which I found amusing.  

Sound is very limited in this game.  Background music sounds quite suspenseful, with a lot of piano tinkly bits.  I liked it - it sounds like some-one is sneaking around, which seems appropriate.  But it is a short clip, and it is repeated continuously.  More variety in the music would have been appreciated.  Even just one extra song would break up the repetitiveness.  Despite that, I still found the game a lot of fun.  How many other game let you play as a talking chicken?