Hail to the Chimp

Rating Teen Genre action Publisher Gamecock Media Group / Wideload Games Inc External Links Official Hail to the Chimp Website

Hail to the Chimp: The Presidential Party Game. When I first heard that title and gazed upon the colorful grinning monkey bounding over the White House on the cover, I really thought this game was little more than a stale political satire of the presidency. While that may have made a decent, yet mediocre game unto itself, thankfully Hail to the Chimp is anything but. Sinking into the plot of the title it all comes down to ten ‘unique’ animals racing to become the first President-Elect of the animal kingdom, following the King of the Jungle’s dethronement.

When most people think “party game” they envision child geared mini-games, four player only games with limited characters, or the same old boring maps being played over and over again *cough* Mario Party on all counts. *cough* They certainly don’t expect hilarious and innovative gameplay. Personally, I thought the industry had lost that recipe years ago. Hail to the Chimp is less of a board game and more like a cutthroat boxing match with objectives spread over very lethal levels. With 16 different mini-games, 10 vastly different levels, and 10 more customizable characters to play as, this is not some “rent and forget“ title. Mini-games vary in goal, but most revolve around collecting little anthropomorphic clams that rain down onto the stage. Collecting, and more importantly holding onto these clams is what normally proves to be the difficult part, as each of the other characters will attempt to bash and smash you for your clams, or knock you off the stage to completely reset your total.

Some games are basic take and hold, or king of the hill style, while others require depositing your clams to claim an area. The constant and more interesting conflict occurs when a player, or worse yet a stage, tries to disrupt your plans. Each stage comes with pitfalls, traps, and changing terrain that will catch even the most seasoned candidate off guard. Characters themselves can find powerful curses to attach to opponents to further impede their progress. Curses affect the target in their own way, some causing movement trouble like Blink, and others like Stink which cause precious clams to flee from your avatar. If melee and curses were not enough to worry about, any two characters can call for a Team-up to tag-team beat the opponents. Each pairing is unique to the characters. These temporary bouts of overpowered friendship can turn an entire match around in the last minute. Try mixing up partners to see new and unique combos.

One of the most appealing graphical aspects of this game is its liberal use of Texturama, an interesting blend of 3D art laid over what appear to be paper cut-outs of characters, effectively giving every color a texture similar to felt. If combat, and the basic gameplay were not enough to sell this title, then surely it supports itself on the writers that make the in-game newscasts so funny. The humor expressed in this title ranges from the simple to the politically highbrow. Playing match after match unlocks a host of Commercials, Campaign and Attack ads, and general PSAs to the animal kingdom. Your host Woodchuck Chumley, co-anchor Juliet, and weatherman Rusty are just some of the TV personalities you will encounter pre and post game. Coming to gamers on the Xbox 360 and PS3, there is no better party game on the market to rival Hail to the Chimp.