Now how fun can it be running around in a chicken suit handling an egg? Well, take it from a guy running around with panties on his head fondling men, quite fun actually.

Billy Hatcher and The Giant Egg is Sonic Team’s new line of platform game, starring Billy, a young boy becoming a man by putting on a chicken suit and saving the day from shadows and snowmen. Yes, this game is undeniably cute and childish, but such a thing is a given when you have a Sonic Team platformer.

You start the game off as plain old Billy, who’s being attacked by shadow crows while playing with his friends. A chicken tells him he must free the elder hen, and get hold of the chicken suit in order to do so. The chicken suit gives you the ability to roll eggs, your main offensive against bad guys, roll the egg over them and squash them. And collect fruit to build up the egg, which can contain power ups and even friendly helpers like penguins, flying monkeys, etc… And who knows, maybe you’ll find a blue spiked friend in there too?

The graphics are quite cartoony and smooth, while maybe a little dull, but it’s warm and rich colors in addition to the nice scenery makes up for this. Some of the enemies are a little simple, and makes the game seem a little uneven on the graphics, since Billy himself has the graphics, while some bad guys walk around with ugly N64-ish edges.

The music is VERY light hearted and cute, with nice bunch of catchy pop tunes, like every Sega game has almost. Composers Tomoya Ohtani (Chu Chu Rocket) and Mariko Namba (Space Channel 5) did a great job with the soundtrack, with Shige Kawagoe and singer Yukari Fresh performing the main title. However, it might be a bit too cute and childish for some.

The controls are good, but handling the egg can sometimes be frustrating and hard, because the game is quite sensitive when it comes to the analog stick, so you tend to turn and much quicker than expected and therefore, lose your egg. But it’s something you get used too, and since you get 1-ups around every corner, there’s no need to worry. Patience is the key.

This game also sports a 4-player multiplayer game. The goal of the multiplayer game is to find an egg, collect fruits and grow it, and either roll the egg into other players to defeat them, or hatch the egg and use the power ups to beat them.

In all, this game is a quality, above average platformer. Sonic Team knows how to do it, and while the egg rolling can be tedious at times, the music too popish, and the levels too a bit too colorful, you have to remember it’s a platformer with a guy in a chicken suit. It’s meant to be a light, warm game for everyone to enjoy. If you like platformers alà Mario and Sonic, this will be a treat.

The Zombie Survival Guide, a book recommended to me by many and purchased for me by my loving girlfriend, exists in another dimension. In order to enjoy the book, you have to have the certain sense of humor that embraces the fact that zombies do exist, there have been many attacks, and this is actually a guide on what to do in case of a widespread panic. If you just read that and said, “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard”, don’t read any further.

For those of you still with me, the book’s greatest strength is that it takes itself so seriously. The writer, Max Brooks (SNL writer and son of Mel Brooks, good pedigree) covers EVERY possible end in regards to what weapons to use, where to hide, what to do in contigency A, B, C, etc. It is exhaustive in its attempt to provide the reader with all the information known about zombies. Part of charm comes from the references most readers will draw from their own zombie movie history, and many of the instances will make anyone familiar with zombie movies smile at least once. Information such as why a chainsaw is a bad weapon and why you must assemble a team in preparation for a possible attack one day is priceless. It also covers what to take in an emergency when on the run or pursuing zombies. The excessiveness is one of its best traits and also one that eventually gets to be too much.

If the book has one problem, it perhaps is that the actual concept is taken so far. At times, reading the third chapter on underwater zombie contingencies does wear a bit thin. But then again, the book is not a narrative, it is a guide, and you can pick and choose what to read. I think in terms of pure writing criticism that the recorded attacks should have been introduced earlier, since it seemed like the book was drawing to a close when some of the more entertaining parts in the attacks log were introduced.

But in spite of this, I still think this is a great book, that, while not for everyone, gave me a couple great weeks of casual reading.