Billy Hatcher is a fun game that gets nearly everything right but its the little things that screw it up.
The game is all about stopping a evil crow obtaining a giant egg and the game will take you through 7 different worlds, filled with numerous missions in a structure similar to Super Mario 64. The main meat of the game is to use eggs to defeat enemies and solve the occasional puzzle. For example you might need to hatch a water animal to distinguish a row of flames that is stopping your progress.
The missions vary from straightforward platforming stages, races, collection based mini-games and many others which help keep the game fresh and never feel repetitive. The game is definitely a lot of fun and ploughing through enemies with a massive egg is very satisfying.
Billy controls well for the most part but handling eggs doesn't feel as smooth as it should be. The game has massive amounts of replay value as not only do you have numerous missions to complete but also golden coins to collect and S ranks to achieve. On top of that there is a multiplayer mode which help extends replay value.
The game is topped with a bright and cheerful presentation, with detailed environments and character models that are filled with personality. The game does make good use of the Gamecube hardware such as cleaning up sludge (ala Super Mario Sunshine) but most of these technical achievements don't appear till right towards the end of the game.
The musical score is upbeat and jolly and you'll either like it or find that it gets on your nerves. All this seems to add up towards a strong 9/10 game although its the little things that drag Billy Hatcher down.
For example when you jump with your egg to a high ledge, majority of the time the egg will get stuck on the ledge, leading you to fall down and look around for another egg to get up. Another example is when you put an egg onto a rail, it will sometimes fall through the gap and plummet to its doom. These little niggles can grow tedious and frustrating and ruin your enjoyment of the game.
Also the game can sometimes suffer from control issues where Billy won't move or jump, even though you've pressed the A button. In the end Billy Hatcher is a fun game that gets nearly everything right but its the little things that screw it up.