Moorhuhn Kart 2 – Or Crazy Chicken Kart 2, as it’s called outside of Germany — came to me after a conversation with a friend. They mentioned that Moorhuhn was very popular in the early 2000’s, and after some digging, I found some quite surprising deep lore about this funky looking chicken.
Moorhuhn started life as a shooting gallery game a la Duck Hunt, in order to promote the Johnnie Walker brand of Whiskey, all the way back in 1998. Since then, it’s had a few more installments and more than a few spin offs; including sports, platformers, and of course karting!
It turns out this particular kart racer was originally released in April of 2004, and has only recently been ported over to more modern consoles. Knowing the age of the game, I wasn’t expecting an awful lot; but to my surprise, I found a really fun little kart racer here. So let’s cluck in a few hours!
Moorhuhn Kart gives us a couple of mode options on the main menu for both Single and Multiplayer. The multiplayer is good old fashioned couch split screen, which I think some games miss out on these days. Single player lets you play one of eight tracks, or play four at a time in a championship. This was the mode I mainly played. There are seven characters to choose from, including a snowman, a frog and a pumpkin headed scarecrow — all with their own individual stat bonuses to your usual things, such as acceleration, top speed and handling. There are also ten different kart cosmetics, but these are cosmetic only.
Driving in Moorhuhn Kart 2 is strange. Its physics are fairly solid for its age, but you do feel very much like you’re driving on a sheet of ice and turning too sharply will cause you to skid out of control. There is — mirroring other kart games of this era — a drift function, but I found it very frustrating to use and unresponsive, so raced without it. I found myself not needing it apart from maybe on one or two of the toughest corners, and won both championships available to me.
My biggest complaint is the power-ups. These range from heat seeking missiles and shields, to tornados that hit every racer in front of you. There is no consistency to how these items affect you. Some will spin you in place for a second, others will lock you into an animation for a good six or seven seconds, losing you immense time and ground to your opponents. Power-ups should be punishing if they connect with you, but not race ending on lap one!
Moorhuhn Kart 2 is, honestly, a very fun little time sink. If you have the spare change that isn’t going on your next meal, pick it up and give it a spin. You never know, it might dig its claws into you too!
Moorhuhn Kart 2 is now available on Steam, Xbox and Nintendo Switch.
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