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Several websites have picked up a review of Hail to the Chimp by Billy O'Keefe of the McClatchy-Tribune news service, including the Star-Telegram of Dallas, the Miami Herald of Florida, and Macon.com in Georgia.

Don't bother hitting all the links as all the reviews are the same text:

Fortunately, "Chimp's" glitches are sporadic, and they don't severely impede play if you're taking on friends. (Four-player support is available online and locally.) Moreover, the absolutely frantic nature of the mini-games lives up to "Chimp's" billing as a party game. Given the inviting price ($40) and the fact that traditional party games on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 have ranged from terrible to non-existent, "Chimp's" positive fun-to-flaw differential makes it easy to recommend to anyone hungry for a game of its distinction.

O'Keefe does have complaints about Chimp's pathfinding and thinks a lot of the mini-games are too similar, but thinks that won't get in the way of those who are looking for a funny party-style game for the 360.

The team at TeamXbox rated Wideload's sophomore effort, Hail to the Chimp, a 7.9 out of 10, scoring highest for audio and innovation. One of the game's greatest strengths might ironically become one of its weaknesses:

While the game presents a unique take on the party game formula, Hail to the Chimp is actually at its funniest when you're not even playing. The main menu of the game is presented as a news broadcast from the GRR News Network. From the deadpan delivery of news anchor Woodchuck Chumley to the hilarious commercials and PSAs, you'll find yourself watching the game more than actually playing it.

TeamXbox suggests that when you are playing Chimp, you play with friends, since that is where the game really shines.

It's tough for a game to be funny. So it's no slight praise when GamesRadar says that Hail to the Chimp is funny-- if you're in your 20s:

Through it all, the comedy keeps flowing, often in the form of commercials or news reports. Just how funny these bits are is debatable here in the office, but we have the same arguments about Family Guy and Saturday Night Live. However, we can all agree that Hail to the Chimp is definitely a step above most games that bill themselves as "hilarious." And also that you have to be in your 20s to appreciate it.

Maybe feeling like in you're in your 20s will be sufficient. GamesRadar scores Hail to the Chimp 7/10, or "good".

The news isn't all bad for Crackers the chimp, though. 1Up's reviewer gave the game a B+, and the average of users and editors on the site is an A.

The site praised the game for the humorous news segments as well as the unabashedly strange gameplay elements.

And when this plays into the objectives, the game becomes great fun. One of my favorite modes places campaign posters in a literal mud-slinging competition -- the more clams you collect, the more mud you can throw at opponents' posters, and the last person to keep their poster clean wins. Every mode is built around competition, so the game is more replayable than something like Mario Party despite having fewer modes.

Hail to the Chimp is a good concept executed well, and available at a discount price-- remember this is $40, not the usual $60 next-gen minimum.

For a game company that made its name with a game about a zombie who used his body parts as weapons, it's ironic to say that only now, with the release of Hail to the Chimp, are things starting to get ugly. Problem is, the ugly thing is the reviews.

Citing game modes that are too similar to each other and AI that was often unclear on the concept of how to play the game, IGN gave HttC a 3.5 out of 10 and said it had "zero redeeming qualities". Ugly, indeed.

Another disappointing review for Hail to the Chimp: Variety says this political humor game isn't funny, and isn't really political. Ouch!

Kotaku's list of game releases for this week has Wideload's Hail to the Chimp slated to hit store shelves on Tuesday, July 1-- and features the cover art for the game as the lead for what they call a "thin week".

Monsters and Critics is reporting that Wideload Games' sophomore effort (at least, its second full-length offering) is now shipping: Hail to the Chimp is available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The PlayStation Network may have its work cut for it catching up to the onlin gaming experience offered by Xbox Live, but Crackers the chimp is lending a hand with the demo of Hail to the Chimp, the party game from Wideload, now available on the service.

ShackNews is reporting that Wideload Games' Hail to the Chimp, originally announced for a May release, is slightly delayed until June 24 so that some final finishing touches can be put on the game. Chimp is to be released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and is priced at an affordable $40.

Bungie spinoff A Certain Affinity, last known for the last Halo 2 downloadable maps (Blastacular pack) that recreated the Halo 1 favorite Hang'em High, has announced a new title coming this summer for Xbox Live Arcade at PlayStation Network, according to EGM (via ShackNews).

Certain Affinity hasn't made an official announcement yet, but their news page does confirm that this isn't an early April Fool's joke (unlike Lego Halo).

Looks like fans of the extended Bungieverse will get their Pimps At Sea after all. Just remember to pillage before you burn, guys.

WorthPlaying has a quick preview of Wideload's upcoming Hail to the Chimp party game, and despite a couple flubs ("GNN" instead of "GRR" for instance) they did like the game. Story includes a half-dozen screenshots as well.

Michael Mann's latest Hail to the Chimp blog entry answers fan mail and talks a bit about the game's multiplayer features. Try to keep your missives clean, though!

Ars Technica has a hands-on experience with Wideload's Hail to the Chimp. Apparently, though, they liked the humorous video interludes a bit better than the game itself:

What was great? The videos. The humor is sharp, with a mixture of quick jokes and low-brow stabs at pop culture that kept a smile on my face throughout my time in the bus. I wasn't that interested in seeing more of the game itself, but I kept asking to see more of the animation; it really is that good. It would make a heckuva great DVD.

When Chimp is released it'll be sold for just under $40 clams.

The website for GRR, the animal news network, has officially launched. The lead article is a blog entry about a Las Vegas-based scandal touching one of the candidates in Hail to the Chimp. Looks like [Ed. Omitted] is the new censored.

Be sure to check it out! It's already 2008, and coincidentally, that's the year Hail to the Chimp is being released in-- in the first quarter, no less. Not long to wait now!