Burger King Games (Xbox) Review
Posted by Joshua Richey on 12.21.2006
Burger King is selling Sneak King, Pocketbike Racer, and Big Bumpin' for the small price of $3.99... but are they really worth that?
Video Games continue to constantly become more and more of a influence throughout society. The most recent example of this is its impact on the American fast food industry. Earlier this last year, fast food typhoon, McDonald's, began to hand out Super Mario toys inside of their Happy Meals. Trying to not be outdone by the competition, Burger King also jumped in on the video game bandwagon. Except they took it one step further... an actual video game.
By now we should all be familiar with Burger King's 'King' character. He's the ultra creepy guy that we see in their commercials with that big rapist smile across his face. We've seen the King in commercials with my wife, Brooke Burke. We've seen him deliver some death blows to people on the gridiron. Heck, I seen about 20 people dressed as him this last Halloween. The guy is everywhere...
Attempting to 'cash in' on the King's current 'hotness', Burger King has released 3 game bearing his likeness. The games are sold through your local Burger King for $3.99 when you purchase a combo meal. You can't beat the $4 price tag, but are Sneak King, Pocketbike Racer, and Big Bumpin' worthy of checking out?
Graphics
It's pretty obvious that Burger King didn't put as much importance on the graphics in these games as they did fun factor. The graphics in the these are nothing to write home about, however, for the price that you're paying ($3.99) the game's graphics are efficient and don't take away from the gaming experience as much as you would think that they would.
Pocketbike Racer has a few pretty decent course designs. The characters and their mini-bikes still manage to look like 9/10's of the other available racing games for the Xbox. Which is a little discouraging for the state of that genre.
Big Bumpin' goes for that look and feel that made Fuzion Frenzy such a big hit. The game does manage to pull it off... somewhat. The simple little course designs, and elaborate use of bright lights really help it in it's quest to be more than just some meaningless little mini-game.
Finally, Sneak King's graphics aren't all that much better than the other two games. The levels are even more constricting than they originally appear. The world seems lifeless, and you will constantly be running into invisible walls. I don't know about you, but I hate invisible walls.
Gameplay
It's when you're evaluating these games' gameplay that you begin to notice how weak these games really are. You can look passed mediocre graphics, but if your game lacks basic gameplay functions than you're lost at sea.
Pocketbike Racer was obviously attempting to 'borrow' the aspects that have made the Mario Kart series so successful, but they just don't pull it off. The game gets old instantly, and that’s not just because of my hatred for racing games. It's the poor gameplay aspects that make this game feel cheap and irrelevant.
Big Bumpin' is fast paced and simple. In this case, that simplicity translates to fun... for a little while. Just like Fuzion Frenzy, you'll blaze through these miniature courses at super-sonic speeds with the intention of running into your opponents. It's fun, but only for a little while.
Sneak King was aiming to add elements of stealth into their game, but there are really never any punishments for not doing so. The premise is supposed to center around you walking around a number of locations, sneak up on unsuspecting whopper lovers, and giving them a big juicy surprise. You'll do this by hiding in a number of pre-determined spots throughout the level. However, there isn't any real reason to sneak around. If someone sees you, they'll just go about their normal routine.
Sound
I know that these games are only $4 and all, but c'mon! The sound in all three of these games is atrocious. It's generic, cheap, and very unpleasant on the ears. Don't worry though, if you mute your television you won't miss a thing.
Lasting Appeal
'You get what you pay for.' That's not just one of those stupid phrases that our parents mutter to us as we're growing up. It's a fact of life. And in this case, it's completely sums up these three Burger King games. I'm not sure what’s worse, having someone walk away from your game with a bad impression of your work, or having someone walk away from your game and simply shrugging their shoulders. With these games, I do just that.
You'll play these games once and then you'll never play them again. It's as simple as that.
Fun Factor
These games get old really quick. But somewhere between the time that you turn on your Xbox and the time that you turn it off, just before you get bored, you can have some sort of fun with it. Even if it’s by just making fun at how bland they are. However, put a kid in front of Sneak King and put a controller in their hands and you won't hear from them for a very long time. I suppose that's the one real benefit of these games.
The 411
Should you pick up these Burger King games? I'd say 'no'. Instead of spending the $12 on these games, I'd encourage you to just goto your local Blockbuster and rent something. I'll give Burger King all of the credit in the world in attempting this. I think it's a very cool maneuver by them, and I'd like to see them continue to develop games like these. Because while their first efforts do appear to come off as cheap, this could be something that gets better.
Graphics
6.0
About what you would expect out of a $4 game.
Gameplay
4.0
Varies from mediocre-to-bad in all three games.
Sound
4.0
Terrible! Annoying music that is constantly being looped.... oh god!
Lasting Appeal
4.0
You'll walk away from it with just a shrug of the shoulders.
