A couple of weeks ago fast food mega franchise Burger King finally released their somewhat anticipated Xbox/Xbox 360 games. These three games were obviously nothing but a marketing tool but most people's curiosity about them was definitely peaked after the announcement. Personally I've found their ad campaigns over the past couple of years works of sheer brilliance. Regardless of how creepy The King is, it's damn memorable, and that's all that matters in advertising. Hit the jump for my take on each of the three BK Games.

Big Bumpin'

In what feels like a mini game stolen right out of Fuzion Frenzy you pilot a bumper car in a series of different battles, with a few different types of rules. Unfortunately I was never enthralled with the title enough to get a chance to play all the different types. What I did play of the game finds you placed in a somewhat fast-paced yet extremely basic bump/race/fight. There's not much to this game as the AI, though superior to Pocketbike Racer in every which way, is pretty lacking. The single player component is essentially the multiplayer with bots, the game is definitely meant to be played with other people in the room and at least over Xbox Live.

Pocketbike Racer

For whatever reason I spent a decent amount of time with this one. I'm assuming it's because this game comes off very similar to any kart racing game you've ever played: Small vehicles that skid around curves and fire off weapons on themed tracks. There's 4 different types of races you can play, with 3 classes of engine for each. Each version either only strips away an element of the basic race or adds all the elements to make mind-numbing encounters of trying to fight with the ridiculously bad AI. Many times it feels as if the game was severly rushed out of the door, which was probably the case, and that no one actually played the game before they decided it was finished. It's a shame because the 360 could use a neat little arcade kart racer.

Sneak King

The most hotly anticipated of all the titles is this quirky little one. You play as The King and the object is to sneak around different settings and surprise hungry people with fast food. That's the entire game in a nutshell. It's amusing for about 10 minutes and then you realize that the game is not going to change. The best part is the title screen where The King pops in and out of the shot for varying levels of creepiness (is it possible to talk about The King without using the word "creepy"?). Each level has a number of missions with little variety and it's the lack of variety that kills the fun of the game.

Overall most of these seem simultaneously slapped together and having care gone into them. The wording of the text in the manuals fits the style of this new age of BK Marketing and the TV commercials have been very amusing. However the games lose their appeal rather quickly, even for Achievement Whores like myself. Props goes out for making these games simultaneously compatible with the original Xbox and the 360. The ideas for the games aren't very well fleshed out but the entire concept can be summed up very easily: You Get What You Pay For.

Comments (3)

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written by jimmycanuck, December 04, 2006

I actually quite like Pocket Bike Racer. If this were an 800 point Marketplace title, I'd have been all over it! Sneak King is absolute garbage though.

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written by Harpua Scorpio, December 04, 2006

Like I said, PB Racer was the one I spent the most time with, so I guess by default it's the one I liked the best. Unfortunately I was playing Mario Kart DS at the same time, and the two just can't compare.

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written by Andarko, December 04, 2006

I completely agree about Sneak King. It's a cool concept that's fun for about 20 minutes, and then it gets old real fast. I enjoy Pocketbike Racer; it's nothing fancy, but it's fun. Big Bumpin' is the big disappointment for me. All in all, I don't feel bad about having spent my $12, and that's about all they're worth.

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