I'll admit it; I eat more McDonalds than I'd like to admit. Whether I start my morning off with a savory McGriddle, or snack on a Big Mac or two during the day, I can't seem to get enough of that cholesterol infused goodness.
But this review doesn't concern Ronald McDonald, and co. While they may have the lead as far as my fast food intake is concerned, the Burger King King is far and away the leader when it comes to video games. You'll be playing as non-other as The King himself featured in those bizarre and often creepy Burger King commercials. Big Bumpin’ was one of three budget games released by Burger King this holiday season to bring advergames to the consumer while shamelessly pushing such food items as the Whopper Jr. and Chicken Fries.
This game is not as replete with wall-to-wall BK product placement as Sneak King was, and in my opinion Big Bumpin’ is most likely the best value of the three titles released during this promotion.
Upon starting the game, we are treated to "The King" behind a ticket booth that you would find at your average town-to-town carnival, minus the delicious funnel cakes. We are given the choice to the painfully average single player game that consists of a combination of all the game modes played in succession at varying difficulties.
Fortunately, there's Xbox Live support that pits you against up to three other players from around the world; whichever spots of the four are not filled by people, will be automatically be replaced by AI controlled characters.
Local multiplayer is also available for those who do not wish or do not have the capability to play this game online. Again, all game modes are available and all modes will be automatically filled to the max of four players.
The game modes are very Fuzion Frenzy-esque. This may be in part that it was developed by Blitz Games, the developer of said original party game we saw at the Xbox launch many years ago. Upon realizing this, it all became clear. The reason Blitz Games hadn't made a sequel to Fuzion Frenzy yet was because they were pulling all their resources into Big Bumpin' and her sister games: Pocketbike Racer and Sneak King. (Your sarcasm detectors should be going off there, if not, you may want to have them checked.)
All the familiar BK characters are here (I guess all just consists of "The King" and the nonsensical Internet sensation: "The Subservient Chicken.") and are ready to bump.
You can also play as Brooke Burke who's apparently either made some sort of deal for BK to use her image in any advertising for a year, or just really, really needed some money, but in either case, is a lame addition to the game (though I would be saying differently had this game been powered by the DOA engine). Other characters include BK employees (no, I am not joking), a guy in a Whopper Jr. costume, and other random people that you can even create yourself.
I guess we'll start with hands down the best mode to purchase the game for, and that's Ice Hockey. Picture two teams of two bumper cars vying to score goals by bumping a puck across a rink with pinball style bumpers; oh yes, it's intense. It certainly provides for the best fun out of the other three modes included and is the most fun you'll have out of any of the Three BK games released last month. For this mode alone, the game is for the slim $3.99 price tag. But whether we like it or not, there are other modes included that I must go over.
Own the Puck is a game where (again, there are four bumper cars) you have to bump the puck in order for it to change to your specific color that each car has. Whoever has "owned" (or is it, "pwn3d"?) the puck for the longest amount of time within the time allotted wins. It's a fairly basic game that doesn't exactly get your neurotransmitters going like Bumpin' Hockey does, and neither does this next one.
Next there's Power Surge, a game that must've been scrapped from the first Fuzion Frenzy. You have to ride over a specified part of an arena, pick up the one "charge" in play and return it to the goal without depleting your power meter. Your opponents without the ball will try to bump into you so that you cannot score. I suppose this is a decent mode, but in all likelihood, you probably will disregard it completely.
Then there's Shockball. If this sounds like a game that would have been featured on either Spike TV or American Gladiators, you’re wrong. It's more like a game of "tag," where whoever is "it" when the time runs out is eliminated. This IS a direct convert from Fuzion Frenzy. I suppose besides Bumpin' Hockey, this is the game that I have the least problem with.
It will probably be of some comfort to realize that this game is able to be dropped in and played on both the original Xbox and the Xbox 360. I have not tried to play it in an original Xbox, so I am unaware of any differences between the two versions. It is possible that when playing it on the 360, it is more of a backwards compatible experience where you are able to play it on the newer console. My point in mentioning this is so you do not give your hopes up to seeing impressive character models or explosions, etc. I will add that the ice effects in the game are fairly impressive, especially for a $4 title.
The controls in each game are extremely straightforward; controlling your bumper cars can be a pain at times. The "A" button allows you to perform a speed burst every few seconds and the left analog is for steering. As you can imagine, bumper cars don't have the best turning radius and have shoddy maneuvering skills, this is translated well (or developed poorly) in the game. What can become frustrating is some lag while playing online as the puck may not have the greatest collision detection; but don't worry, it still gets the job done.
You'll no doubt turn your sound down or crank up your own tunes on this one. The music is not anything you'd want to record to a soundtrack and the themed carnival music on the main menu will have your ears bleeding after 5 minutes. Basic sound effects round out this basic game.
As far as replayability, there are very few things to unlock though there is a bonus car and a character to be had. The Achievements on the Xbox 360 version are fun to unlock and playing with your friends will be a blast. The offline game will get old fast, but the online play is certainly a lot of fun and I suggest you give it a spin...or a bump...man I'm not funny at all.
So, as you can see besides Bumpin' Hockey, this game is fairly forgettable. However, you cannot underestimate the fun it is when you get a few of your buddies together or hop online for some Xbox Live fun. Heck, if Big Bumpin' were offered on the Arcade, it would cost 320 points ($4), making it the cheapest XBLA game you could purchase. For this, I stress that this title is a tremendous value for those looking for some quick achievements and easy (and cheap) gameplay to jump into.
