BurgerTime World Tour (XBLA): "A Fast Paced Fast Food Arcade Game Frenzy"

During my time as a gamer I have never really played a game like 'BurgerTime World Tour'. I do realize that there was a release of BurgerTime for a retro console (The NES I believe???), but I never really got the opportunity to see what it was about. Aside from it's classic gaming roots BurgerTime had previously been re-released as a next generation XBLA game that played, and looked very similar to this one (BurgerTime HD). Monkey Paw Games the developers behind this wacky puzzle/platformer revived the title once more with newly added features that includes an online multiplayer mode, and Xbox live avatar compatability. The offline mode features 4 worlds with multiple levels in which 'Peter Pepper' competes against rival burger makers by completing burgers (layer by layer). His task is complicated by attacks from various enemy foods (hot dogs, Limburger Cheese, Eggs, Pickles, Peppers ...), obstacles, traps, and level sized bosses that constantly block his path to progress.

BurgerTime World Tour features four worlds (New York, Mexico, France, Japan) that each have about 10 levels, and a final boss battle in them. The point of each level in the game is to run around a cylindrical structure that is made of different types of platforms, and make pieces of a giant burger/s fall into place. Making each of the burger pieces fall into place is simply achieved by walking over them until they fall through to the next layer. Once all of the pieces are in place the burger will be completed, and you will be awarded points according to how you assembled it. You can make pieces of each burger fall down through multiple layers by peppering (X) an enemy on top of it, and making it fall through with the piece of burger. This not only completes the burger faster, but it also gives you more points. The same applies to stacking multiple burger pieces. Each level in the game has a set amount of burgers that must be completed before you can move on. Figuring out how best to complete them is the key to getting a high score, and rank.

Gameplay in 'BurgerTime World Tour' can seem quite complicated at times. I found myself frustrated many times by the constant onslaught of respawning fast food baddies. Learning how best to use your tools, and power-ups in the game will definitely help you in your quest to complete the offline mode/singleplayer. In the game you start off with a certain amount of pepper in which you can stun your enemies with. As you make your way through each level new power-ups (rocket, ice/freeze, energy drink, spatula ...) will appear that will help you with your completion of the current level. Some power-ups like the rocket are necessary for completing certain levels. BurgerTime World Tour is not only about completing the burgers, but is also about avoiding enemies and traps (spikes, flames, ice ...) that appear in your path. The best way to complete a level in the game is to multitask by giving both the enemies, and burgers equal attention.

Enemies in 'BurgerTime World Tour' come in a wide variety, and each have their own attack patterns. The game starts you off with only a few enemy types (Frank Furter, Pickles, Eggs?), and eases you into the harder types as you make it to new worlds/levels. For the most part the enemys' patterns are easy to pick up on, but keeping them in check as you try and complete your burgers can be a serious task. One thing I noticed during my playthrough is that the enemies tend to respawn  in the worst imaginable places. I'd have to say it's worse than the respawn issues in 'Battlefield 3' (seriously). Often times I would lose lives, because one of them spawned right where I was walking. It was definitely not cool. As I mentioned earlier in the review 'BurgerTime World Tour' also has boss battles. There are four bosses in the game that each have a particular attack pattern. Your goal in the boss battles is to assemble burgers while dodging their attacks. The level sized bosses will lose life from their life bar after eating an assembled burger. I found that adding a little spice (pepper enemy) to the burger really helps in taking them out.

In the end I found the singleplayer/offline mode to be complicated by senseless deaths. The enemy respawns were a major issue for me. Often times I would find myself dying, because an enemy had respawned where I was at. The fact that everything that was going on when your character dies is stills going on when you respawn adds to the unnecessary difficulty of the game. This is a serious issue when facing bosses like the missle launching robot dinosaur boss of the Japan world. At first I was actually thinking this game was great. It wasn't until I made it to the later levels of world 3 that I began noticing some cheap AI induced deaths going on. What seemed to be a skill involved game turned into something that was based more on luck. There were also other things wrong such as the pepper power-up not working properly at times. As far as the online mode goes I'm not sure? I was never able to find anyone playing online, so I can't really say if it was bad or good. Considering all of the game's flaws I'm gonna have to say skip it. It's a frustrating mess that definitely needs patching.