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In their constant quest to dominate every facet of your life, Microsoft has decided to strike up a partnership with the second largest hamburger chain in the world and deliver something that we haven’t seen for quite some time: French fries and video games. That’s right folks, for the low-low price of $3.99 – supposing that you’re purchasing a value meal, of course – you can be the proud owner of what will assuredly be a collector’s item in due time. There are three games in all, each with its own gameplay and mini games to toy around with. Rest assured, these games won’t unseat Gears as this holiday’s most saught after Xbox game, but if you’re looking for a few hours of cheap fun, then look no further than the Burger King collection.

Gameplay

Much like Sneak King and Big Bumpin’, Pocketbike Racer is yet another hilarious game placed in standard video game settings. Essentially, Pocketbike is a Mario Kart clone, complete with incredibly unique characters that include Brooke Burke, a Whopper Jr., and of course, The Burger King himself. There are five courses to choose from and four game modes, each of which can be set to 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc, once you unlock them. There are racing modes, there are battle modes, then there are combinations of both. The racing goes like this: you, and seven other competitors, zoom around one of five tracks, trying to steer your way through color-coded gates of varying width. Pass through the gates cleanly and a bar situated on the right-hand part of the screen begins to fill. Smaller gates fill it a bit quicker, but the general idea is to fill the bar to varying levels. Each of the levels bestows a new weapon, or can be used to boost your way through the level.



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The dynamic is simple, definitely cashing in on past games and mechanics they’ve used. The ability to use the bar as either a boost or a weapon makes decision-making critical, and the AI is challenging enough during races to give you a run for your money, especially when using the bigger engines. If only the game had a few more courses to choose from, maybe it could last a bit longer than it does. It’s still more of a full-fledged gaming experience than Sneak King, as it provides Xbox Live and split screen multiplayer, but Pocketbike Racer is still a bit shallow where it really counts. It’s interesting to note that this, a super-duper budget priced game, has better network code than some wide releases. Voice chat is functional and lag is basically nonexistent.

Pocketbike Racer’s biggest issue is that it’s just too much like all the other Mario Kart clones that are already out there. The weapons are all too generic with standard rockets, homing missiles, shields, and blinding flares that can be shot at opponents. The handling on the cars feels like vintage Kart minus the depth that the original powersliding mechanic provided. The course design is reasonably well-done, though the constant ramps, turns, and loops do get a bit old after awhile. The variation between levels definitely could have been improved. There’s also a character creation tool, but chances are you’ll stick with the pack-in characters once you realize what it offers, or more accurately what it doesn’t. It’s really nothing more than strapping colors onto an existing model so you go ahead and skip this step.

Overall Gameplay Impressions

As we said in our Sneak King and Big Bumpin’ reviews, for $3.99 it’s really not fair to expect much more. With Xbox Live play and split screen multiplayer packed in, coupled with the five game modes and handful of tracks – not to mention the skin-tight red jumpsuit that Brooke Burke pimps through the game – you’ve got a worthy purchase on your hands. It’s the second-best of the bunch, and packs enough fun and depth to warrant a purchase.

Graphics and Audio

The visual look of Pocketbike Racer seems to be a little less attractive than Sneak King, probably due to the required action that comes with an action-packed racing game. The character models could use some more detail, and the environments look like they’re straight out of last-generation (not necessarily a bad thing considering the game runs on Xbox just as well). The frame rate stays steady, and there are some decent weapon effects that pop up every now and again, even though the sound doesn’t quite match the look. The rest of the audio package doesn’t exactly measure up either, with even more generic menu and racing sounds.


The Bottom Line

There’s enough to like about Pocketbike Racer to warrant the purchase. Don’t go thinking that it’s going to replace Need for Speed: Carbon or anything, but it can provide for a few hours of fun, even more if you’re got an Xbox Live Gold account to play on. Even though the look of the game can’t compare to the rest of the Xbox 360 library, for under five bucks, the food you eat to get this game will more detrimental to you than actually playing the game.