BurgerTime World Tour

Monkeypaw are a studio that likes classic games, a lot. While usually specializing in bringing Japanese exclusives overseas, BurgerTime World Tour is the first of their games to get a complete overhaul. This reimagination of the 3 decade old arcade game has big shoes and burgers to fill, but a colorful combination of hectic gameplay and simplicity pull it off quite well.

The layered 2D world of yore has been adapted into a cylindrical shape, to create a 3D environment, whilst keeping the classic two-dimensional gameplay intact. Every of the 4 cartoony worlds are filled with ladders, platforms, pitfalls, fire traps and many unhealthy food stuffs. The food is so nefarious for our peppered hero’s health, that the sausages, eggs, peppers and more jump the man every chance they get. Each of these foods has a unique trait and can be swiftly brought down or even put into a burger to create specialties.  By running over layers of burgers, the goal is to complete the junk food on the bottom of the plate below.

The gameplay revolves quite literally around quick thinking and good reflexes, because some stages can be quite hectic. Once there are spikes, fire, tons of enemies and more to juggle, while making burgers as quickly as possible for a good score, it will be important to keep focused. Despite its very light-hearted appearance and sound design, the levels are quite intricately built on traditional difficulty. Tons of factors or classic leaps of faith, pattern recognition and trial and error are all infused in this delicatessen. Luckily, the cylindrical design can give some slight insight on preferable courses of action, but this isn’t always viewable through the clutter.

It's the Eiffel Tower. You know, the one with the giant burger through it?

Moving over burger pieces or throwing enemies into them feels simple yet effective and stays fun the entire ride. Doing this in a timely fashion however is harder than it may seem. Some deaths come cheap, especially with finicky elevators, which can be annoying. Also, the controls are rather loose and lack fine detection; though it’s possible to get accustomed to it all.

Whether playing with the chef or a custom avatar, players have more than just one trick up their sleeve to resist the ingredients. One button peppers foes with pepper, leaving them stunned and spicy for a second, after which they can be grabbed and tossed like salad. Another button is reserved for powerups that are spread throughout each stage. There are numerous items in all forms, but are usually a lot more limited than a pepper assault. In particular, the temporary invulnerability and devastating sake bottle are a sizable leg up when facing adversity.

The main story offers 40 stages throughout a cute, nonsensical storyline about burgers or something. Every world gets rounded off with a fierce boss battle, which can be quite devastating, but also cheap at times. It is however a good way to test the recent progress and try to create better burgers for more damage. Yes, bosses take damage from eating burgers; just like the morbidly obese.

What Donkey Kong reference? Do you want to get sued?

Playing in multiplayer offers 10 additionally designed levels for up to 4 people in a fully customizable environment. The tricky balance of destroying enemies, using powerups and creating burgers isn’t always on point, but luckily, the customization can slightly alter the focus when needed. Just like in the main mode, this gameplay will also be hectic, with other players constantly trying to destroy each other, instead of focusing on the labor at hand. But in both local and online modes, wrestling for supremacy in this quirky title will certainly be a party favorite that will open the appetite of anyone watching.

There are however some indiscretions, such as the sound cutting out at times in the main campaign, but even more frequently in multiplayer. With all the elements requiring some focus, this can be a frustrating orientation issue that is sorely needed.  There are also slight godlike moments in artificial intelligence, where no escape is possible or food is even warped into killing position. Luckily, it doesn’t happen enough to be a real problem, but it’s definitely a factor.

BurgerTime World Tour. Burgers, burgers, burgers. Oh, also burgers.

Overall, BurgerTime World Tour is a decent new concept on a classic, with both its qualities and quirks from the past present in the game. It’s a colorful game that matches its simplicity with traditional difficulty and adds some spicy layers to usher it successfully into the modern world. Now, who’s up for a burger?

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Daav Valentaten, NoobFeed. (@Daavpuke)