Burger King's Pocketbike Racer review

This game has to be one of the best values you can find. Now for $0.99 with a combo meal, this game has to be one of the best games you can get for the XBOX or XBOX 360. It was released on November 19th, 2006 but can still be found in Burger King's. Don't have an XBOX 360? Don't worry. The same disc works on both platforms.

The game is a racing game in which you drive minibikes around the neighborhood and through people’s frontyard, backyard, and garages. You’ll also race in fantasy stages like a high-rise construction site, a parking lot, a desert ranch, and a lush garden complete with happy little dogs and peacocks. There are four gametypes: race with boosts and power-ups, cone challenge, battle royal, and straight up racing (no boosts). All gametypes are easy to learn and the maps are easy to navigate.

The worst things about this game are that there are only five maps and the singleplayer doesn’t have much replay value after you’ve finished 1st in all the races. While the maps are well made, it would have been great to have a couple of more maps to throw in the mix. There are tournaments in three classes for the four different types of races on five maps. That’s 60 different combinations. Not bad. But, since the races usually only last about five minutes, you can get through all of those tournaments in a matter of a few hours. Once you’ve got all of the achievements (which come pretty easily once you work through the tournaments), there’s little reason to go back and play the singleplayer campaign (unless you want to go tricking, which is really fun).

For me, this game offered up the same kind of racing challenge as the big racing games like Project Gotham Racing. Sure, it may not look as nice (but it’s close in some respects) or have all the bells and whistles that PGR3 has, but when it comes down to gameplay, the two are very similar. That's what I find amazing about this game.

The maps are well made. In fact, the designers were very creative in making them. They look pleasing to the eye and they are easy to navigate. They work for all gametypes and they work in both directions (except the construction site which has a lot of jumps and dropoffs). Just when you think you’ve got a map figured out, you’ll see a small hole or little ramp in an obscure location. I’m finding that there are all kinds of hidden shortcuts in these maps. In fact, you'll purposely want to explore off the beaten path to look for the cool things the designers have added to the game either for looks or for a strategic gameplay reason.

In every game mode except for the “straight up racing� there are “gates� placed throughout the maps. The “gates� are two traffic cones with small lights on the ground between them. Passing through the cones gives you more boost. The boost can be traded in to buy weapons (like a bottle rocket, firecracker, flashbang, or bomb) or you can press the “B button� to boost through a turbo mode which quickly burns out. Different colored lights signify a different value of boost that you will get when you successfully make it through the cones. If you hit a traffic cone while passing between them, you won’t get credit for the boost.

Race with boosts: Race around the track as fast as you can. Boost cones are available on all maps.

Cone challenge: The first person through 20 cones wins. You can drive through the track better.

Battle royal: The first person to hit six other players wins. Collect boost from the cones, buy weapons, and use them against your opponents to register a hit.

Straight up racing: Old school racing with no boosts. First to finish wins.

Did I mention that this game supports eight players over XBOX Live? I think that’s amazing for an arcade game that so inexpensive. Also, you can play with up to four players on one screen. Not bad.

Of course, the multiplayer works just like the singleplayer only you are racing against real humans, not the AI. Speaking of the AI, there weren’t too smart. So, the biggest enemy here will be your own driving.

The achievements are easy to get if you play through the singleplayer. You’ll get all of the available singleplayer achievements that way. Just be on the look out for the “win a race with a different character� achievement. If you use the same character, you can race a different character in “timed trials� and set the races to 1 lap and win those for a quick achievement. Definitely the hardest achievements to get are the multiplayer achievements (3) which include winning 25 races online.

It’s hard for me to believe that it took me so long to find this great game. It was released on November 19th just I played it for the first time two months later.

For a buck, how can you go wrong?

Graphics: 8/10
Audio: 8/10
Physics: 8/10
Singleplayer: 5/10
Multiplayer: 8/10
Replay value: 6/10
Achievements: 10/10
Overall: 7.5/10