Game Info
Game Name: BurgerTime Party!
Developer(s): G-Mode
Publisher(s): XSEED
Platform(s): Switch
Genre(s): Retro/Action/Adventure/Strategy
Release Date(s): October 8, 2019
ESRB Rating: E
Three Childhood Terrors and One New Nightmare
Peter Pepper has a problem. He has orders and orders of hamburgers to make, but some of the ingredients aren’t too keen on being part of someone’s sandwich. While Peter works hard to assemble the meals, he must fend off attacks by hotdogs, eggs, pickles, and donuts if he wants to complete his orders…shake some pepper and serve up those burgers!
BurgerTime Party! is a retro game reimagining developed by G-Mode and produced by XSEED. The game is a restyling of the 1982 arcade game BurgerTime and features a multiplayer mode.
BurgerTime was one of our “games” growing up. We had an Intellivision, and before we even got the Intellivision, I wanted BurgerTime from commercials on TV (back when video game TV commercials were a thing). BurgerTime was one our personal “launch titles” for our Intellivision when we got the system for a surprise Christmas present, and BurgerTime became a family favorite (especially by my mom). Playing BurgerTime Party! isn’t like playing the old Intellivision version, but it is a fun ride into nostalgia.
The new dreaded Donut
The game has multiple versions but the primary single-player version functions along the lines of Angry Birds. The levels have set score goals and to reach those goals you often have to incorporate some sort of strategy be it keeping your pursuers alive or calculating when and how you die. The goal of each level is to get three stars and sometimes it is extremely easy and other times it leaves you scratching your head…in that sense BurgerTime has some replay factors.
The game also includes multi-player and a “classic mode” which has you playing through the levels with a set number of lives and peppers that can be added upon. This is more of the BurgerTime I grew up with, but I wish that they had included a version of the original BurgerTime (though I still prefer the Intellivision version to the arcade).
It’s kind of like the McDLT
“Keep the hot side hot, and the cool side cool”
The graphics for the game are pretty strong. The designs on the enemies which hold a very Max Fleischer style of animation to them and are a bit reminencent of the recent throwback style game Cuphead. I don’t love Peter Pepper’s design because it doesn’t feel like it matches the style of the other characters.
BurgerTime Party! has a few new twists for people who like the original game and for casual players. With new enemies (the donuts are a frustrating foe) and some new power-ups and level design tricks like crumbling floors and ladders, the game provides enough variety for fun and easy play. I will always side with BurgerTime as one of the great classic arcade games and look forward to what the future might hold (though I’m thinking a gritty Doom first person shooter might not be the right move).
