Today was one of those rare days where I didn't really have anything to occupy my time. Usually my Sundays are spent coming back to Madison from wherever I stayed the night before, but today I got back home around 1pm and had the whole day in front of me. I finally finished up Halo 3, but that only took an hour or two.
I didn't want to start an involved game since Castlevania comes out in a week.. I was thinking about playing some more Oblivion, but it felt like a waste of time.. But then on the shelf behind me, I saw my vice. A brilliant gem on the 360 that I was so excited for last year. I had missed my chance to play it because I was living over seas, but my little brother picked me up a copy..
Sneak King.. One of three Burger King games released for the Xbox and Xbox 360 last christmas season. In fact, It was one of the top sellers for the Xbox 360, since it was yours for the low low price of $3.99 with purchase of value meal. How could you honestly beat that? That's cheaper than buying a magazine about the 360.
I spent the rest of the day with my pal, the King and it was great!
Sneak King is probably the most market driven of the 3 Xbox Burger King games. In Sneak King, you play as the king, and must deliver delicious Burger King food items to the hunger people of various environments. You are judged on 5 things that will multiply your score: Sneak/Surpise, Hunger, Flourish, Range, Chain.
Sneak/Surpise
This is the initial point total of your presentation. You can simply sneak behind the citizen, but you'll find yourself 5 times the amount of points if you surprise them! To surprise them, you hide in part of the environment and when they walk by.. you jump out in front of them with a tasty BK treat!
Hunger
Of course, you can't give anyone food.. they have to want it. The king has special mind reading powers that allows him to see how hungry someone is. When they are at their hungriest.. that is the best time to strike!
Flourish
Giving food to someone unsuspecting is great, but you really need to let them have it. When you pounce on someone you're given a guage much like in a golf game. Get that thing to full and you'll present the food to them in such a way, they'll be absolutely dazzled.
Range
The closer you are to your target, the bigger the surpise!
Chain
This is really how you build up your points.. Whenever the King is spotted it throws off his game and he must start again. The chain is how many chained sneaks you can perform without getting caught.
Using the gameplay described above, you are presented with several missions in each area. Missions are generally all the same except with different time restraints, score restraints, and sneak restraints. All in all, you have 4 different environments with 20 missions included in each. That's a lot of missions. It probably took me about 4 or 5 hours to full complete the first area before heading onto the next.
That first area was sort of split up into 3 sections though, so it wasn't too monotenous, but you're still doing the same thing over and over again. The different environments provide a change of pace, though.
The first environment is the saw mill. You have hungry lumberjacks and workers looking for a quite BK break in the middle of their daunting day. The second environment is the cul de sack. The dead end of a suburban street where neighbors are walking around greeting each other and looking for a quite BK break of their daily lives.
The first environment provided you will ample room and plenty of places to hide and pounce on the hungry inhabitants.. The second environment is much more dense.. They focus on sneaking, rather than surprising. Even though, you should always hide yourself from the public, they really emphasis that in the second chapter.
I just reached halfway through the second world, so I've still got a ways to go if I wish to achievement whore the game. Sneak King is hilarious and full of flaws.. Quite possibly one of the best B-games on the 360 to date, next to Earth Defense Force.. Definitely check it out if you can find a copy. It's a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon.