I normally don’t eat at Burger King. Ever since they changed up their fries some time in the 90’s, I stopped going there because their new fries suck. So, it was with a mild sense of adventure that I pulled into the drive-thru and ordered a double cheeseburger with a side of three video games.

“Oh, you need to buy a sandwich for each game to get the $3.99 price,” the attendant told me. Okay, done deal, understood. Purchase required. I took the opportunity to try things I’ve never tried before, like the Angus-something and some Texas thing. I pulled away from the window about $20 lighter (side note: this is the only time in my life I’ve ever purchased video games in a drive-thru), but eagerly anticipating the juicy deliciousness of a good old chunk of American fast food and the three new games I just added to my fluorescent green collection.

The kids were thrilled when I got home. Whether it was because of the special treat of fast food or new video games is still up for debate.

The three Burger King video games for the Xbox and Xbox 360 are certainly not the first to be used as a marketing tools (anybody remember Kool-Aid Man for Atari 2600, or Yo! Noid! for NES?). They are, however, probably the most polished advergames to date.

Brian Ambrozy

Three games in 3 sentences each

“Big Bumpin’” is a bumper-car game. When I first saw it, I did a double take because I could have sworn it said “Big Pimpin’” (just some trivia for you). It’s basically what it sounds like: you bump into other cars, get powerups (like lightning bolts), avoid obstacles (like sawblades and pits) and can play in different modes (such as Hockey and Shockball).

The next game is “Pocketbike Racer”, which prominently features a model that I have come to learn is named Brooke Burke on the cover. This was my least favorite of the three games. It’s quite a bit like other cart games, such as Mario Kart, in concept: you race mini vehicles through crazy levels and use your powerups to disadvantage the other racers.

Last is Sneak King, which is a completely hilarious concept for a game. You basically have to sneak around and present food to hungry people, with bonus points awarded for presenting food with a fluorish. It’s creepy, off the wall, and just plain fun.

Brian Ambrozy Each game comes with a 48-hour Xbox Live Gold trial membership, as well as an advertisement about BK Gift Cards.

What impressed me was the quality of the games. They are definitely a notch above what you would think of as “budget” gaming titles. These aren’t $50 games, but neither are they $4 games. Even if you factor in the food you have to buy, the most you’ll be spending is maybe $30 if you go nuts with the meals. So, if you consider the games to be $10 each, you’re still getting three free meals. These games are worth $10.

This isn’t a serious review of the games, though; they are what they are. They won’t win any awards, they’re not the year’s best, they’re just fun and super cheap.

I think we’ll be seeing more of this

Having no access to Burger King’s marketing numbers, I can’t say whether this campaign was a financial success for them. Regardless, it is sure to be a mindshare victory. People were talking about this. The Creepy King is a very successful marketing character, and to take him to the next level by putting him in irreverant and fun video games was a savvy move by Burger King. These games are sure to be collector’s items one day, not only because of the limited-time rarity of them, but because they are just too bizarre.

I’ll be curious to see if the advergaming concept is going to expand into arenas other than food. The concept is limited only by your imagination. Imagine a Guitar Hero-like game that is designed to advertise a band, or a game advertising a hotel chain or a transportation company (a UPS or FedEx simulator would be a blast!). Imagine what a game featuring Mr. Clean would look like. It’s both disturbing and inevitable.

What we are seeing is the crossover of gaming into the mainstream. It’s been slowly happening for years, but it gets more and more into the consciousness of every day people as time marches on. As the pioneers of the gaming generation get into their 30s and 40s and become marketing directors, CEOs, and wealthy consumers, they’ll be bringing their memories of Pac Man, Dig Dug, and Mega Man with them.

Another thing to consider is that commercial advertising on television is entering its waning years. As fewer people watch television, and the rest edit out commercials with their DVR systems, advertisers will need new avenues to capture the minds of consumers. Yes, we see in-game ads, as well as all our favorite websites covered with banners and text ads, but creating an entire media vehicle that is one big ad-delivery system is quite a different approach to getting the word out.

Did Burger King pioneer this? No, but they did give us fun, high quality games to play that simultaneously get their name and logo into our heads. From a kid who played Yo! Noid! (and beat it), the Burger King games are the best advergames I’ve ever played.

The food was actually terrible, by the way. The Angus burger was a total mess, the fries still suck, and the Texas Whopper was only slightly better than the Angus. The only good part was the Chicken Fries. Those are good, I’m not gonna lie.