Burgertime
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| BurgerTime | |
|---|---|
 Atari 2600 Burgertime box artwork. |
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| Developer(s) | Data East |
| Publisher(s) | Data East Bally Midway (U.S.) |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Atari 2600, Commodore 64, ColecoVision, NES, Intellivision, TI99/4A, Apple II, MS-DOS, Game Boy, PSone |
| Release date | 1982 |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
| Input methods | 4-way Joystick, 1 button |
| Cabinet | Upright, cocktail |
| Display | Raster, 19" monitor |
Burgertime is a 1982 Japanese arcade game created by Data East Corporation for its DECO Cassette System. The game was originally titled Hamburger in Japan, but was renamed Burgertime before being introduced to the United States. Burgertime puts the player in the role of a chef ("Peter Pepper") who must drop layers of a hamburger onto trays by walking over them while avoiding other food characters who chase him around the maze.
The game was quite popular in arcades. In the United States, Data East USA licensed Burgertime for distribution by Bally Midway. The Data East and Midway versions can be distinguished by the manufacturer name on the title screen and by the marquee artwork.
Contents |
[edit] Gameplay
The play field consists of ladders and platforms on which rest oversize hamburger layers (the bun, the meat patties and lettuce). The layers are arranged vertically so that they can be dropped directly onto each other.
The player's objective is to control his chef to make hamburgers by walking over the layers. When the player has walked along the entire length of a layer, the layer falls down one level. If a layer falls atop another, the lower layer will also fall down by a level. When all of the hamburger layers have fallen onto a tray below, that hamburger becomes complete. When all hamburgers are completed, the level is clear. The fastest way to assemble a burger is to make the top-most layer fall with an enemy on the bun (see below).
Each level becomes more difficult, with harder stage layouts making it easier to become trapped by enemies and making it harder to get to the hamburger pieces. Some levels will require more pieces to be dropped to finish the burgers, there may be more burgers to complete, and there may be more enemies.
While assembling the burgers, the player must dodge animated "enemy" foods: Mr Hot Dog, Mr Pickle and Mr Egg. Enemies may be temporarily killed by crushing them under falling layers; they will respawn at the edge of the play field within a few seconds. The player can also lure the enemies onto a partially-traversed layer and then finish crossing the layer, thus causing the layer to fall; the added weight of the enemy makes the layer drop by more than one level, and the dropped enemies are stunned for a few seconds.
The player has a limited supply of pepper which he can shake on nearby enemies to stun them and render them harmless for a few seconds. Extra shots of pepper can be obtained by collecting bonus foods, such as coffee, an ice cream cone or French fries, which will appear in the center of the maze each time a certain number of hamburger pieces has been dropped.
[edit] Legacy
[edit] Sequels
A planned sequel, PizzaTime, was in development when the video game market crashed, and not released. However, there were two arcade sequels, Peter Pepper's Ice Cream Factory and Super BurgerTime, neither of which were widely released. Super BurgerTime allows two players to play at once and is fairly true to the original Burgertime but with many added features and greatly improved graphics.
A console-only sequel, Diner, was created after the 1984 purchase of Intellivision from Mattel by INTV Corp. This game was programmed by Ray Kaestner, the programmer of the original Burgertime.
[edit] Ports and remakes
Due to this game's success, it was ported to several home computers and consoles: Apple II, Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, Intellivision, Mattel Aquarius, MSX, NES and TI-99/4A. More recently, it can be found on mobile phones and Pelican's VG Pocket Caplet. A version was also released for the original Nintendo Game Boy as Burgertime Deluxe. It was also included in the Midway Arcade Greatest Hits Volume 2 for PlayStation.
The 1984 ZX Spectrum game Mr. Wimpy takes the second half of its gameplay directly from Burgertime.
Burgertime in Bedrock is a remake of the game for the Game Boy Color that uses characters from The Flintstones.
As of 2007, Burgertime is available through the subscription online game service, GameTap.
[edit] Other appearances
Mr. Egg makes an appearance in the Futurama episode "Anthology of Interest II".
Burgertime parodies include a skit in Mega64: Version Two, a commercial for Adult Swim's Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and the video game Murder Time by Running With Scissors.
Burgertime was briefly featured in the second season of Captain N: The Game Master. Upon warping into the game, Captain N, Mega Man, and Simon Belmont were turned into the food enemies.
According to Twin Galaxies, the world record high score on Burgertime is 9,000,000 points, achieved by Bryan L. Wagner of Turbotville, Pennsylvania, on June 2, 2006, at the Funspot Family Fun Center in Weirs Beach, New Hampshire.[1]
[edit] Current ownership
G-Mode currently owns the intellectual property to Burgertime, Burgertime Deluxe, Super BurgerTime, and Peter Pepper's Ice Cream Factory.[2]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official G-Mode webpage of the Burger Time series
- Burgertime at the Killer List of Videogames
- Burgertime at MobyGames
- Burgertime guide at StrategyWiki
