review de l'une des petites bêtes :
So McDonalds and Sega are teaming up to provide a series of six games in their happy meals:
DailyGame has some more info, including some images.
The six games are:
Sonic's Speedway, Shadow Grinder, Knuckles Soccer, Sonic Action Game, AiAi Banana Catch, Tails Sky Patrol
I'm not sure about Grinder and Action Game (both of which seem to feature only one button...) but the other 4 all seem to be good old dodge things or catch things LCD gameplay. I'm really curious about those two, actually, I've always had an interest in games that are playable with a single button...
So here's my review of the first:
Sonic's Speedway:
Hardware
The game is very toylike and robust feeling, with a blue and purple two part case (with SEGA, Sonic, and a checkered flag, and some cars engravd on it,) big red buttons, a power switch on the back (haven't seen too many of those in the Game+Watch influenced world of LCDs), and a tiny LCD screen-- like, an inch wide, 3/4 of an inch high. It makes little bleeps and bloops (and there is no mute button). Actually, the screen is better protected than usual, you can press your finger into it and get those cool rainbow patterns.
Software
The game is a traditional 'dodge the cars' driving game, arching to the right, with some interesting minor gameplay differences. For one thing, the game has an ending: there are 4 laps, each one faster than the last, and you get a little flag at the end of each of the first 3, and then a small game celebration at the very end. The player can take up to five hits before the game is over. I actually think overall this improves the game; it's not entirely trivial to beat, I usually take 2 hits or so by the time the thing is over, so I imagine a young kid will have to work a little bit to be able to finish. (The cars are more densely packed than I remember for this kind of game, with often only a single opening in a row, and sometimes you have to quickly doubletap to scoot from one side to the other.)
You can make out Sonic's head in the car at bottom, so it's not just a case modification from an older game...
Food (Wetware?)
Good god, I had forgotten how bad a Happy Meal is. (Besides the fact it didn't come in a box, just a not-even-Sega-themed bag.) I wonder if the sound could have been better, even if it was just a piezzo speaker, like if they threw in a little meoldy or something. (It's a little annoying as it is, since it beeps everytime you pass a car.) And I'm not saying this as someone who dislikes fastfood; I'll definately have a Whopper Jr now and then, or Taco Bell. But the bun on this burger...man, like cardboard, and the gross hunk of american cheese not melted at all, and then the fries are so awful and tasteless, like little edible scoops for ketchup is all...
Overall
Overall this was a pretty decent little game. I think they improved the gameplay of an LCD classic. Unfortunately I'm going on a nutrition/detoxification/weightloss diet so unless they let you buy the toys seperately, I won't be seeing too much else in this series.
