Major League Eating: The Game

"Surprisingly deep and strategic given what it is!"

OK, so first they announce Major League Eating for the Wii. Then its WiiWare. This was pretty stunning as WiiWare seemed to be building as the place for either revamped classics like Dr. Mario or for the home of REALLY polished Newgrounds games a la Defend The Castle, etc. MLE however would be a licensed original and seemed an odd fit, but admittedly would likely be a poor instore seller so this was the best bet. And really, at 1000 points, its 10 bucks, and I'd bite at that in the store given the cheapest is still really 20 bucks, pun intended.

MLE IS cartoony yes, and its for the better. People were grossed out at the potential of farts, burps, and vomiting, not to mention the gorging itself, being displayed in graphic fashion. What we get however are brightly coloured clouds for the gasses and, well ok its a pukey green for vomit, but honestly if you're grossed out by what we get, you've got a REALLY low tolerance threshhold. The licensed characters themselves are simple but distinct and truly fun variations with differing abilities and stats, thanks in part to how deep the game is.

That's perhaps the most surprising aspect, the game's depth. The first task is to get the food to your mouth, and for that there's three ways: tossing it up (jalapenos, meatballs, etc), grabbing it and stuffing it (burgers, burritos, etc) or eating it from the bone or cob (corn, ribs, etc), so you have to move the Wiimote to simulate the action. Then you have to chew the food, timing it with the cursor at the top, each piece is chewed twice before it goes towards your total. You can time these so you toss, chew, toss, chew, etc.

As you eat, you get powerups, which give you the burp or fart abilities (which push your opponents barf-o-meter upward), antacid (which lowers yours), ketchup (which lets you catch-up, get it?), a shield to deflect attacks, etc. You can bank two of these, firing them off at nearly any time, and this is where strategy becomes key, since you can deflect an attack, then use your own, hoping the combined effort pushes your opponent over the edge, and so forth. All the while you're eating and your meter climbs, and you shake the remote while pressing A to settle your stomach (mirroring the true technique of the eaters apparantly) and if it was high enough, you burp even, so do that, deflect one, fire off your 2 saved, hope he doesn't deflect, use antacid, etc, all WHILE eating... it gets pretty intense.

Its how well you can manage this that belies success. Grabbing food, chewing some, stocking powerups, keeping this going for a bit, then settling your stomach (chewing as you do), then grabbing more, chewing in between, all while reacting and attacking your opponent is surprisingly complex and enduring... really, this is much more complex than anyone would likely have expected an eating simulator to be, but in part its a huge part of the appeal. I can only imagine how mundane this would get with a regular controller setup, simply pressing buttons to do actions, whereas with the Wii its a truly natural fit and adds a lot to the game, taking what in all rights should be tedious and making it fun and challenging.

Case in point, the only really buttony classic style function is the B button, which is used to chew, and if you do it quickly enough you can chew pieces as they get there. This plays into the characters strengths and weaknesses, as some chew faster than others, some have more powerful gas attacks, some are super fast with certain foods (often their true specialities), some reach for food quickly than others, and of course there's weaknesses as well, admittedly much like fighting games according to Mastiff. You unlock characters as you progress through the game, though therein lies the greatest difficulty. Powerups are KEY to success, and if not used correctly you really have no hope in some battles. Add in the minigames that range from tedious (hot potato) to strenuous (burp-off) and the balance seems a wee bit off at times.

Frustratingly you can't simply pick a oneoff eating competition either since you always start at the bottom of a Mortal Kombat-like ladder, but that aside, there is a great amount of replayability in this concept since it does keep track of your personal records. Also though is the multiplayer, with WiFi support giving you matchmaking battles online against real opponents. At first I had trouble finding anyone else out there, but eventually met up with someone and had great fun with this, as human endurance seems to make the battles much more fair compared to battling the Wii itself. Leaderboards and records are present here as well, adding even more to the online aspect.

All in all, this is lightyears better than anyone expected surely, and even more surprisingly, better than it has any right to be. Come on, admit it, Major League Eating: The Game. On WiiWare. 10 bucks. No one aside from Mastiff and the MLE itself likely had high hopes, but I'm happy to say this actually pulled it off and is not only worthwhile to check out, but a very very pleasant surprise to boot. Its not perfect, and lacks some polish here and there, but all in all its creative as hell and a huge step forward in WiiWare and above all else, its fun, so who can ask for anything more than that.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/21/08

Game Release: Major League Eating: The Game (US, 07/14/08)