Game Preview: Major League Eating

Valerie Gorchinski - Military.com

Major League Eating: The Game
Wii (on WiiWare)

Of all the bizarre subjects for a video game- worms waging warfare on alien planets, rolling the universe into a giant ball, or even forcing adorable creatures to square off in bloodsport; the newest is one that I never thought I would see. There have been many games about food, and many have even been successful. But to my knowledge this is the first console game that is solely about eating. About eating competitively, to be exact.

On May 12, Major League Eating: The Game will make its debut to WiiWare, Nintendo’s new downloadable game service. I recently got a sneak peak at what’s in store for players.

Borrowing heavily from the real world of competitive eating, players will be able to play as some of the greatest champions of the sport including Tim “Eater X” Janus, Takeru Kobayashi and the current American champion of the world, Joey Chestnut. MLE: The Game requires players to master a smorgasbord of offensive and defensive weapons including bites, burps, belches, mustard gas and jalapeño flames while cramming and chewing food at a world-class pace. 

In the game, two players square off as the eater of their choice and perform a specific gesture with the Wii Remote to cram their virtual mouth full of food. For an added twist of difficulty, the player of course must chew their food, but they must be mindful to avoid their tongues or they will be momentarily incapacitated. There is also a “barf meter” that players have to watch to avoid an unsightly “reversal of fortune”. In order to settle food as players eat they must shake the Wii remote from side to side to make their character perform a wiggle that helps to digest (apparently, real competitive eaters do this during competition). Matches are short and can be played with one or two players and will also feature online play and a leader board.

Bottom Line: Sure it’s a little unconventional, but it’s also quick, addictive and fun.

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