Review: Feeding Frenzy (XBLA)

Feeding Frenzy's basic premise is to make your way up the food chain by eating smaller fish so that you become bigger and bigger. The game starts with you playing as a little Angel Fish and finishes with you becoming a shark eating Orca.

The core gameplay revolves around you eating small fish while avoiding larger fish until you are big enough to eat them yourself. Along the way you can grab pearls and power ups to boost your skills and score whilst dodging mines, jelly fish and other hazards. Bonus levels allow you to boost your overall score, as does eating shoals of fish or eating fish in quick succession. The game features a nicely balanced risk and reward mechanic: for instance, black pearls boost your growth and score, but the clam shuts on it very quickly and could cost you a life. There is a lot of fun and humour in the game: look out for the Frenzy power up which has your fish darting around the screen easting everything in sight. The difficulty curse is fair, with higher levels featuring many more hazards but also more extra lives.

The graphics are pleasant but not spectacular but the music is catchy and jolly. The overall look and feel of the game is rather good.

At 800M$ Feeding Frenzy is reasonable value, featuring the normal and time attach modes, as well as high scores and achievements. If there is a criticism, it is that the game is fairly short. Unless you love fish, there is no compelling reason to play again once you have finished it.

Overall, a nice little game that's fun and balanced to play, if a little short.

7/10