Fast FoodOne of the most controversial aspects of political science, and human ethics is the concept of freedom of speech: How much is too much, and how much is too little? Should the human race allow for absolute freedom of speech, or should it be limited by what is considered taboo? As well, between differing opinions, how much right would a government have in censoring certain concepts, and where would a parent or guardian's roll in overseeing how a child asserts their freedom of speech and choice?
It is true that, in some respects, this freedom is greater than it used to be, with the prime example being what is considered offensive language. At the time of M*A*S*H's filming, the mildest of curse words would have been regulated and only a certain number allowed per episode, but these words in a show at the same time-slot in 2011 would be considered acceptable. However, as far as thematic concepts would go, how much more or less freedom is debatable.
The 1980's media were a lot less uptight on what can be considered than modern media: television was much more violent and shocking than the modern day counterparts (especially cartoons), music was much more rebellious and free flowing than the modern counterparts, and video games did not undergo such strict ratings. This is a rather broad statement to be made, but it is not without grounds when one regards certain shows and whatnot. Perhaps the latter of the trio is due to less detailed visuals, but if the themes are the same it makes little difference to the ESRB now. In some respects, this has proven to be the most positive of regulations by removing what can be considered almost universally inappropriate. By universally inappropriate, that would include overly sexual themes, racism, homophobia, and whatnot with the pure intention of spreading these hateful ideologies. However, the ESRB ratings have, in a way, limited the creative freedom of artists and visionaries, making some concepts that used to be possible nearly completely impossible to try and aspire in the twenty-first century. One of these aspirations is the plethora of possibilities in gaming with food.
That long, probably controversial, introduction could allude to an obscure Atari game by the name of Fast Food. Fast Food is another arcade game in which the player's objective is to eat as much food as physically possible, while avoiding the purple pickles, to grow fatter. This is a game that COULD NOT BE RELEASED in the modern day, which is somewhat odd considering some of the content on the markets. The single best quote that describes how this game would fare is as follows:
"A game that would never get released today, and if it did there would be some kind of national protest against it, because games where the object is to commit genocide are completely acceptable but a video game where the object is to eat junk food in order to gain weight would be viewed as one worthy of having its own circle in hell."
-Mark L. Bussler (Video Game Reviewer, and Documentary Developer)
While that viewpoint is largely facetious in nature, and somewhat laughable, it do raise an interesting point. Food for thought, without any doubt.
The choice of the color purple for the deadly pickles is somewhat unusual, it does make them rather distinct. Yet, it does raise the question of "why are they purple?" Whether it could be assumed that the purple pickles are radioactive in same manner, or pickles sent from Planet X, it is quite clear that they are deadly to the mouth you control. It is also interesting to note that the mouth do not appear to be mounted to anything, and, based on the food that passes by, there is no invisible man/woman behind it. Beyond these two conundrums, the visuals offers no difficulties in the emulator, and are quite functional. The audio is vintage Atari2600, with no music but classic sound effects. The only songs that would be suitable for this game are songs such as "Life on the Fast Lane" or "Highway Star" if the audio is unsatisfactory.
This is a highly addicting, yet short game. This game usually only lasts a few minutes, but is meant for the player to pump quarters into an arcade cabinet, which serves the purpose adequately. The key to this game is control, and it is easier using the arrow keys on a keyboard than the classic joy stick. Overall, how fun it is depends on how one sees other arcade games, but it definitely follows the arcade formula. It is very basic, and easy to play, with virtually no depth beyond having different point values for various unhealthy foods.
This is a game that is relatively shallow, and the controversy behind a re-release or remake would be more prominent than the game-play itself, much like how the debate if the Atari jaguar was really 64 bit was more well known than how the console played. However, in now way does this game fall short of being a worthy candidate of the vintage era of video games, and when video game laws were much more relaxed. If the player is interested in a quick, five minute game to play on their computer, or even for their actual Atari collection, have a look at this game which should adequately fill the gamer's appetite, then make them crave a burger.
Graphics
7 Sound
8 Addictive
10 Depth
1 Difficulty
8
User Notice 
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
