Heads Up! Hot Dogs Review

Finally, someone made a game about dropping hot dogs on people’s heads, because, why wouldn’t you drop hot dogs on people’s heads? I have been waiting so long to be able to drop hot dogs on people’s heads, all this pent up hot dog dropping rage can finally be unleashed in the weirdest game of this week. I was not familiar with Heads Up! before, but I assume there is an entire series with endlessly fascinating objects which need to be put on people’s heads. Right now, let’s focus on hot dogs. In Heads Up! Hot Dogs, hot dogs fall from the sky, and you must drag them to the tops of people’s heads. It’s as simple as drag and drop, and as complicated and fun as every weird facet of hot dog balancing can be.

Each level is a different city where people need hot dogs placed on their heads. Or rather, the people don’t seem to like it but we need to put the hot dogs on their heads. San Diego, New York, London and beyond, everywhere you go there are hot dogs. Each city seems to introduce a new type of person to the hot dog balancing game, though the old ones seem to travel around the world. I get the New York City punks and the British cops, but those joggers keep jogging even if they’re on the telly in London!

Now, how hard could putting hot dogs on people’s heads be? I’m glad you asked, because this is the important part of the game. You have to be really careful when you place your hot dog. If you drop it from too high, it could bounce off someone’s head. Those joggers I mentioned are really fast, so they might outrun your hot dog, thus, they are worth more points if you land one on their head. The slow walkers are easier but worth less points, and you do need high points to unlock the other cities in the game.

Let me tell you, it is so fun putting hot dogs on people's heads. I love the weirdness of the concept, because it's bizarre and funny but it doesn't really hurt anyone. The game is basically a physics game about balancing, but they spruced it up with the silliness of hot dogs and heads. The physics themselves are challenging. You'll come up with the perfect strategy, drag your hot dog up high, drop it on a passerby only to watch it teeter and fall to the ground. You'd curse, but it's so silly looking at hot dogs and people with square heads, you just have to laugh. Then you hone your skills, determined to time the next hot dog drop perfectly.

Each new pedestrian introduces new hot dog dropping challenges. The cops will shoot your hot dog off someone’s head. In New York, you can rub someone to shake the hot dog out of their hands. Steam vents in the city will also blow the hot dog off someone’s head, but you can use them strategically to keep hot dogs floating. The five second rule has been reduced to a three second rule, because once the hot dog hits the ground you’ve got three seconds before it expires.

Every time a new factor is introduced, it reminds you how subtle these simple games are. It would be easy to get cocky and just start dropping hot dogs all over the place, but Heads Up! Hot Dogs keeps you on your toes. You always have to think, "Okay, what is the vector at which this hot dog will fall divided by the direction of the target head." There's math somewhere in there, but I tend to play on instinct. I feel really challenged by the task of dropping hot dogs, so that's a good game right there.

The graphics look like an 8-bit Nintendo game which is great. This is a weird, silly concept and it should look like a silly, old game. The music matches the graphics with its 8-bit beeping sound. Easy to learn, but infuriatingly subtle at times, Heads Up! Hot Dogs is a great casual game for short hot dog dropping missions, but you could end up playing it for hours.

App Store Link: Heads Up! Hot Dogs for iPhone & iPad | By [adult swim] | Price: $0.99 | Version: 1.0 | 12.1 MB | Rating 9+