It's time to move up the food chain in Feeding Frenzy from Sprout Games and Oberon Media. Feeding Frenzy is a nice easy going addition to the Xbox Live Arcade that should keep every level of gamer hooked. It's all about the fish, here is our review of Feeding Frenzy.

Feeding Frenzy is a basic concept, move up the food chain eating small fish and progressing up to the bigger fish. Each level is broken down with a few types of fish, some obstacles, and a ranging variety of quantity. You start off eating the smallest fish until you grow in size then you move up to eat the larger fish, and so on. The hazards come in the way of large predators like sharks, jellyfish, sick fish and depth charges. With all the different types of fish and hazards are all occupying the screen it can be hard to navigate, claustrophobic in a sense. I found the best strategy is to be patient and try to move when it's safe.

Power-Up
There are power-ups you can grab in Feeding Frenzy and some abilities you fish has. The abilities allow you to move fast in a quick burst of speed and you also have the ability to draw in water to suck fish in. The power-ups are a little more interesting with a shield, speed boost, stun, extra lives and a frenzy bubble that will automatically eat all the fish on the screen. Feeding Frenzy isn't really about power-ups, mostly avoidance. The best power-up is the Frenzy bubble and I would head straight for one whenever they appeared.

Angels and Whales
For modes you have a time attack and a normal progression mode. Both modes have the same objective, except the time one is timed. The progression mode is also nothing fancy as just has progressing up the ocean stream. You start as a little Angel Fish named Andy and work your way up the final challenge as Orville the Orca whale. In a simpleton way it's kind of interesting being the small fish and then becoming the bigger predators.

Crystal Blue
The graphics in Feeding Frenzy are very cartoonish and sharply polished. Feeding Frenzy has to be one of the brightest games for the Arcade . The blue for the water is a nice crystal blue colour and helps translate mellow mood. Adding to the mellow colour scheme is some peaceful slow background music. The production is up to the Arcade standards as it has a good atmosphere and sharp look.

Achievements
For achievements you have a few easy points a total of 90 for completing the main game and another 20 for finishing the Time Attack mode. The 90 that are left need you to invest a little more time, but they are obtainable. The hardest challenge in Feeding Frenzy is the "Food Bank" achievement which is worth 20 points. This requires you to have a balance of 40'000 points in your food bank. The food bank is basically a meter that counts the fish you have chomped. Reaching 40'000 is a bit of a challenge, but if you're headed for the "10 Hour" achievement it will give you something to do.

Feeding Frenzy for the Xbox Live Arcade is the perfect bait for hooking gamers who are lounging on the couch. Feeding Frenzy is an easy going and stress free game that is perfect for wasting some time. Although you can't waste too much time because the fishing trip is over before it begins. The main portion of Feeding Frenzy can be finished in a few hours leaving nothing but Achievements left for the gamer. This isn't uncommon for a Live title, but I would of like a bit more substance. Like most Xbox Live games, I have to suggest trying out the demo before you dive in.

Final Score: 7 / 10