Mentos starts an online kiss fight

Think Streetfighter gone romantic, folks.

Site visitors find themselves as the hero, Nicky "Fresh Lips," battling through three levels of female opponents. Each level starts with a mini-movie to set the scenario and get players pumped up to play. Level one takes place at the cinema with opponent Ti Ni Pout. Level two is set in the gymnasium against cheerleader Mandy Makeout. And level three finds Nicky in a dorm room, battling… Derek's mom? Whoa. That could get awkward.

Each opponent is more powerful than the first, but Nicky "Fresh Lips" can boost his kissing power by catching the falling rolls of Mentos,; this answers the question, "Where does the brand fit in here?"

In addition to the three levels of lipped battle, site visitors can "Kiss and Tell" by emailing friends about the game. Players may also find themselves featured in the list of the day's top players, known as the "Kiss Masters."

Was the game addicting for our panelists, or did Mentos kisses leave them wanting more? Let's find out.

-- Nanette Marcus, cover stories editor, iMedia Connection

And this is 21st century gaming -- not the PacMan-esque graphics that most viral games come with today. The designers have spent time and money creating a quality experience and that should pay off when fighting for attention online.

The concept is easy to understand and quite engaging. My only concern is that this experience is pretty “beefy.” At work, the game and intro movies fly, but at home on a DSL it took forever just to get the intro movies to play. As long as the target demo has fast connections, then this creative should sparkle.
-- Matt Wright, director of product management, Video, HowStuffWorks

A man can no longer speak of being a lover and not a fighter, thanks to the folks behind Mentos Kiss Fight, who feel you can be both at the same time. Where other fighting video games had animated gore, Kiss Fight features gratuitous lip locking and a character named Mandy Makeout. Trying to out-kiss a trio of lovely ladies is undeniably fun and addicting -- I played three times in a row trying to beat the final level.

Where Kiss Fight really succeeds, however, is the brand integration. The branded content actually contributes to the game play, as players can catch Mentos products that fall from the sky to deliver super fresh kisses. When players grab the falling freshmakers, a voice loudly says the name of the product in a tone usually reserved for monster truck rallies. It gives you the name of the product, loud and clear, without disrupting the game.

Besides the game, there’s not much else on Mentoskissfight.com. Playing the game is fun, but there needs to be some other content, or else visitors will leave the site as soon as they’re tired of dodging smooches from cheerleaders.

There is just one part of the game that still baffles me. How, exactly, is it that I lose when the girls kiss me too many times?
-- Rich Cherecwich, assistant editor, iMedia Connection