Review - Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove

At the end of 2006, Big Fish Studios released MCF: Ravenhearst, a super-creepy game that followed in the tradition of the other Mystery Case Files games. Then, in late 2008, Big Fish blew everyone's socks off with the even more twisted MCF: Return to Ravenhearst. This was the first game in its class, combining hidden objects with an adventure game, and doing it with a high quality that has hardly been matched ever since. (Read my review!) Then, just a year later, Big Fish released the next MCF game, MCF: Dire Grove, which turned out to be another game with the production style of Return to Ravenhearst, but with even more new features. This time around, as if it were the mid-90s golden age of adventure games, they included a series of live action cutscenes. So, did Dire Grove live up to the greatness of Return to Ravenhearst? Today I'm glad to (finally) give you my opinions! Read on!

What I liked All-around high-quality production Wonderful video sequences Not as twisted as Return to Ravenhearst Good balance of puzzles, inventory use, and hidden objects A good ending What I didn't like Can't replay the ending...

Quick Plot

Figure out what happened to a group of students who came to Dire Grove to do research.

Mechanics

HOG: You'll play through an ample supply of hidden object scenes, as with the other MCF games. You'll even recognize familiar sound effects as you locate items. The hidden object scenes have just the right level of difficulty, as opposed to something overly difficult, like Luxor Adventures. You never have to find too many items, and they're never too hard to find. This is very welcome for those of us who prefer not to waste a whole lot of time poking around for hidden objects. Another plus in the HOG department is the fact that the scenes actually make some sense. Most of the random junk seems at home in its scene. And you always get to keep one of the items when you finish a hidden object scene, adding it to your inventory. As in many HOGs, you have a refillable hint meter.

Snow falls as you search the trunk. How'd the driver fit all that junk in there?

Inventory: As with many good adventure games, a high percentage of your obstacles will be inventory-related. You'll be regularly collecting various items and finding appropriate uses for them as you investigate your surroundings. Some of these items are acquired by clicking on an them in the normal environment, while others are gained by completing hidden object scenes. None of the uses are too obscure. You'll usually be able to guess at which object will work for a particular task, without too much trouble. Puzzles: You'll have to solve several puzzles, none of which are too difficult. I wouldn't have minded even more puzzles, and more complicated ones. But the ones you get are certainly fun.

Don't expect a warm stay at this snow-covered lodge.

Highlights

Live action cutscenes: I was an adventure game junky in the late 90s, when full motion video sequences were commonly showing up in games (the Tex Murphy series, Black Dahlia, Zork: Nemesis, and Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within, to name a few). So, when I found out that this game had professionally produced video clips with live actors, I was eager to get my in-game-cinematics fix. The game did not disappoint. These video sequences are excellent. The acting is very good, the locations are real, and the style is fitting for the game. These video clips are acquired by walking around and discovering camcorder tapes on the ground from time to time. Each tape unlocks a new video, and gives you a glimpse into the events leading up to your investigation. I offer a word of slight caution: some of the video clips are a tad unnerving. You won't be exposed to anything grisly or frightening, thankfully. But more than one clip is certainly spooky and somewhat panicky. I think the majority of people will get a kick out of these, but I wouldn't recommend watching the video clips with little kids around. Less disturbing: Whereas Return to Ravenhearst was like something out of a nightmare, Dire Grove is more like something out of the X-Files. The story in RtR left me wishing could repress it, while the story in Dire Grove is merely spooky and mysterious, in a way that allowed me to feel like my mind was safe. I'm sure you'll have at least one unsettling "WHAT THE HECK?!" moment in the game, but it's still comparatively mild, and rather fun. These surprise moments are likely to show up when you least expect them, so again, I advise you to avoid playing with small children nearby. Some of the content could easily disturb little minds. Satisfying ending: This is one thing you will rarely hear me say. But, in Dire Grove, they actually gave me an ending I could be satisfied with. Instead of the typical, "THE END. Thanks for playing.", the game ends with a nice video sequence to cap things off. My belief is that a game, or book, or movie should reward you for investing your time. Well, this game gives you the payoff. If only more developers would put some effort into good endings.

Issues

No replays: When I play a standard video game, I will frequently reload my last save, after completing the game. Then I'll play through the final sequence again just so I can watch the ending one more time. As you know, most casual games don't have saves. The downside to this is that, if you want to go back later to a particular part of the game, you can't. Dire Grove is such a game. After completing the game, I tried to load my game again, and it just stuck me back at the very beginning. This means you'd better catch EVERYTHING the first time through, because, honey, if you want to see the ending again, you're going to have to work for it! What can I say? I'm a sucker for good endings. But, this is my only grumble about the game.

Some weather vane, huh?

Suitable for the family?

I'm going to have to say no on this one. Most of the game is pretty harmless, and my kids did watch me play a good chunk of the game, but I just wouldn't want a child to be watching at one of those freakout moments. As I mentioned earlier, some of the stuff in this game would be disturbing to little kids. While this game isn't nearly as unsettling as Return to Ravenhearst, and the story is much classier, my wife indicated that she might not want to play this one, having seen and heard some of the scenes. For those of you who really want to know exactly what you'll encounter in this game, I have a spoiler window below. Highlight the white text within the window to read it.

One skeletal corpse, somewhat fake looking. Ice-frozen, seemingly-possessed people who chant repeated phrases. White, ghostly figures that appear and disappear in various rooms. Panicked characters in the live action sequences, with jolty camera motions.

The family man's final ruling

This is one of the best casual games I've ever played. Big Fish Studios put a great deal of time and effort into making this a uniquely solid game. Attention to quality shows up everywhere from video production, to story, to graphics, to music, to puzzles. Every time I play a a rare gem like this, I sigh and wonder why so many mediocre games are released on the casual market. This game kept me interested the whole way through, and I loved the nicely-produced video sequences. All of the actors were good. And for those of you who like extras, there is a Collector's Edition, which costs more, but includes, according to Big Fish,

• bonus 'Easter egg' levels and puzzles that reveal secrets related to both past and future Mystery Case Files episodes
• integrated Deluxe Strategy Guide, and
• extra video outtakes, concept art, screenshots, and desktop wallpapers.

If you like HOGs at all, get this game, especially if you like the integration of adventure and HOG. You won't regret it.

You'll like the game if... You like hidden object games You like adventure games You like a good story You like live-action cinematic cutscenes You like stories involving ancient lore You won't like the game if... You don't like hidden object games You don't want to be spooked from time to time

My rating:

Review - Youda Farmer

Youda Games, an uncommon casual game developer, never fails to put something unique and original on the market. Today, I review a Youda game from early 2009 - the aptly named pick-up-and-deliver game, Youda Farmer!

What I liked Gorgeous graphics and animations Original time-management concept What I didn't like Limited clicking speed Lack of variety

Quick Plot

Develop your farm by picking up goods from various production buildings on your farm, then delivering the goods to town, and doing it quickly.

Mechanics

Time Management: This is a time management game. You're not working against a clock, but against orders that are pouring in from all over your farmland. After an order comes in, it slowly falls off the screen. Once it disappears, you've failed to complete that order. This happens both in the pick up stage, and in the deliver stage.

Your happy little delivery truck, which looks even cooler when upgraded.

Pick-Up and Deliver: The first part of each level has you driving your truck madly around the farm, picking up available goods as they are produced, fulfilling a quota of orders. Here's how this plays out:

1. An order appears at the bottom of the screen (eggs, for example).
2. You click on the order, which takes the screen the appropriate building (chicken coop, in our example).
3. You grab the goods (a batch of eggs, in our example) and drag it to an empty shipping box.
4. The truck picks up the goods the next time it swings by.
5. A checkmark appears on the order, signifying that it has been picked up.
6. You click the order before it disappears from the screen.

You'll end up with an entire row of mixed orders along the bottom of the screen, which is what provides a challenge. It becomes more complicated as the game goes on. The second part of each level has you delivering the goods to various shops in town. Shopkeepers will request the goods required for their business. When you deliver the goods, the shopkeepers make their products - typically, tasty-looking food dishes. These have no in-game effect. They just look cool.

This cute, mustached man is ready to serve up some hot meals using the goods you deliver!

Highlights

Graphics and Animations: The strange thing about Youda is that their games are never awesome. They seem to come up with unique concepts, and execute them with beautiful eye candy, but then they come up a short in terms of gameplay. This was true, for me, of both Youda Marina and Youda Sushi Chef. Youda Farmer doesn't seem to suffer from this oversight quite as much as the other games, which is why it's my favorite Youda game to date. As with the other games, the graphics and animations are excellent. The truck rumbles around the farm while the windmill spins and crops grow. Every order shows an amusing animation when you finish it. The characters are cute and cartoony, and the buildings in town are shiny and very pleasing to the eye with their colorful tile roofs. These high-quality graphics are what drew me into the game and kept me playing. Original Concept: I don't think I've ever seen a pick-up-and-deliver casual game quite like this. This game offered the challenge that time management fans enjoy, but with a fresh mechanic. And I really liked the farm theme. After you deliver enough goods, the townsfolk award you with trophies. Part of the fun is watching these trophies slowly piece together, so I won't spoil for you what they are. I also don't want to reveal what goods you'll be picking up in the game, but there ends up being a good variety by the end.

New and upgraded portions of the farm show up in color on your map in between levels.

Issues

Limited Clicking Speed: This bothered me a few times. Here I was, trying to rapidly click these orders off with my mousing finger, and the game wasn't even equipped to respond to my click rate. It's always weird when games cap the acceptable clicking rate. In a time management game, you don't want restraints like this. You don't want to click rapidly through 9 orders only to discover that 1 or 2 of them didn't register, and you have to re-click them. Lack of Variety: Some time management games really build in the features. You'll get mini games, or have interesting goals or trophies to work for. But in Youda Farmer, you do the same thing through the whole game. Pick up, deliver. Pick up, deliver. After a bunch of levels, the game is done. To be fair, I'll mention that you can buy upgrades in between levels. This makes your buildings produce goods faster, and offers other cool new elements to your farm. You can also change the color and capacity of your truck. You also get a bonus round every time you complete a trophy. This bonus round just sends you on a mad dash around the farm to pick up as many loose goods as you can manage. Fortunately for me, I liked the basic mechanic of the game, so I had fun until the end. But if you're looking for numerous features, you've come to the wrong place.

I love how the village buildings look. Incredibly detailed.

Suitable for the family?

Sure. The innocent farm theme is pleasant and can be enjoyed by anyone. My son liked watching the animations with me when orders were completed. In particular, we liked watching liquid goods slosh out of the glass. He also helped me to spot items on the bonus speed rounds. Still, unless your kids really like watching a truck drive around, they might not get into the game very much. My wife tried the game and wasn't all that eager to keep playing. It's just not her preferred flavor of time management (her favorite is Wedding Dash: Ready, Aim, Love).

The family man's final ruling

I have very little to say other than, this game is simple and fun. It's my favorite of the Youda Games that I've tried. The music fits, but doesn't offer anything special. I think most people will find the eye candy to be pleasing, if not stunning, for the casual games market. The game isn't all that long, but the length felt just right. But I have to wonder, when will the developer create Youda Man?

The windmill at the flour field. The blades are animated in the actual game.

You'll like the game if... You like fast-clicking time management games You like farm-themed games You won't like the game if... You want lots of variety You don't like picking up and delivering goods You get stressed out by time pressure

My rating:

Treasure Seekers 3 and Alice in Wonderland - worth buying?

Two new hidden objects games came out over the last couple of days. It comes as no surprise, since the vast majority of new games are some variety of HOG. The new games are

• Treasure Seekers: Follow the Ghosts, and
• Alice in Wonderland.

I tested both games and found them to be fun, but not worth my money. I'll tell you why.

Treasure Seekers: Follow the Ghosts

As indicated by my review, I really enjoyed Treasure Seekers: Visions of Gold, and so did my kids. Then, I played Treasure Seekers: The Enchanted Canvases. I found it to be somewhat lacking. So my hopes were relatively high when I heard that people were pleased with Treasure Seekers: Follow the Ghosts Collector's Edition. The day before the release of the non-collector's edition, I downloaded it, eagerly anticipating another exciting treasure-seeking experience. Graphics: Still just as slick as ever. The graphics style is the same as the other Treasure Seekers games, as well as The Mystery of the Crystal Portal and The Spirit of Wandering: The Legend. Music: Good, as with the previous games. It provides a subtle backdrop that supports the mood of the scenery. Gameplay: Just like the other Treasure Seekers games, with a couple of exceptions, listed below.

• When finding stuff from scene to scene, the cursor becomes visibly active when you mouse over an object that can be picked up. I was playing in casual mode, though, so this might not happen in the challenging mode. Some people will like this little bit of help, others won't.
• The game now includes...*shudder*...standard hidden object scenes with a list of things to look for. The great thing about the Treasure Seekers games, before now, was the unique way they approached hidden objects. You had to find a certain item that required other items. Then you'd look around the scene and find the needed items. But now, they've included the basic "find this list of random stuff in the mess" scenes.

Fortunately, this game still includes a good number of puzzles and inventory-based objectives. That's the fun part for me. But, once again, the story has to do with trapped and restless ghosts. I'd really like to see Tommy and Nelly try their hand at something else. The writers over at Artogon seem obsessed with ghosts and the paranormal, since all of their games use this theme. Three more little gripes.

• To avoid spoilers, I'll just say that some of the images in this game could be, I think, disturbing to little kids.
• The puzzles I played were a little to easy for my taste.
• The developers used the exact same character art from the previous game, but just slapped new clothes on them. I'd prefer more original material myself. But, I can't blame them. If they can make a little more money by doing the same old thing, then they have every right to do so.

Final Word: I know I sound pretty negative in my opinions of this game. That's because I have, admittedly, very high standards. I think most people will really like this game. My wife said she'd probably like it, having seen me play it. If you like HOGs, there's no question - you'll love this game, so go get it. My guess is that this game will give you everything you want from a HOG. I liked it, but just not enough to buy it. That's partly because, while the production quality is very good, I've grown weary of looking for hidden objects, so any new HOG is going to have to really blow my mind to get a glowing review from me. But for you HOG fans, I think this is the kid of game you'll love sinking your eyes into. I recommend this to anyone who isn't me. =D

Alice in Wonderland

Plot: You're investigating the case of the missing child, Alice. Graphics: Very nice. The scenes look good, and the stylistic choices of the artists were visually appealing. Music: A good reason to NOT play this game. Repetitive and boring, the music hinders the experience more than anything else. I suggest turning it off. Gameplay: From what I saw, the game was primarily a HOG with a little bit of "find the differences between the two pictures." There was nothing original here. Final Word: The game looked pretty and played smoothly. The atmosphere was nice, and finding objects was fun enough. Fans of HOGs will like it. But if you're after something original and immersive, this may not be the game for you. A great soundtrack quite possibly could have kept me playing longer.

Why settle for a measly old mansion? - a review of Be Rich

Did you play Build-a-lot? Let's just say you did. And let's say you wanted something similar, but different. That's where Be Rich comes in. Today I'll tell you what I thought of this money-grubbing real estate game!

What I liked Freedom to choose building locations Lots of levels Graphics and interface Upgrades What I didn't like Some very difficult expert goals Limited selection of buildings

Quick Plot

Accomplish construction goals for cities all over the United States to successfully build up your real estate business.

Mechanics

Time Management: Each level has an Expert goal. To get the Expert ranking for a level, you have to finish it within a certain number of days. If you achieve the Expert goal, you get more prestige and money. If you don't achieve the Expert goal, you don't lose the level or anything. You simply don't get the minor benefits of Expert status. Building: This is a construction and money-making game. You'll build 3 types of buildings:

• Houses
• Buildings, and
• Decorations.

Houses earn rent, Buildings are various types of shops and consumer attractions that earn extra income, and Decorations add value and attractiveness to Houses.

Mansion, Chateau, and Apartment Block - 3 high-end houses

Highlights

Freedom of Choice: In contrast to Build-a-lot, which forces you to build in designated lots, Be Rich instead gives you gridded areas. You can put a building anywhere on a gridded area, as long as it fits. This means that you get to decide exactly how your buildings are arranged in relation to each other, which affects how much money you can earn from a particular layout. Game Length: There are 40 levels in the standard game mode (Career Mode). This makes for a pretty good length. Then, to add in more gameplay, there is a Sandbox Mode. This gives you more of the same gameplay (levels with prescribed goals) but expands the territory beyond a single screen. In this mode, you can scroll across a broader territory. I haven't played all of the Sandbox levels, but there appear to be 6. And if you care to work for them, there are a number of trophies to earn, as in many time management games. These trophies appear on the map screen.

Level map and trophy room.

Graphics and Interface: The 2D graphics are colorful and detailed. Buttons are shiny, and buildings are cool looking. The interface is easy to use, so you won't find yourself confused. This game is nice to look at. The camera perspective is directly head on, with no angle, just like Hotel Mogul. Upgrades: In a game that is otherwise fairly light on features, you are at least offered a bundle of upgrades. These can be purchased as you earn money for completing levels. Each upgrade adds a new building to your business empire, or adds a new section to your main office headquarters. These upgrades add bonuses to your gameplay, making levels easier. This shows up as things like quicker production and random rent checks popping up on houses.

Issues

Expert Rank: I often like to push for the master goals in games like this. In the Farm Frenzy series, for example, I don't move onto the next level until I've achieved the Gold medal on the current level. In Be Rich, you earn Expert ranking on a level if you finish it in a certain number of days. For the first dozen or so levels, this was no problem. After that, it became a struggle. I got really close on a few levels, but most of the later levels had incredibly difficult Expert requirements. The bummer for me was that the game didn't compel me to work for it. Neither the gameplay nor the Expert reward were interesting or engaging enough to make me really desire that higher standard of achievement. It's my opinion that Expert goals in a game should offer valuable payoff for success. When I missed the Expert goal in this game, I just shrugged and moved on. Not Much Variety: I recently reviewed Coconut Queen. One of the great features of that game is the wide variety of buildings you can construct. But in Be Rich, you're limited to

• 7 Houses
• 5 Buildings, and
• 5 Decorations.

And after a while, there were only about 3 House types I wanted to build. The various Buildings and Decorations still got frequent use though. A few more building options would have helped to keep my interest.

Your business empire. It grows visibly with each upgrade you buy.

Suitable for the family?

There's nothing either offensive or attractive to children in this game. The halflings watched me play sometimes, but usually asked me to switch to a different game. Kids seem to gravitate to games with notable characters, and this game has none.

The family man's final ruling

The game is fun. It kept me playing until the end, and it was pleasant to look at. The music is mediocre and the English is poor and awkward at times. The story offers nothing meaningful, so I usually just clicked through the text. The best thing about the game is the freedom to choose where you place each building, so that you can make the building types interact for maximum profit. For instance, a movie theater benefits from having lots of Apartments next to it, and any building will earn more money if it's constructed on a premium lot. The worst thing about the game is the lack of variety or change. You're pretty much doing the same thing all game, and while it is fun, it didn't really shine in any way. I probably like it more than Build-a-lot, though. If you're going to try Be Rich, you might also want to try its sequel, which manages to boast an even more hedonistic title: Be Richer.

A standard level. This happens to be a wintery one. The stars indicate premium lots, which earn you more money.

You'll like the game if... You like real estate and building games You want more freedom of layout than Build-a-Lot offers You won't like the game if... You want lots of variety, features, and extras

My rating:

3 new games that I liked, but didn't buy

These days, there are so many casual games being released that I test very few of them. I'm always looking for the gems among the duds. Recently, a few new casual games caught my attention, so I played through the demos. Read on to find out what I thought of

• 3 Cards to Dead Time
• Awakening: The Dreamless Castle, and
• Eden's Quest: The Hunt for Akua.

3 Cards to Dead Time

Category: Hidden Objects, Puzzles Background This was a strange experience for me. The developer, Big Finish Games, consists of the team who created my favorite adventure game series from the 90s, that is, the Tex Murphy series. Fans of the Tex series were greatly let down when Access Software was bought by Microsoft, and the Tex series was discontinued. The last Tex game, Overseer, had left us with a nasty cliffhanger, which would have no resolution. So, when their first new casual game, 3 Cards to Midnight, was announced, I was eager to see what the old Tex Murphy team had created. It wasn't Tex Murphy, but it was something. Maybe it would be just as cool as the Tex series, right? I followed the pre-release commentary as they developed the game, and became increasingly disappointed as they revealed the theme of the game - paranormal, creepy, tarot card stuff. Then, the game was finally released and I read some reviews to see what other people thought. Feedback was more negative than positive. How could my old favorite developers release something that was, apparently, mediocre? Well, they recently released the second game in the 3 Cards series: 3 Cards to Dead Time. I decided to give it a try. What You Do One thing that the Tex team was good at was creating interesting and challenging puzzles. The same is true here. The various puzzles scattered throughout the game were enjoyable. Most of the game is spent looking for hidden objects, but in an unusual way, which I found to be refreshing. Typically, standard hidden objects games give you a list of things to find. This mechanic has become very stale for me and I avoid it now. But in 3 Cards to Dead Time, you find objects according to a prescribed pattern. So, instead of a list of words telling you what to find, you have a collection of blank boxes. You are told to find something like "Objects that come in 3s." So then, you have to look around the scene for items that fit the given theme. When you find an item, its name appears in one of the empty boxes. At other times, you have to find objects that go together. The empty boxes will be color-matched, showing you how many items go together. So, you might get 3 connected purple boxes, and one of them says "King." Looking around the scene, you'll find a picture of a queen, and then you'll locate a jack, which completes that series of related items. You can choose between Casual and Challenging modes (I think that's what they were called). Casual mode just requires you to find fewer objects, from what I could tell. I would recommend the Challenging mode for die hard HOG fans. Casual was too easy. My Opinions If the game consisted of these types of scenes, with puzzles thrown in, I'd like it more. But, this game contains lots and lots of story. If the story interested me, or was presented in an attractive way, I might dig it. As it is, the creepy, weird story doesn't interest me, and with my kids hanging around, I simply clicked the SKIP button for each of the numerous cut-scenes. These scenes are made up of a series of still shots depicting awkward 3D-modeled characters, with voice-over dialogue. These scenes happen after each little task you complete. The graphics and music are both very good. The mysterious music matches the theme of the game well. So, while the graphics, music, and mechanics were all quite nice, the convoluted, family-unfriendly story and mood took this game down some notches. I would like to play more of this type of game if its strengths were applied to a more family-friendly story, and if the cut-scenes were just cut out altogether or occurred less frequently.

Awakening: The Dreamless Castle

You might remember my review for Princess Isabella: A Witch's Curse. My guess it that, if you liked that game, you'll like Awakening: The Dreamless Castle. They feel very similar in the way they play. What You Do You spend the game walking around a castle finding items and using them in various locations. Sometimes you have to complete hidden objects scenes and solve simple puzzles. My Opinions The graphics and music are good, the interface is easy to use, and you aren't likely to get stuck for too long, although sometimes you might wander around wondering what you forgot to pick up in which room. It's not always completely obvious. I would like this game more if it had something more original, innovative, or challenging about it. This game doesn't deliver anything special. It gets the job done fine, but doesn't excel. The puzzles are cake, the HOG scenes are standard, and the story is boring. I just wished this game had engaged my mind more. But, for fans of the inventory/puzzles/HOG genre that we've seen more commonly in recent months, this game should hit the spot.

Eden's Quest: The Hunt for Akua

This was another interesting situation for me. I love puzzles in games. That was always my favorite part of adventure games, and I always like them in casual games. This game is nothing but puzzles with a storyline. What You Do You solve puzzles. That's the whole point of the game. You go from station to station facing various types of brainteasers, math puzzles, and the like. You earn hints along the way, and each puzzle has 3 hints available. During my time playing the demo, I never had to use a hint. Some of the puzzles certainly stumped me, but they weren't timed, so I took my time figuring them out. My Opinions The presentation here is excellent. The character and scene art is superb - completely professional. This is unusual for the casual game market. The story is also intriguing and mysterious. It had me interested. As with all Sean Beeson soundtracks, this music is tasty. But, having realized that the game is nothing but puzzles (kind of like Azada), I lost interest in pursuing the entire game. If I could get this game for free, or even as a Daily Deal, I might play all the way through. It's fun for what it is, but I can't bring myself to buy it.

Hunks galore! - a review of Coconut Queen

You might have played the Build-a-lot or Be Rich series. But what if the levels were much larger, and you could put buildings anywhere you wanted to? Throw in a cartoony style, lots of subtle humor, an interesting story, and a tropical setting, and you've got Coconut Queen!

What I liked Humor Hawaiian flavor Cartoony graphics Building and economic mechanics Lots of levels Decision-making freedom What I didn't like I found one game-stopping bug

Quick Plot

Make Lui-Lui Island a successful money-making tourist attraction with the help of some muscly hunks.

Mechanics

Time Management: Each level has a timer bar. Once the bar fills up, your time is out. Your task is to accomplish all of your listed goals before the timer runs out. As opposed to other similar games, there is no "Expert" goal to work for on these levels. And, you know, I actually didn't miss this feature. The time limits seem just right. Some are more challenging than others, and if you fail, you'll probably have an idea of what to do differently next time. Building: This game is about construction and money-making. You'll build 3 types of buildings:

• rental
• commercial, and
• outdoor goods.

Rental buildings house tourists and make money, commercial buildings just make money, and outdoor goods make rental buildings more attractive. Many buildings can be upgraded to be more valuable and more productive.

Constructing a temple next to a hotel. The dock makes both buildings more attractive.

Highlights

Theme: The tropical island theme permeates every part of the game, from the interface to the music to the dialogue. There's a distinct Hawaiian flavor that makes me want to go to the Tiki Room at Disneyland. In fact, that's exactly what the trophy room in this game is called - the Tiki Room. Features: By "features," I mean the little things that keep the game interesting. This includes

• 5 locations with 10 levels each, and 1 location with 5 levels
• 14 tikis to work for
• Lots of upgrades and unlockable items
• A good variety of buildings
• Interesting plot
• Clever and humorous dialogue
• Unlockable free play mode for every area (no time limit, no goals)

The Tiki Room, with 2 tikis left to earn

Humor: This is one of the best parts of the game. The voice work and graphics help to give the humor a wonderfully entertaining presentation. The main thing that cracked me up were the hunks, and more specifically, the head hunk - Kane. (Strangely enough, they don't pronounce it "KAH-nay" as with the Hawaiian deity's name. Instead, they just say, "CANE" like the thing you walk with.) As you play, you receive your instructions and feedback from Kane. He's the one keeping a strategic overview of what's going on, while your job is to successfully accomplish the construction, buying and selling, hiring workers, clearing forests, and making the place attractive to tourists. Kane never fails to say things in the most amusing way. The game is jam-packed with subtle humor. The same applies to the workers that you send running around to do your bidding. Every time you assign a task to a worker (a hunk, that is, a muscly dude wearing nothing but a red cloth around his waist), he'll respond with some comment like

• "More work! That's what I'm talking about." or
• "I need no rest." or
• "See these muscles? I made them myself."

The delivery of the lines is great. Whoever they got to voice this did a great job. Kane and the other hunks are pretty much clones of Kronk from Disney's The Emperor's New Groove. They look like him, and they speak in a similar manner. During the game, you'll have to deal with yuppies, surfers, and monkey infestations. Story: This game has a story. Every so often, you're given a cut-scene to show you how things are developing. And the story is actually interesting, and funny. Let me warn you though: you're left with a cliffhanger ending, which suggests that a sequel is coming. I'll talk more about this in the Issues section below. Cartoony Style: I mentioned before that the hunks look like Kronk. Well, the rest of the game has a cartoon style that also reminds me of The Emperor's New Groove. Fans of the movie should appreciate the art style here.

Liz and Kane

Issues

Progress-Stopping Bug: I figured out how to break the game, unintentionally of course. You see, at the Yippi Kai Yeh Temple, you are allowed to clear the forest in the first level. But in the rest of the levels, the game doesn't allow you to use that tool anymore. This is the only time in the game where this happens. The reason is plot-related. So, on the first level, I cleared out some trees and built a cabana down by the water. Then, when Kane told me to plant new forest after that, I closed in my cabana with trees, not realizing that hunks can't access a building that is closed off in this way. But, by this time, my ability to tear down trees was disabled, so I was stuck. I could never get to that cabana to salvage it, sell it, or shoo the monkeys away from it. Therefore, I couldn't accomplish the assigned goals, and therefore, I couldn't proceed with the game. There is no fix for this. I had to start the game from the beginning. And Yippi Kai Yeh Temple was the 5th of 6 areas to complete. I was almost done with the game. Needless to say, the second time through the game, I cleared every single spot of trees off the map on the first level of Yippi Kai Yeh Temple. I recommend you do the same. You'll need the space. Story Ending Confusion: As it turns out, there are only 4 required areas for finishing up the storyline for this game. So, once you play Kaba Lui Park, don't expect more from the story, like I did. Having viewed the final story sequence, I went on from Kaba Lui Park to unlock the two optional areas: Yippi Kai Yeh Temple and Blue Moon Lagoon. I didn't realize these were "optional" levels, so there I was, eagerly plugging away, waiting to find out what happened with the rest of the story. I finished the final level of Blue Moon Lagoon and waited for the big closing scene...which never came. No, friends, we have to wait for the sequel to find out what happens. So, just remember, Kaba Lui Park is the last level of the game that matters for the story.

What a level looks like after some development. Upper left corner: Kane, your advisor Lower left corner: You, Liz, the Coconut Queen

Suitable for the family?

My wife hasn't played it, so I don't know if she'll like the game. She's not much into building games. My kids liked the game because of the cartoony cuteness. And they liked hearing the hunks saying their numerous funny lines. We would snicker together as the hunks bounded across the screen from one building to another. The kids also liked pointing out crabs and butterflies for me to catch in my net, hearing the monkey sounds, and watching the hunks beat up sharks.

The family man's final ruling

Of all the building/real estate games I've tried, this is my favorite so far. The humor, the story, and the polished delivery made it a very enjoyable experience, even two times through! Build-a-lot or Be Rich fans are might really enjoy the freedom you have in this game. You can build anywhere you want, and the levels are much larger than a single screen. This open-endedness allowed greater creativity in arranging your buildings. And because the story drew me in, I'm all ready to play the sequel now. What's going to happen?!

You'll like the game if... You like real estate and building games You like a tropical resort theme You like subtle humor You want more freedom than other building games give you You won't like the game if... You don't like having to race the clock (time management) You don't like having to constantly track buildings, workers, and earnings

My rating:

The Movie's About to Start! - a review of Megaplex Madness: Now Playing

Want a straightforward time management game with intuitive gameplay? Megaplex Madness: Now Playing might be just the game for you. Hopefully I can help you decide in today's review!

What I liked Intuitive drag-and-drop gameplay Adequate game length What I didn't like Repetition Lack of features Mediocre production quality

Quick Plot

Provide good customer service, and make enough money to restore all the broken-down movie theaters in Movieville.

Mechanics

Time Management: Every level consists of the few minutes before the movie starts. During those few minutes, you need to serve as many people as you can. Each customer comes in with a good attitude (5 hearts), but their attitudes grow sour if you take too long to serve them (they lose hearts). You make more money from customers with lots of hearts. Arcade Games: During the game, you can buy arcade machines for your theaters. You can visit the arcade in between levels to play the games you've unlocked. These games are old-school arcade games with new names. You can play these to make extra money.

Highlights

There are very few highlights to mention for this game. The game is very simple. But there is one feature worth mentioning. Drag-and-Drop: In many time management games, you click-click-click to make things happen. In this game, you actually click the customer you want to move -- this picks them up -- and drag them to their requested stations (popcorn stand, ticket booth, bathroom, etc.). The developers even built in physics. The limbs of the little people will flail if you move them quickly, as if they're really being picked up and thrown around. It's pretty cute. This is the first time management game that I've played that used this sort of person movement, so it's worth mentioning.

Other than that, the game is very basic in its mechanics, which should be comforting to those of you who don't like complicated games. Each level consists of the following:

1. Look at the balloon above each customer's head. This tells you what the customer wants to do.
2. Drag the customer to their desired station.
3. Continue this until each customer has gone into the movie.

You will have

• 4 colors of characters: Blue, Red, Green, and Purple.
• 3 customer types: Patient, Normal, Impatient
• 3 degrees of success: Target, Expert, and Master.

You must earn the Target amount of money to move onto the next level. Earning the Expert amount of money does nothing significant. Earning the Master amount of money allows you to make a repair on the theater. These repairs, as far as I can tell, are visual only. They don't affect the gameplay. In between levels, you spend your money to buy useful upgrades, such as new workers, new concession stands, or new services. The more upgrades, the better your service. Each of the 5 theaters seem to get a bit more challenging than the previous one. There are 10 levels per theater.

One thing I was thankful to discover was that, even if you fail a level, you get to keep the money you earned. This allows you to buy additional theater upgrades before you try the level again.

Issues

Lack of Features: The only added feature of the game is the optional arcade games. But there are problems with these games.

1. It takes way too long to earn good money from them.
2. They are difficult old-school games (like Frogger, Galaga, and Breakout).
3. They don't have keyboard controls.

So, I spent very little time in the arcade. It just wasn't fun. Many time management games include a trophy room with various long-term goals to shoot for, or new upgrades and unlockables as you play and improve. You won't get any of that in this game. You'll just be doing the same thing over and over for each level. This will either be just right for you, or boring, depending on what types of games you like. In the Farm Frenzy series, it is fun to keep playing the level, trying for the Gold medal (the highest challenge level). In this game, there was nothing very fun about trying for the Master level, so I usually just moved on, regardless of how successfully I finished the level. Also, I would have liked more variety in the way customers look. But no. Each person is one of 7 or 8 models. It's a city of clones!

Suitable for the family?

Sure. The kids watched me play some of the time, but there is nothing inherently interesting for the weefolk. Also, the adult female customers all have bare midriffs. Why? As usual, the answer is simple: male developers. Would every female in town really wear stomach-revealing shirts?

The family man's final ruling

I've played various types of time management games, and I found Megaplex Madness: Now Playing to be unlike anything else I've played. The drag-and-drop method of moving people around was fairly unique, but nothing else really stood out. Is it worth playing? Sure. It was more fun than some other time management games I've tried. It was fun enough to keep playing to the end. Still, nothing about the game really shined. The music, graphics, and story are nothing special. This was just your everyday amusing casual game that anyone could pick up and play. I almost gave it a full 3 stars, but there are too many other high quality games pushing my rating lower. That said, if you can find the game for a good price, don't miss it.

You'll like the game if... You like simple games with few mechanics You like time management games You won't like the game if... You like complex games You like time management games with multiple features or layers of depth You like games with high production values like good music and graphics

My rating: