A bunch of easygoing settlers depend on you! Once your band of laid-back guys managed to escape a the criminals and found a vacant archipelago in the middle of the sea they decided to settle down and enjoy the view. The chain of aisles offers enough challenges to satisfy the most adventurous. Colonizing is never easy but sometimes it’s downright grueling especially when there are ill-tempered natives to consider.
Island Realms made by Alawar Melesta offers you an amazing opportunity to explore and succeed proving who is the better man!
This strategy game offers you to move your wagon of goods from island to island (and simultaneously from level to level). You are supposed to fill the wagon first and then move it from one island to the other. Every island has a choice of waypoints. The game dictates where you are to build a store or a grain mill. Your men are to build roads where necessary e.g. between the waypoints.
Don’t rush to begin the construction. If you need to build something, you’ll need to buy necessary blueprints. Everything looks like real life! To continue with real life tendencies everything you plan to build or upgrade consumes a certain number of resources. Sometimes in cases you are not able to directly produce necessary resources you can barter or trade them. Don’t forget to build and upgrade your warehouses since each building can hold only so many goods.
In Island Realms everything is animated. Watching your people move around doing things is an entertainment in itself. Also the more work you have the more people you need. If in trouble go buy some settlers (a true bargain – one coin per settler!). Sounds somewhat ominous but really rather amusing.
As I said before there are natives who ruin your efforts. The roads get destroyed, goods stolen, buildings ruined. They even knock over your people! First time it happened I even cried out in indignation! There is a rather humorous solution to this particular problem though – make your men build some idols here and there. When a native soldier faces one of the idols he can’t help to dance about hooting. Downright hilarious!
Your main strategy in Island Realms is to move quickly and keep the work going. The graphics are interesting; music wasn’t irritating me. Once you understand somewhat lacking tutorial you’ll get a real kick out of this game!
A marvelous new time management title developed by GameHouse comes from the Delicious series. A well-known and well-loved by fans series brings us a glimpse into an amazing world of cooking shows. An enterprising Emily teamed up with Francois are doing their best to break into a new cooking show. The way to success is never easy; along the way there are hazards and all kinds of detours. To proceed on this way the pair will need a lot of strategy and inventiveness.
As the game starts you are presented with a flashback of evens which happened a month ago. When Emily and her friend Francois were driving to a new cooking show something dreadful happened – their car broke down. To add more trouble to the existing one they can’t scrape enough money for necessary repairs. But with plucky Emily there is always a way out. She decides to strike a bargain with the owner of a nearest diner. She will cook in the diner until she earns enough money to have the car fixed. Time is running out while the way to Emily’s cooking show is long and full of twists. The producers won’t wait too long! Thus courageous girls must move real fast to succeed.
This time management game is restaurant based. In it you control everything with your mouse. As usual in this genre you must be as quick as possible to have your customers satisfied. There are two daily goals. A standard goal allows you to go further in the game. If you managed to achieve the expert goal you’ve made some extra money for Emily. This money is used to buy upgrades such as , for example, decorations for the diner. Your customers will be happier if you made the restaurant beautiful!
Emily’s Taste of Fame offers five main restaurant areas with ten days for each area. There are 50 levels total. To add the spice developers from GameHouse included a number of Easter eggs for our entertainment.
This particular game looks much better than its predecessors; the game was expanded and improved greatly. Every day we are offered new tasks and challenges – the restaurant running routine has no chances!
The tasks offered vary. For example, you may be picking packages or saving lives. The style of the tasks also vary. There are adventures, hidden object hunts and even elements of strategy beautifully slipped in between time management core of the game.
To my somewhat biased opinion Emily’s Taste of Fame is one of the best games made by GameHouse. An excellent product to entertain you!
Another time management game recently caught my attention. Kitchen Brigade developed by Fugazo might not have a unique story comparing to other titles such as Hell’s Kitchen or Top Chef. Still there are enough twists and turns to make this particular game worthy of gamers’ attention.
You will be playing a chef. Unsurprising, considering the title. You are in a tight financial situation. Oh well, who I am kidding! Plainly speaking – you are broke. After winning one million bucks in the World Culinary Workshop you should have been fine but real life interfered: you needed to pay taxes, tuition fees, and restaurant costs. No wonder you had only 10 dollars left. As a chef there is little you can do besides cooking. Thus the game starts. You will be doing your best to cook so good that you might get famous and maybe, just maybe get into a TV show. Using your earth-shattering skills you must manage your restaurant to the best of your abilities.
Unlike other similar titles Kitchen Brigade values speed. It’s a dash game after all! So the faster you are moving the better. The skills you have are important too, but not as much. An overall pace of the game is rather fast – no time to get bored if you do many tasks at the same time.
In this game you will need to drag necessary ingredients to the corresponding stations which sets your assistants to work. Multitasking is a useful skill to have ! To speed things up you can do some dishes yourself – there are mini-games where you are able to try your culinary talents.
Those mini-games imply simple kitchen tasks which are necessary to preparing the food. For example, if you wish to make some rice you will need to set the heat on high and stir the pot. In contrast to other culinary games (Cooking Academy comes to mind) you will be careful about clicking. Thankfully Kitchen Brigade is less strict. Precision clicks are not compulsory – as long as you click in close vicinity of the item you’re all set. Cooking tasks generally are fulfilled in a number of simple steps.
As in the real life the customer tip if they are happy. The faster you serve them – the happier they are. The customers tend to leave if you take too long thus your speed in essential. You can please them with cookies (one of upgrades available).
The game is flexible enough – fun and easy. The only negative thing I noticed is its shortness which happens with the best of them.
GamesCafe that we all know and love developed another pleasant opportunity to loose yourself in gaming worlds. After the success of Sally series which I reviewed earlier they to out collective delight decided to branch out and explore party planning business. The protagonist, Pepper, comes back to Bashville. Life goes well for Pepper. Not only has she had a chance to see all her long-lost friends but to make a little money all the while by hosting fabulous parties.
Party Planner only has one mode. Still there is a lot to do. We are offered 15 locations to explore. Each location comes in 5 levels. For a time management game 75 levels is a rather pleasant surprise.
Similar concepts were used in such games as Wedding Dash or Party Down. If you’ve ever played those you will be comfortable enough. Still Party Planner offers enough diversions and twists to keep even the pickiest player occupied.
Each party begins with a discussion of hosts preferences. Each person has his own ideas about most suitable activities and music, food and drinks. Then you play memory game trying to choose right items corresponding to what the host wished.
Tasks mostly involve fulfilling the whims of the guests. Just drag whatever necessary from one place to the other; it includes both people and things. I just wish everyday life was more like this!
While you do your best fulfilling the orders you earn money and hearts. Whatever money you have are to be spent upgrading and buying new useful stuff. The hearts on the other hand are used in determining whether you reach normal, expert, or epic goal.
The upgrades I mentioned vary from quicker kitchen staff to Confetti and Fireworks which are a sure way to earn more hearts. Party Planner gives a lot of opportunities to earn money early in the game which lets you buy whatever you want which somewhat diminishes the excitement. Even a newcomer with luck can breeze through the game at the first try. This is the only negative comment I have about Party Planner – while in the start the game is exciting but in the middle of the game you will buy all upgrades and the game gets somewhat repetitive.
Overall Party Planner is a great game. I absolutely adored the way they made the guests. It made me chuckle in an evil way. If you like time management games you will get a kick out of it, just like I did.
Coconut Queen seems to some inventive unlockables with combine “neighborhood improvement” concept. Add into the mix subtle sense of humor and lovely graphics and guess what – you’ve got yourself a winner. The story presents us with Lui-Lui Island of immense beauty with the greenest jungles and pristine white beaches. Then the Colorado Coconut Company sends Liz from accounts department to investigate a decrease of fruits production. Once she set her foot on the island’s soil odd things befall on her. First and foremost somewhat odd crowd of native men decided to make an unsuspecting Liz their queen. So, what does Coconut Queen do? Queen’s job is to earn the island as much cash as possible by attracting the tourists. Since tourists need somewhere to live you are to help Liz with building accommodation for them. Said accommodation may differ in size from cabins to cabanas. As long as you put a lot of palm trees, hot tubs and other tourist attractions while on your construction spree you will be fine. Cash mainly comes from rent, but there is considerable income from buffets and markets too. As you undoubtedly understand the prettier the place is the more tourists will come. So invest some effort into decorating – it’ll pay for itself. Each chapter of the game brings a certain number of goals to be met. Sometimes disastrous events happen to break the routine – be ready to face those! The game really picks up speed as soon as you work through an entire resort area. New unique upgrades are available for purchase. To buy those you have to have gems which come from completing the chapter. Strategizing is very important in Coconut Queen. Choosing a right upgrade is of paramount importance for the game-play. Coconut Queen is great game allowing you freedom to build wherever you want to. Choosing your own plan sounds fascinating, doesn’t it? You may even place the huts in the shape of your own name to boost your ego. This feature gives Coconut Queen a higher than usual replay value, since choosing different upgrades and locations produces a new game each time. Having completed the area you are able to play unlimited building and developing your dream resort. Since the story develops with the game you will not get bored. Oh, but whom am I kidding? The game with its cartoony animation and humorous details that catch you unawares is a flawless product worth your attention.
If you have played the first one you will notice at once that Posh Boutique 2 picked up where its predecessor left off. Even if you didn’t, you might want to try this fast-paced time management game.
The game starts with Alice flying on a vacation using her prize in the worldwide in-flight lottery. Lucky girl, eh? Our fortunate heroine has ambitious plans. She plans to use the prize money to develop her business and maybe, just maybe go worldwide. Imagine Posh Boutiques all over the globe and the trouble of managing them. She obviously needs our help so let’s stop dawdling and rush to her rescue.
If you ever played any time management game you know the drill – you will be hiring your employees, serving your customers, earning money and eventually upgrading everything you have to make your business modern and profitable. Efficiency is the key. There are variations of course but overall Posh Boutique 2 is developed along the usual lines.
From the original Posh Boutique its successor inherited a number of features – there is a VIP Room too for example. Some things are better. I liked improved graphics – the boutiques sure look better now.
You must work fast if you plan to success in this particular game. Sometimes a couple of customers may drop by at the same time. Serving them at the same time takes effort and good organization skills. Giving discounts stops angry customers from leaving; use them at your convenience. Messy clients are to be dealt with. If you are squeamish or plain busy (and you would be) just hire a cleaner and forget about it.
Once you lured the client into your shop click him to discover his needs. There are ways to satisfy those needs to the customer’s satisfaction.
Available upgrades allow you training your cleaner, bettering your fitting stations and even increasing Alice’s speed. You can also decorate to your heart’s content using mannequins, neon signs and other ornamentation to catch the attention of potential customers.
Once you finish the level you are able to win a trophy for your hard work (private consultations to VIP clients or serving a certain number of ordinary customers). Check Trophy Room for your awards.
On the whole Posh Boutique 2 with its lovely sound effects and amusing graphics is a well-made game. Should you desire to entertain yourself with a time management game this one will prove worthy and fun.
Farm Frenzy 3 is one of those games which make you question yourself for a second. Why? Despite a deceiving number in the title it is a forth game in the series. It seems Farm Frenzy Pizza Party was not good enough to get a number. Sometimes I just wonder… Anyway, moving on!
It being a series we roughly know what to expect. The game obviously follows pretty much the same story with a number of changes barely enough to make it different from its predecessors. In this agricultural simulation you will be producing goods, storing and selling them and don’t forget to care for your animals. Such as they are. You will get chickens, ostriches and bears. This particular incarnation also adds yaks, penguins, llamas, and walruses into the mix.
The story of plucky and adventurous farmer Scarlett and her travels all over the world is fascinating. Scarlett in a bout of ambition put it into her head to become a president of the farmers union. That is why she goes to Africa and other distant locations in order to be helping farmers.
Every level produces different goals for Scarlett to meet. Anything goes in the game. Sometimes her goal is to make or collect a certain amount of products and sometime she has to earn a certain quantity of money. On different levels she has a different number of goals to complete.
It is not so easy as it sounds. To be efficient (and it seems the only way in Farm Frenzy 3) Scarlett is supposed to upgrade her equipment or even buy new one. It concerns every bit of machinery the farmer owns from product making machines to transportation and bear cages. Some levels cannot be accessed without certain things bought and renewed so you will be returning to play faster and more efficiently to earn money.
This game requires a lot of thinking and planning. You will be trying out different strategies in order to deduce which will earn you the silver or gold star. You certainly will be able to replay Farm Frenzy 3 a number of times since each strategic approach gives different results.
The graphics are gorgeous. So good in fact that they overburden your PC. Actually it is the only flaw of Farm Frenzy 3 worth mentioning. The developers of the game chose heavy graphics over performance.
Despite those problems the game is actually very well done. It is not boring and will keep you guessing for a long time. I mean, come on, there are 95 levels with 33 products and 30 animals. The diversity of it all allows hours upon hours of quality play time.
Aztec Tribe developed by Merry Pen Games is a casual combination of agricultural stimulation and city construction game. Lately the developers tend to mix genres for our collective entertainment so let’s examine another product of their efforts.
The storyline is simple. There is this tribe of natives who peacefully live in the mountains. But eventually trouble comes and enemies seem to surround the tribe from every side. After careful consideration the elders decide it’s time to move on. Once tribe’s scouts discover a lush valley fit to become a new home it’s your turn to help. To survive and settle in this foreign place the Aztecs need a lot of help. To help little civilization to thrive you will be building a lot shaping land to your content.
This game is centered on resources. You always start in a similar fashion. You move people to the new place, build a wigwam [a side note: I mean, come on – Aztecs in a wigwam?!] where your people will sleep. The next stop will be creating farming land to produce food. Then goes the mine, the sawmill, etc.
Once you have enough of precious resources you can upgrade the buildings. A tip for players – you must always leave at least one worker in each building to keep it running.
In Aztec Tribe you will have a choice of playing strategy: either you are set on victory and leave the level as soon as you can or you want to master the game and continue to play the level until you receive the star for your efforts. The latter strategy offers more challenging goals for the strong of heart.
On the basic level there is wood to collect, gold to dig, etc. but you must focus on your main strategy to meet the goals of the game. Aztec Tribe offers 34 levels from rather easy to more and more difficult. There are pests to overcome and disasters to face but the game itself will not get repetitive. Since the game is not timed you have enough time to consider your options. You will have a number of ideas to try so replay potential of Aztec Tribe is rather high.
Also keep in mind that this particular game is a late-bloomer so the first hour of game-play may seem a tad too slow. Don’t you worry, it’ll pick the speed up soon!
Overall this strategy based building game with nice graphics and tolerable music will make the time fly. The game offers a relaxing fulfilling time for the devotees of time management games.
To take a break from all that excessive farming I was doing on my PC (no, no real plants for me!) I took up another time management game. I’d rather build something I thought. So, I happened to stumble on Build it! Miami Beach Resort and decided to get acquainted with 1920’s America. Not a bad time that. Economy was on the rise – big money to be made.
The protagonist, Claire Parker, is in real trouble. She used to work for Brisco Partners at a clerical job. Sadly, she thought on the job and got sacked. Since trouble comes in pairs her dearly loved Uncle Pete passed away. Unpleasant, to say the least. Anyway the situation came with a silver lining. Claire’s relative left her a tidy sum which she is supposed to use following his footsteps in construction of luxury resorts on Miami Beach. Not bad for a girl in 1920’s, is it?
Build it! Miami Beach Resort developed by Cerasus Media GmbH is a city construction strategy. You will be following Claire from 1920 to 1980 as she transforms previously empty beach into fantastic Miami-Dade County resort. Claire strives to turn her uncle’s fortune into a popular resort where people flock to avoid winter unpleasantness and to enjoy the sun.
The game lasts 60 years the developers designed each level to last a year. A number of tasks is to be accomplished during this period since the clock ticks on. Since first and foremost it’s a time management game your time efficiency is paramount. If you fail to achieve your goals till December 31 you will have to restart it all over again. Expert score is achieved by implementing everything twice as quick so July 1-st will serve as an alternative deadline.
Miami Beach Resort offers three different kinds of construction projects. Those are divided according to the spheres of implementation such as Recreation, Leisure and Lodging. As you may understand from the names Lodging includes everything connected with hotels. Each room you have will bring a certain amount of cash. Which is good but building only hotels is not going to work. People want to be entertained. So building parks and bars will bring additional money. The most important idea to keep in mind is that the balance between all three is essential. There is no fixed ratio I can suggest so you’ll have to work out this on your own.
Overall Build it! Miami Beach Resort is a good game with quality graphics. It is rather interesting but don’t let a tad difficult beginning to scare you. This game is worth the effort.
Recently hidden object games and casual games became more and more adventurous. The genres are merging since a mix of genres will surely attract more attention from customers than a classic game of one genre. Diner Dash series used to be one of those. But PlayFirst’s Avenue Flo was made in this modern style. The sixth game of this series allows us to skip some part of routine of waiting tables and have a little adventure. I believe we are all happier this way, most of all Flo.
Hard-core players of adventures will not be fully satisfied with Avenue Flo but devotees of Dinner Dash will be happy to experience this little expansion. The protagonist, Flo, whom we all know and love, will go on a little journey through the Dinertown neighbourhoods which is I found quirky and charming.
The story itself: the town is abuzz. Large wedding by the town’s most important socialite – Miss Big – is to be held today. But something goes really really wrong. So wrong in fact that writing it off as a chain of coincidences became impossible. The cake was damaged, the rings somehow misplaced, etc. Similar disasters sprung from around every corner. So who’s the saboteur? As you would expect Flo rushes comes to the aid. Saving the event is paramount for the town!
Since it’s a little town everyone Flo encounters on her journey somehow is involved in the wedding. Many of those will need Flo’s help. It seems nobody from florists to dressmakers is able to handle their job in time (I mean really – in THE day of the wedding?!) or on their own. Sometimes you will meet people willing to help but (there is always a but, isn’t there?) they will need some favour in exchange for help. Just like in the real life.
The challenges are mostly simple fetch quests, sometimes you have to sort stuff on your way. However Avenue Flo is not a camouflaged hidden object game. Present elements of this genre are infrequent and are of little consequence. The most important tasks stand alone and offer a real challenge. The puzzles might not be outstandingly hard but they sure are tricky.
Game offers plenty of locations and characters, it’s fully voiced. A pleasant surprise to be sure making the game atmospheric and rich. Another of my sore points in games is music. Avenue Flo though offers light music with a hint of jazz. Not unbearable but a tad irksome.
Overall the game is bright and cheerful. It will suit any age group.
