Review: Ice Tycoon

Type: Time Management
Platform: Android
Price: Free from Android Market

Ice Tycoon is a simple game of selling ice-cream.

Gameplay
You tap on various ingredients to create an ice-cream. If you used up an ingredient, you have to spend some money to refill it. If you make a mistake, you have to throw it away and start over again. This will cost you some money. Once your ice-cream is done, you need to drag it over to the customer and then click on the money they left behind. If you take too long to fulfill an order, the bubble over the customer's head will disappear for a few seconds. You clear each stage by earning the required amount of money before time runs out.

Thoughts
This is a simple game; there is no storyline and all you do is just create ice-creams according to the customers' orders. While I like the cute graphics, nothing ever changes. You still get the same customers and the same ingredients. So the game can feel repetitive after a while as you are just doing the same thing over and over again.

Each stage will get progressively harder and you will need to handle increasingly complicated orders at a faster pace. I enjoyed the challenge of beating my old score but I also felt frustrated at certain parts of the game. It can be difficult to tell what ingredients are used at a glance especially when the colors are so similar for the strawberry sauce and cherry. It can also be difficult to notice what sauce is between the scoops of ice-cream because so little of the sauce is showing.

While this game isn't very deep, it is a fun way to spend a couple of minutes.

Verdict ★★★
Game page

Review: Hotel Mogul: Las Vegas

Type: Building Management
Platform: PC
Price: USD 6.99 from Big Fish Games

Lynette is back in this follow up to Hotel Mogul. In this game, you are Lynette's assistant as she works to create a hotel empire in Las Vegas.

Gameplay
You build hotels to earn income. You can further increase the earnings from your hotels by upgrading your hotel or building special features near your hotels. To construct more buildings, you have to make sure that there are enough materials and workers. If you urgently need money, you have the option of selling your land or hotel. There are several goals in each stage which you have to fulfill which ranges from the amount of income to building a special building.

Thoughts
People who have played other building management games will find it familiar. For new players, this game does a good job of showing you the different options as you progress through the stages. There are different neighbourhoods to build in so the changes in the scenery helps to keep it from becoming boring.

Verdict ★★★★
Game page

Review: Stand O'Food 3

Type: Strategy, Time Management
Platform: PC
Price: USD 6.99 from Big Fish Games

Riding the wave of success in his hometown, Ronnie the Chef extends his Stand O’Food chain to Tinseltown, where he meets Nikki and Mr. Clarence, and disrupts Mr. Torg’s evil revenge plans.

Gameplay
There are three types of restaurants, each serving a particular food. Each restaurant takes about 3-4 stages before you move on to the next. There are three types of difficulty settings available.

The gameplay is the same as the previous two games in the series. Parts of a food item rolls out on conveyor belts and you have to assemble them in the correct order to create burgers, lasagna and pies. Along the way, you have to try your best to fulfill the customers' side orders and remember to add sauces to increase the price of your food.

Thoughts
The graphics are better than the previous games, less clunky and cuter. The game is fast and responsive. The game does a good job of teaching you the basics in the beginning. I played under Casual difficulty and it gets pretty hectic by the 5th restaurant when the combinations are more complex. A little strategy is needed as you can't just pick everything off the conveyor belts but you also need to maintain a cool head under time pressure. The latter is the hardest thing for me to do.

Verdict ★★★★★
Game page

Review: Fashion Forward

Type: Hidden Object
Platform: PC
Price: USD 6.99 from Big Fish Games

Risha moves to Hollywood where she discovers that the clothes are meant for skinny actresses and models. She decides to open a shop selling clothing for normal people.

Gameplay
Customers will come into your stall and request for items. The game may show a picture of the item or give a description of it. You have to pick the correct item from the messy pile. Along the way, you can use the money earned to buy upgrades for the shop and buy new sets of clothing.

Thoughts
3D games must be catching on because this is the second time I came across a 3D mode option in a game. The game starts by default with a custom cursor, which for some reason, my computer was unable to display. It made turning the custom cursor option off difficult and frustrating as I had to guess the position of my mouse without any visual cues.

Animations takes a while to happen, making the game feels a bit slow and sluggish. Customers remained in the store after I finished serving them for a few seconds longer than they should and after they left, it takes another few seconds for payment to appear. It spoils the momentum of the game.

Even though you can get to choose the type of clothes you want to sell, it has no impact other than to change the clothing in the shop. It is not always obvious what upgrades are available. If you have not bought a particular type of item before, it will be faded. However, if you have bought the item, it will appear no different from other items in the shop even though I can upgrade it further. I also have to click on an item to open a popup box to see if I can afford it. It is one step too much as many other games can show me what upgrades are affordable (through highlighting or blinking or mouse over) without needing me to click on each one to be able to tell.

Verdict ★★
Game page

Review: Supermarket Management 2

Type: Time Management
Platform: PC and Mac
Price: USD 6.99 from Big Fish Games

Kate starts having strange dreams where disasters always seems to hit the supermarket manager. Her grandmother thinks it is time for her to run her own supermarket.

Gameplay
In this game, you are the manager of a supermarket. You start off with a few tasks, like keeping the shelves stocked, ringing up the purchases and putting the trolleys back in place. As you progressed through the levels, there will be additional counters which served as mini games. You will be able to purchase upgrades like bigger shelves and assistants to make your job easier.

Thoughts
I felt that this is a pretty decent game, fun to play but nothing earth-breaking. There is no difficulty setting in Supermarket Management 2 but overall it feels easier than Cooking Dash 3: Thrills and Spills. It never gets so hard that I cannot proceed to the next stage. I noticed that there is a 3D mode option available. I wondered if it means that the game can be played in 3D? But my monitor does not have the 3D function so I can't test it.

Verdict ★★★★
Game page for PC and Mac