Game review: Pizza Chef

It's very difficult to classify Pizza Chef into a type of game. There's a little bit of time management in it but not a whole lot. There's a bit of three-in-a-row but that's not the entire game. It's almost like a mix between Cake Mania and Bejeweled with a shape puzzle tossed in. The basics of the game are simple. You try to match three objects in a row on your board as customers at your counter order pizzas. The pizzas are in various shapes and sizes. As you match the objects on the board, you open more spaces for you to use. In these spaces you fit the shape/size/type of pizza that each customer wants. For example, if a customer wants a rectangle-shaped pizza, you need to open a space that is 2-squares wide by 4-squares long. Then you place the customer's pizza in that space to "bake."

The bizarre combination in the game makes it interesting for awhile. However, when the levels start to get more difficult, it just gets annoying. It gets difficult to find matches in the shapes that you need them before your customers get angry and stomp off. I really think that the game designers should have picked one type of game and stuck with it instead of trying to mix two very different genres together.

Game review: Hidden Secrets - The Nightmare

Hidden Secrets - The Nightmare is a difficult hidden object game. You play a murder victim who is currently in a coma, attempting to piece together what happened to her. This mystery is solved through finding objects in rooms that she's been in as well as solving some puzzles in the mini-games. The main problem with this game is that the levels are so dark that it is almost impossible to find any of the objects on your list. Your cursor will glow a bit when you come near an object that you can interact with but that doesn't always make your job easy. There is also a ton of plot involved. If you are the type of gamer that just wants to play the game instead of getting wrapped up in the backstory, this wouldn't be for you. This game is aimed at people who really want to be absorbed into the experience of the character. However, I don't know if anyone will be able to overlook the visual darkness of the game to be able to fully enjoy it. I, personally, found it irritating.

Game review: Dream Day First Home

Hm, I thought I had written about the Dream Day series of hidden object games but apparently I haven't. Well, you're in luck because a brand new piece of the puzzle has arrived. First we had Dream Day Wedding where you were preparing for your wedding. Then we had Dream Day Honeymoon where the newlyweds went on a tropical vacation. Now we have Dream Day First Home. I really love how each of these games progresses not only the overall storyline but also the playability. In Wedding, you have a very basic hidden object game with a bit of a Choose Your Own Adventure piece stuck in. When we moved to Honeymoon, the basics stayed the same but the difficulty got bumped up a notch. This time around, we are given more to customize - from the type of house the couple moves into down to what furniture they will put in their rooms. There is still a great hidden object game with a few little surprises but it's really the addition of the mini-games that makes it a blast.

Since the series is geared towards women, I'm not sure that men would find it interesting. Besides, there are enough games out there geared toward the boys, right ladies? So roll up your sleeves and jump into the wonderful world of home ownership!

Game review: The Office

Yes, there is a downloadable casual game based on the hit television show, The Office. I've never been a fan of the show myself but I decided to give the game a try. Sadly, it is a terrible time management game. You play a member of The Office team and your job is to hand out assignments to other team members. Over and over again. The game designers decided to dress it up as a competition against other Office characters but there is no real competition in there as your 'competitor' just stands around most of the time.

I was really hoping for a decent game along the lines of Miss Management but with some Office humor tossed in. This piece of trash isn't even close.

Game review: Babysitting Mania

When I first saw Babysitting Mania, I figured that it would be a time management game where you take care of babies or children. Feed them, change them...that sort of thing. It's nothing like that. You spend the entire game trying to clean up after a couple of hellion children while feeding/changing the baby. The goal is to get the entire house clean and the kids in bed before the parents come home. Sadly, that is really difficult because the children keep making more messes. You can put the kids in "time out" but that only lasts a little while. I was really disappointed that this game is more about being a maid and less about actual babysitting. In real life, I don't think anyone would be expecting their babysitter to do a lot of the things she does in the game. For example, one of your in-game chores is doing the family's laundry. I know that I wouldn't expect my babysitter to do the laundry while I was out.

In the end, it was a frustrating game that had nothing to do with the title. The only time you care for the children is when the baby needs to be fed or changed. The older kids are permitted to run around destroying things without any sort of punishment. (They go back to destroying the house after their "time out" so I don't consider that much of a punishment. It's intended to give you some time to catch up on your chores, that's it.) Definitely a game I will not be picking up.

Game review: Farm Frenzy

Farm Frenzy was a really fun game. You start out taking care of some geese and move into harvesting their eggs to sell at market before moving into other animals and products. Once you get sheep, you can harvest their wool to sell at market. Beware of the bears though! They will throw your animals off the screen, which forces you to buy new animals. Luckily, you can cage the bears and sell THEM at market. I didn't think I would like this game. It sounded like a lot of work with no real reward. Instead, I found the game exciting. I kept looking forward to making more money to buy upgrades for my farm. This is definitely a game you should try.

Game review: Christmasville

Christmasville is another hidden object game on Big Fish Games. The game plays a lot like Paparazzi, except you aren't using a camera. Santa Claus is missing so a Yeti (or Abominable Snowman) comes to you, an ace detective, for help. It is your job to find objects and interview suspects in order to track down the missing Santa before Christmas. Not only will you talk to the Yeti, you'll also talk to an elf, a reindeer and a snowman, among others.

This wasn't a bad game. I played it with my five-year old daughter and we had a lot of fun. There were a couple of mini-games that she had trouble with but that was where I could step in. She pretty much handled the rest of the game on her own. I think the Christmas theme really got her into the game too. So while an adult might find this on the boring side since there isn't a whole lot to differentiate it from any other hidden object game, the kids will enjoy trying to find Santa.

Game review: Mystery in London

When I first read about Mystery in London, I thought it was just another hidden object game. However, it is much better than your typical hidden object game. Instead of just having one screen per location to find your list of objects, the location has multiple screens, giving you a 360 degree view of the room. Of course, this makes the game a little more difficult as you have to remember to look up and down in the room as well as all around you. But if all hidden object games were the same, it would be boring, right?

Game review: Fairway Solitaire

With the weather getting colder around here, I've been dreaming of warmer weather as I wrap myself in a blanket to play some games. Fairway Solitaire is a golf-themed card game, which isn't really solitaire. The goal of the game is to empty the spread by choosing cards one higher or lower than the card on top of the discard deck. For example, if a 5 is on the discard deck, you can play either a 4 or a 6 from the spread in front of you. If you don't have either of those, you will need to flip another card from the hidden deck onto the discard pile. When the spread has cleared, you won but you don't necessarily need to clear the spread in order to pass the level. That depends on how many points you rack up clearing cards.

That sounds really difficult, doesn't it? It's not though. It's not a particularly interesting game either. The golf aspect makes it a little different but it's still basically counting. I found myself getting aggravated when I'd get a bunch of cards in the discard pile that I couldn't play on. Then I couldn't clear the spread because the cards I needed wouldn't show up! It's a good game for when you're really bored and you're tired of playing regular solitaire. Otherwise, you're likely to get bored rather quickly.

Game review: Home Sweet Home

Earlier this month, I talked about a fashion designer game. Well, now there is an interior decorating game called Home Sweet Home. As a brand new decorator, it is your job to design the client's room while keeping their tastes in mind. This game is a lot more open-ended than Fashion Fits! was. Here you only get a few hints about your client's tastes and the rest is up to you. You pick out all of the furniture and accessories for the room. There is a happiness meter that you need to fill in order to keep your client happy but otherwise, as long as you stay within your budget, it's all up to you.

I found the game to be very fun. A lot of time management games get boring because they tell you exactly what to do. Exactly what shirt the customer wants, exactly what color, exactly everything. This opens it up to your imagination. You even get your own house to decorate however you want. If you enjoy decorating, this game is definitely for you.