Posted on May 14, 2008 - Filed Under Casual Gaming, Review, Simulation | Leave a Comment
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A collaborative game review by Jerry Bonner, Alexa DeJesus and Jennifer Schommer “The Casual Gamer Chick”…
Supple – Episode 1, The Uncut Version is a stripped down simulation game for the PC that’s aiming squarely for the casual, female gamer market. The game casts you in the role of Arin (Why not just name her ERIN and be done with it? Never in my life have I met anyone named ARIN. Maybe her parents were terrible spellers? I don’t know, I’m at a loss…) Costello, plucky Associate Editor for the eponymous Supple magazine. Arin would like nothing more than to move on up the corporate ladder to become Style Editor at Supple, but to do this you have to impress your catty, ex-model boss, Margot, and keep her attentions off of Hugh, your smarmy, fellow coworker and main competitor for the position you covet. The snazzier (and sexier) your dress and the quicker you collect stars (which tally the amount of actual research work you do and provide you with all important answers to questions Margot may ask you), the more positive attention you get from your boss and the better chance you have of grabbing that Style Editor’s desk.
Just as it is in the real world, you have to work to gain money in Supple. The way you work is by simply clicking on your computer and doing research for the magazine. Arin tires the longer she sits at her desk doing boring, grunt work, so you are able to get up and get coffee or a snack from the vending machine. These items replenish your energy and quicken you pace at the keyboard, which is important because sycophantic ol’ Hugh is no slouch. All the while you must keep your eyes on your progress meter (I like to call it the “Holy sh*t, don’t get fired!” meter), which must be kept in the green (and ahead of Hugh’s own meter) to advance to the next day and new challenges.
Fortunately, there are other places to go in Supple besides the office. Arin can go shopping at Chez Vous for trendy, new clothes and gifts for her co-workers, knock back a few at Buddha Bob’s Bar, or attempt to get into the “bowchicabowwow” boudoir, also known as the “Boom Boom” Room. Oddly enough, the characters in the game are just sort of transported to these different locations once selected and you don’t actually “walk” there. You just click on the button/icon for the place (store, bedroom, bar, etc.) you would like to go and poof you are there. And, unfortunately, you can’t really go anywhere in Supple unless it has a specific purpose – no free roaming here, which I find as a limiting and odd design choice.
The graphics and sounds found in Supple are a bit of a mixed bag, as well. The graphics are serviceable: they get the job done, nothing more, nothing less. I also found the voice acting a bit uneven. Some lines are delivered quite well, with wit and style, others are cringe inducing. The music (“Bossa Per Due” by Nicola Conte) is a nice jazzy, little number but gets old after the thirtieth time you hear it…because it is the only song on the soundtrack.
Another issue I have is that the game does seem to start you, as Arin, at a disadvantage on any level you play it. EASY does provide you with clues from time to time but it still took me a few tries to not get fired rather quickly. I guess I just don’t make a good, modern woman. But, I took Margot’s initial, harsh rebukes on the chin and soldiered on. I am (virtual) woman – hear me roar! And, speaking of women, since this game puts you in shoes of a woman, and appears to be marketed toward women, I thought it would be interesting to get the opinions of actual women on Supple. Jennifer from CasualGamerChick.com and my 13 year-old-daughter, Lexi were kind enough to play the game and share their thoughts.
So, without further ado…
Jennifer’s take:
I wasn’t able to get into the game at all. I didn’t like the fact that you were not able to actually walk around by yourself. You always had to click on something and go to it. There were times when I wanted to just get up and walk around and take a break from working but wasn’t able to do that without getting coffee or a snack. Both the coffee and the snacks cost money and I was trying to save my money to buy better clothes, hence the reason for just wanting to get up and not really wanting to go somewhere. The other issue I had with the game is it was too open for me. I like to be told what I have to do in games. I don’t like to have to figure out what to do on my own. I like to be told solve this puzzle or something similar to that. I don’t like to be told impress the boss before Hugh does. My issues with the game are because of the style of game play I like. I don’t enjoy simulation games like Supple or The SIMS for that matter. I am sure the game is great for gamers that enjoy simulation games.
Lexi’s take:
I really liked the game but I had a couple of problems. I wish you could go out and do more with your character. The only places you can go are the bar and the store. I also think that you should be advised to save the game at the beginning of each level, unless you are in the green zone already, don’t save in the middle. It becomes a point of no return and you end up failing every time, no matter how hard you try. This actually happened to me twice. It got very annoying and I didn’t want to play anymore. I also think the perk points should actually do something instead of being just a, “Hey, play it again and see if you can get a higher score” kind of thing.
Overall though, Supple was very fun and I enjoyed it a lot.
The Final Word:
Supple is a bit of a conundrum for me. I think it does many things well for a $20 “casual” game, but it also does some things that make me scratch my head (i.e. no freedom to explore, too few characters to interact with, uneven difficulty, etc.). Perhaps these issues will be addressed in Episode 2? I hope so, because there is a good deal of entertainment value to be had here. I only wish this “universe” was fleshed out a bit more.
All in all, Supple is a fun, but flawed, experience in my estimation. Try before you buy.
Jerry Bonner is a writer (and video game freak) who lives in Southern New Jersey. He is best known in the video game circles for sticking it to the “man.” The “man” here being the ESRB.
Posted on May 14, 2008 - Filed Under Casual Gaming, Industry News, Time Mangement | Leave a Comment
If you’re looking for your next Time Management gaming fix, look now further as PlayFirst has just released Wedding Dash 2. You’ll get two modes of play (Story and Endless Game) along with 50 new levels of time management gaming and more.
If you were a fan of the original Wedding Dash you’ll probably want to give this game a try as well. Hopefully, we’ll get a video review of Wedding Dash 2 online soon, for now, I suggest giving it a try and reviewing it for yourself real time!
This is a PlayFirst exclusive game and is a must try for Time Management fans.
Posted on May 14, 2008 - Filed Under Cards, Casual Gaming, Mobile Phones | Leave a Comment
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| Texas Hold’em King | |
| GAME DETAIL | PURCHASE |
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If you’re in the market for a mobile games but you’re afraid of buying a game you may dislike, it’s always nice to be able to try them before you buy them. Folks who browse our Mobile Game picks may decide not to purchase a casual game for the $4.99 price because it’s too expensive to risk for a mobile platform.
Many great casual games have trial releases where you can play under some time limit or with limited features to test drive the title, now you can do it with mobile titles too. For instance, if you wanted to try Texas Hold’em Kings for your mobile phone you can Try Before You Buy the handy little card game.
Personally I’ve found great enjoyment from casual card games on my mobile phone because they don’t require a lot of attention like an RPG title. If you wanted to try the game you simply enter your phone number and await an SMS text message which sends you a link to download the game for your phone.
The only downfall for Blackberry users will be the limited selection of casual games for this “business phone.” Hopefully, this changes in the future as I love the Blackberry.
Posted on May 14, 2008 - Filed Under Action, Industry News | Leave a Comment
Activision has announced the development of Pitfall: The Big Adventure for the Nintendo Wii and is set to be released this fall. Pitfall is probably the most known casual game and has sold over 10 million copies in the life of the franchise. Now new gamers get to experience Pitfall with Pitfall: The Big Adventure for the Nintendo Wii.
“Pitfall is one of the most legendary franchises in the history of videogames, so we look forward to releasing a new version exclusively for Wii,” said Dave Oxford, Activision Publishing. “What could be more fun than using the Wii Remote™ to swing on a vine over blood thirsty crocodiles as retro-cool Pitfall Harry?!”
Pitfall: The Big Adventure requires players to escape the snapping jaws of reptiles and other creepy crawly creatures found in the rainforest. The game has been designed to take advantage of the motion sensing Wii remote. Players will swing through 60 different levels using vines and solving puzzles along the way. Sounds like this may be something worth keeping an eye on. Pitfall has always been a great game and combined with the motion sensing controls of the Nintendo Wii it should be a really fun game.
Posted on May 13, 2008 - Filed Under Preview, Time Mangement | Leave a Comment
Money Tree is a creative click management game for the PC. Money Tree is developed by ITT Territory Nord and will be published by MumboJumbo in the latter half of May.
Money Tree throws you into the shoes of William the Gardner. You have the hots for Elizabeth, the daughter of your boss. William finds out he has been left a house by his dead uncle. The house needs some work William decides to do what he knows best, gardening. William needs to raise the money to fix the house and impress Elizabeth.
William has to make money growing fruit. The player starts out with a bare tree and needs to put leaves on the tree. The leaves are falling from the sky and you click on them and place them on the tree. The more leaves that are put on the tree the bigger the tree gets. After the tree is big enough, the tree starts to flower and bear fruit. The fruit start out small and get bigger. Players need to pick the fruit at the optimal time to make the most amount of money. The best time to pick the fruit is right before it falls off the tree or as it is falling off the tree. If the fruit hits the ground you will get the least amount of money.
Leaves are not the only thing falling from the sky. At times, money will fall from the sky. Players grab the money just like a leaf and place it on the tree. The tree will grown bundles of money from the money leaf. One money leaf only yields two bundles of money, but who can argue with growing money. The money helps players reach their goal. Each level requires players to reach a certain amount of money before the level is complete. On top of the money goal, there is a time limit to get the allotted amount of money.
Of course, there is more to do than just grab leaves and grow fruit. The weather is different from scenario to scenario, which requires you to keep the water level and temperature levels correct. Players can buy items to make their job easier, such as sprinklers, bug spray and heating lamps. The items you buy are present through out each scenario and they can stack. In other words, you can buy a sprinkler and a heating lamp and they will both be available to you. Players have to manage the weather and the fruit trees and as the levels progress there are more fruit trees thrown into the mix, which means more items for the player to manage.
Money Tree is an extremely fun game to play. Not to mention, Money Tree is very different from other click management games. You have to juggle between multiple items at once, but in this game you actually get to grow money. Money tree is a great game that any casual gamer will enjoy.
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