PC Review: Amelie's Cafe: Summer Time

Once again, I bring you a review of another Diner-Dash type game. (Hold your applause.) This time, it comes from the Amelie's Cafe line of games. Admittedly, I hadn't played one before this, but they all seem to have the same concept, so I figured it doesn't matter to play them out of order.

It goes without saying that the premise of the game is to serve customers in a timely manner before they get mad and leave. About the only unique twist on this game is that you have to keep the work stations tidy, or the staff won't be able to cook the food. Everything else is about the same as Diner Dash. The graphics are slightly better (or worse, given your point of view - it's not all 2D comic book style, but the 3D aspects aren't the most fabulous I've ever seen either), but the game itself, in difficulty, is about a million times easier. I finished the whole game in one afternoon, and that was while stopping between each level to tidy my house.

There's definitely nothing groundbreaking here, and it's quite easily a forgettable game. Still, it's a decent time-killer if you need a diversion, so I'll rate it a 3 out of 5 stars.

DS Review: Sally's Salon

Sally's Salon is, indeed, another time management game. Don't write it off so quitely though, it is interesting. As the name implies, you're playing the character of Sally, who's beginning to run her own salon. (Shocker.) You have to rush to keep up with all of your clients' requests and keep them happy, as usual. But there are a lot of different requests, all of which will only increase as the game progresses - everything from hair washing, haircuts, styling, dye jobs, moustache coloring, perms, manicures, pedicures, blow outs, adornments, eyebrow tweezing, spray tanning, etc etc...you get the idea. And you only have a very limited amount of time to do it all in. Naturally, you can (and will) buy upgrades as the game goes on, or else you won't be able to complete the game, for the demands become too many and too fast. You'll eventually enlist the aide of a couple of assistants, but even with them there, it's still pretty challenging to keep up.

Overall I liked this game, but I felt like it was too short. Other than that, I have no real complaints. I'm rating this a 4 out of 5 stars.

DS Review: Imagine Movie Star

You know, I've got to hand it to the people at Imagine. They seem to be good at one thing, and one thing only: taking careers that would otherwise be extremely exciting, and then turning them into THE most boring, pathetic, stereotypical excuses of said careers possible. (And then some.) For some reason - probably for the same strange mysterious reason I continue to return to the Imagine games time and time again, despite having a very negative track record with them - I had higher hopes for this. How could they POSSIBLY wreck something as exciting as movie stardom? Oh, they did. Did they ever... Let me tell you about it!

When you think of what the responsibilities of being a movie star entails, what comes to mind? Acting, probably. Maybe dealing with the paparazzi and fans. Let me tell you something... there is not one iota of acting involved in this game. At all. This may as well be Imagine: Paris Hilton because it seems that you're only famous for the sake of being famous. So what DOES this game involve, you may ask? Hahahahaha.....about that......

You pick out clothes. A *lot* of clothes. Just about every single level, you will be picking out outfits set to a very strict standard. Aren't celebrities supposed to have, y'know, stylists for that? Not here, they don't. And then just about every single level....no matter what it is you're supposed to be actually doing (be it dancing, posing for photographers, etc), all you do is tap colored shapes and follow around a long tail of....I don't know what. That's it. That's the whole game. It's TERRIBLE. How this title EVER got released in a million years, I will NEVER KNOW. I know that if I were a little girl and my parents bought me this? I'd probably play it for 5 minutes before trashing it in the bottom of the toybox, never to see the light of day again. Also, the graphics are terrible and the music is horribly, horribly annoying. 

Seriously, spare yourself the trouble. I would vote this ZERO stars if it were an option, it's that much of a stinker!!

PC Review: Bistro Boulevard

Yes, yes, I know. You're going to get on my case here about all the Diner Dash-esque games one of these days. What can I say? I truly enjoy them!

Anyway, Bistroy Boulevard I'm going to have to admit straight off the bat is nothing special to stand apart from the pack. It's actually almost like Diner Dash-Lite, since all you have to do is find a way to seat all your patrons and make sure your service is up to par enough to where everyone will be served in a prompt manner. This is more difficult in earlier levels when you have little money to work with for adding extra tables, and they're so desperately needed.

Also, in this game, you unlock new dishes by having to actually guess the recipes for them. (Well, the ingredients, anyway.) This sounds easier than it actually is unless you're a dedicated foodie. And it costs money for each try. When you're strapped for cash to begin with, it makes it VERY difficult.

The money issues in this game force me to have to give it a low rating. The first couple of restaurants, you can barely scrape your way through, but everything beyond that, unless you know some well-guarded secret about this game, FORGET IT. You won't be able to get anywhere and progress whatsoever. And what fun is that if you're stuck with it in gridlock? I'll give this game a generous 3 out of 5 star rating.