Platform: PC
ESRB: E
Number of Players: 1
Publisher: Sandlot Games
Release Date: 2009
Official Website

Cake Mania Main Street

Basic Idea as I See it:
This Cake Mania is a time management game to the fourth power. Jill and have moved back to her home town of Bakersfield to find it mostly shut down due to the opening of a mall close by. So she brings in her friends to open their own shops to help raise money to spruce up the town and attract more people. Of course, Jill opens Evans Bakery, her new husband, Jack, opens up a burger joint, Tiny opens up a sushi restaurant, and Risha opens up a flower shop. All of the shops have 25 of their own levels and a different dynamic of time management play. The goal is to make as much money as possible – half of which goes to the town to buy other tourist attractions and to upgrade the shops as a whole, while the money the shops keep go into upgrading the equipment inside.

Graphics:
Cake Mania Main Street pushes the super bright and colorful envelope. The storyboard part of the game is comic like, which is entertaining. I would suggest taking the time to watch these the first time through, because once skipped, they’re gone for good. The shops themselves, products, and characters are all very distinctive and pleasant. There are even people walking by outside the windows. I also like that there is a proactive environmental aspect to the town view… no cars, only bikes!

Sounds:
The background music in Cake Mania: Main Street feels a little outdated, but doesn’t get in the way. I can’t really imagine different music while playing and I believe that it changes to create the appropriate environment. The sounds that are part of the game, such as when customers enter the shops, use their talents to affect others, or when items finished cooking/baking/growing are distinctive in the best way. They alert without distracting and add to the overall experience and entertainment of playing.

Controls:
Mouse controlled. The game creates a custom cursor while playing, which is pretty cool. The control concepts, click to move, click to create, etc. are easy to grasp, and thoroughly explained in the tutorial. The one thing I have to say here is that it’s not always effective. Either the clicking has to be precise in location or timing. I found that sometimes, for instance, Jill wouldn’t put the cake down, and since players can click ahead, mistakes happen much easier when one click in the chain is missed, causing slight frustration, but not failure.

Flow:
Players start with Evans Bakery to attract people to the town with Jill’s famous cakes. After playing through a number of levels there, the option to open Jack’s Burger Barn is granted. Once through a few burger-flipping levels, flower arranging becomes an option. And once some bouquets are made, it’s Sumo Sushi time. I appreciate both the ability to jump around to the different shops without having to completely finish one before playing another as well as the ability to get used to one mechanism before taking on a new one. The monologues before each “day” in the shops could be a little disjointed that way, but the flow to the actual game play is pretty seamless no matter what players choose. Hint* if it gets a little too difficult, start the level over and try different equipment upgrades.

Fun Factor:
I had a good time trying out all the different shops, meeting all the different characters, even buying up more tourist attractions for the town. Cake Mania: Main Street offers challenge to keep it exciting, variety to keep it interesting, quirky characters to keep it amusing, and quality game mechanics to keep it fun.

Female Aspect:
This game seems to be pretty geared toward females with the colors and types of shops involved, without being too overtly girly. The cast of characters and customers seem pretty balanced in both gender and personality. I will say that I was looking forward to the “girly”est one – the flower shop – the most. I like that the main character, Jill, is a strong female in that she’s a successful small business owner who is proactive in her community and stands up for what she believes in while still living a full life with a husband and a new house and… other things.

Replay Value:
Although opening different shops bring a nice variety to the time management aspect of the game, one time through might have been good for me, personally. I don’t feel the pull to compete with previous scores since I played to the “Supserstar Goal” the first time through each level (which does make the first playthrough last). It is possible and easily accessible to replay any completed level, though it is tough to remember which level is which just looking at the picture/map of each shop. Maybe with clever titles instead of the day numbers, it would be easier. Replayability might be helped in Cake Mania: Main Street with the addition of new specific time/ score challenges with limitations on equipment or space, the ability to try previous levels with different equipment upgrades, or with completely separate mini games. I think that some of the other tourist attractions might have served well as mini games.

Final Thoughts:
I like this game. I will say that there is a bit of mushy lovey doveyness, but that is balanced out by the edginess of some of the other characters. I like the concept, the story, the ending, and the overall positivity that came from playing it. While I do wish that there were a little more to it – like what do I do with all this money the town has earned when I have bought/opened/upgraded everything? – it will please Jill Evans fans to continue her life’s journey. If time management is your bag, or even if you are new to the genre, this is a good bet because of the variety it affords. It’s a pretty good collection of different time management opportunities all on one sweet street!

Thanks for reading!
Dawn

You can download/purchase the game here!

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