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Graphic by: Jenny Conner |
Do you remember the days when most of the games you played were simple, and in some way, educational? Perhaps I'm getting a bit old for this college life, but I don't think I'm the only person around who remembers the Apple IIe, with it's amazing (optional) dual floppy drives. Do you miss those days? If you do, boy do I have a game for you!
Yes Whim fans, the old Captian of Chaotic Computing is back. My thanks to those who missed me and inquired about where I had disappeared off to. Apparently, I pulled a Rip Van Winkle. Enough about me, do you long for the long hot summer days you enjoyed as a kid? Memories of those days, and all the methods I tried to concoct to make money occasionaly appear in my mind as I sit in less then exciting classes. Unfortunately for me, I grew up in a rural area, and had no neighbors to pawn coolaid or lemonade off onto, so when I learned the latest "tycoon" game for Palm OS was based on selling Lemonade, I jumped at the chance to see what I missed out on.
Lemonade Tycoon is a $14.99 offering from Handmark that oddly enough, appears as a 'most popular' listing for Palm Tungsten T2's. Handmark touts their product as "A cool twist on business simulation games. Test your entrepreneurial skills to find out if you have what it takes to build a little stand into a big business." The 'cool twist' should have been my hint as to how warm my reception to ice cold lemonade tycooning was going to be.
While the game plays a lot like a very smiliar lemonade-stand game I recall from my youth (and the Apple IIe), it absolutely has no home on my PDA. The game strategy is simple enough, buy the necessary products to make lemonade, and mix your recipie correctly to suit customer likes. Weather, location, and community events all play factors in how well your sales go. As I say, the strategy is simple enough. So why do I cringe thinking of this game? It is the graphics and sound my friend.
Lemonade Tycoon has graphics and sound effects that can be generated on some of the most primative computers you may find lying around. I am rather sure the Apple IIe can do this, the Commodore 128 definately can, and the Apple IIGS would have an easy time with it. My experiences with Handmark have to this point been relatively good with graphics and sound for their entertainment packages. Warfare Inc (while still overpriced at $29.99), has fantastic effects, and while it is still growing up, it at least makes use of my PDA's abilities. Lemonade Tycoon looks, feels and acts like a child's game for a computer from my childhood. That said, if you use your PDA to entertain pre-teen's, this game is great for you, but is the pits for the typicaly more sophisticated users you find with a Palm OS device. Skip the Tycoon, invest in Trivial Persuit, or Battleship.
Ease of Play: 5/5
Graphics: 2/5
Sound: 1/5
Overall: 2/5
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Lemonade Tycoon for Palm OS