Fashion Story

Here's another twist on the match-3 genre. Fashion Story is a essentially just a matching game, but each match you make furthers the "transformation" of a ratty-looking girl into a fantastic-looking woman. It's a pleasant enough theme, although I worry about the message that sends.

You play as Mia in Fashion Story, the owner of the "Fashion Agency". While your job is to help each girl discover their own style, the unsaid assumption is that all of these girls need to change. What if their "style" is how they look to begin with? The game doesn't really address that, but then again I doubt it's trying to make any kind of social statement beyond "swap to match 3".

Fashion Story Game Info

P.S. And speaking of fashion, you should check out One Pink Minx, a blog about fashion and style. Swanky!

Burger Island

Here's a new twist on the diner game--you're stuck in the kitchen! Enjoy the horrifyingly fast-paced tempo of a line cook. Serve up endless orders from customers in your burger joint without ever seeing the customer. Burger Island has you working as a line chef in a failing burger joint. Fill customers quickly or you'll be out of job!

Whew! If that sounds stressful, it is! Personally I like the more relaxed environment of a waitress game. At least then you have some occasional downtime. Perhaps all of the customers are currently eating, and there isn't much to do. In Burger Island, though, the pace is relentless. Make burgers! Mix chocolate shakes! It never ends! If you're looking for a high-pressure "time management" game, this is certainly it!

Burger Island Game Info

Stone of Destiny Game

The trend of find-the-object games continues with The Stone of Destiny game. It's the usual fare: A mystery. A list of objects. A background image with those objects hidden inside. Maybe a mini-game or two to spice things up. Mix together and you have the "hidden object game" genre. Our friends at Flashbang have 24 hidden object games in their database now. That's a lot! I wonder how soon it'll hit 50.

Don't get me wrong--Stone of Destiny looks like a solidly-produced game. The art production has a decidedly 3D art style, which makes. The game is made by Voodoo Dimention, makers of the 3D tower defense game, Masters of Defense. I'll be honest, though: I'm a bit burnt on the seek-and-find games, so I haven't even tried it out. But it looks like a strong entry to the genre if you like that sort of thing.

Stone of Destiny Game Info

Dream Day Honeymoon

The sequel to the hit hidden object game, Dream Day Wedding, is out! The perfect day is now the perfect honeymoon in Hawaii. Dream Day Honeymoon looks gorgeous, with absolutely fantastic graphics. I wish I had that kind of money to go lounge on a beach in Hawaii. The next best thing is right here: $20 and you're off on your own virtual honeymoon.

Currently, Dream Day Honeymoon is available exclusively at Yahoo! Games. We hear this is for a two-week period, after which it'll be all over the net at your favorite places to download games.

In the meantime, head on over to Yahoo! by clicking on this link. The game is at the very top:



Enjoy!

Miss Management

The designers behind Diner Dash just launched their new "time management" game, Miss Management. The core premise is much the same--instead of serving tables, now you're managing an office of modern workers. And by "modern" I guess they mean "young". These kids look lazy!

GameLab is based in New York, and I'm sure their offices look awfully trendy. But most of America slaves away in faceless cubicles. Maybe that's why Miss Management is so appealing--the open floor plan, hip clothing, and stylish decor make it seem like a fun place to work. And work should be fun, and the Miss Management game seems to keep this is mind. Bravo!

Play Miss Management

Delicious 2 Deluxe

The sequel to the first Delicious Deluxe game is out! To be honest, I've been spending a lot of time playing Azada lately--it's like all of the pen-and-paper puzzle games and things I enjoyed when I was growing up.

Emily is back with some new features in DD2. There are new restaurants, including a nice lakeside picnic area, and you can choose to buy decorations in between levels. Delicious 2 Deluxe looks like a strong sequel, although I'm not sure how long the straight diner game formula will last. I'm getting tired of these games, and I wonder if other people aren't too. I guess time will tell!

Download Delicious Deluxe 2

Azada Game

The new game by Big Fish Studios Europe is out: Azada. Their European studio used to be known as FunPause before they got bought by BFG. It's easy to see why they bought them, too--they produce some fantastic games. The new Azada game is a brilliant adventure game with puzzle elements. It has dozens of different puzzles, and some great adventure layered on top to keep the player interested.

It looks a bit like Dream Chronicles. You walk around in gorgeous environments, interacting with various objects. It differs in that many of the interactions are with puzzles, including some classic pen-and-paper style puzzles. Azada looks like a great game!

Download Azada