Sim |
Posted by Meg
Mar
14
2010
If you enjoy creating new towns, real estate or a yacht harbor, this sim Mac play Create a Mall is right up your alley. You will be building clothing, shoe, jewelry stores and restaurants for customers to enjoy. Enhancements to the malls and shopping centers are also part of your duties and responsibilities.
Create a Mall begins with Riworld, a mall developer, hiring Kelly to revitalize ailing shopping centers and building malls to 
make a healthy profit. By doing so within their timeline, you will be given a bonus for finishing early. The play has all necessary information and data at the bottom of the screen listing goals at the far left of the boards. The tutorial is explicit and simple enough to learn quickly. Initially you will be asked to improve a shopping center by adding a few shops to increase its popularity. Click on the lease tab to open the file to access building stores such as a clothing shop. You click on that store and drag the outline to an available spot at the mall. Construction will begin and if you do not 
have enough workers, must wait until the building is complete before starting on another project. When you click on the stores, it will let you know if you can upgrade or not. It will clearly let you know what improvements you need to make so goals can be met. If you are short of money, labor or supplies you must wait until you have enough income from your stores to buy the necessary items before more construction can be undertaken.
If your mall has the same facades or you need space, you may need to demolish a shop and rebuild another more in demand store. By doing so, you increase the popularity of the mall and will meet your goals.
Create a Mall is very similar to Jane’s Realty or even Youda Marina. This Mac game may interest people who prefer to shop more than sailing enthusiasts. The play even includes bonuses where you can shop for items from the mall. In 
addition to the shopping, you can dress Kelly in all the bought clothes and jewelry. On top of all the bought goods, there are ribbons and trophies to decorate Kelly’s office.
The play is interesting but having to wait for the money to accumulate while the days pass quickly, makes the game a little too slow for me. If there is a bell after the revenue is collected, it might help the play along. Other than that factor the game is good and the shopping fun, especially after many more items are unlocked. Build your own mall and have a ball shopping.
Features of Create a Mall:
-Become a Mall Developer
-6 Different Cities
-22 Store Varieties
-More than 40 Medals and Trophies
Rating: 
Magic Stones is a well planned and thought out RPG and card Mac game. The mixture of this game makes it unique from straight RPG games. It is based on Celtic mythology that in itself is captivating and intriguing.
This game is set in Avavorn, the land of many druids. There are hidden treasures in the unlikeliest places like abandoned temples, enchanted forests, cursed islands. These valuables can be anything from magic formulas, amulets to runes. Each object will increase your druid’s power and experience.
To start the play you must select your druid and its own unique characteristics. This part is important later in your dueling matches. You will need wisdom, strategy, artifacts and magic in order to succeed in your battles. There are many options to choose from and if you choose wisely, it can make a difference in each outcome of this game. If you experiment a little with the features, you’ll be able to figure out the most appropriate one for your druid. It’s to the developers’ credit they include a female druid to choose from and that she is equal to the male.
There are 3 modes of play in this Mac game. The first is the Gather Artifacts section where you search for the artifacts in the different areas of the land: Frozen Lands, Slimy Swamp, Green Plains and Lava Mountains. This is the mode to build your druid’s character, experience and gather artifacts. The second mode is the most interesting one called the Challenge Druid. This section may be the most action-packed part of the game. In this section the druid must fight other druids in the Black Tower to the death. Quest the third mode is a new section. You play a custom story with new avatars. There is a quest released every 3-4 months for free to registered users. A big plus and a great savings for Mac gamers.
Magic Stones is not your typical RPG game because of the card game aspect. It changes the play somewhat from your usual role playing moves with more strategizing than movement. However, I think diehard RPGers will be able to play this game and enjoy it. Casual gamers will be able to pick it up from the excellent step-by-step tutorial at the beginning of the story. I was muddling through some of the confusing parts of the card game, and the help came on to address my mistake. The hint made a big difference in the play.
The imaginative features of Magic Stones with its detailed artwork and the creative druids were all well done. The sound effects and music were appropriate for the game, but some of the moans were disturbing. I didn’t feel the story drew me into the game as some other RPGs, but that can just be me. I’m not a big RPG or a card player. All in all it was a good experience, and I’m glad I ventured into the world of Magic Stones and would probably try more of their games.
Features of Magic Stones:
-3 Modes of Play
-20 Different Avatars
-17 Spells
-Over 15 Enemy Druids
Rating:
Looking for lost treasure would get old by now, right? Jewels Quest Mysteries-Curse of the Emerald Tear is just as exciting and fun as all the Jewel Quest series, and you are still looking for lost treasure. Go figure. In this Mac game you
have the hidden object play with a match game and an early game board puzzle.
The main play is the hidden object one with a little twist to it. Instead of getting helps automatically you must search for 3 gold coins in order to get hints for your game. In addition to the usual list of items located on the left side, you need to search for gems scattered throughout each location. The gems will buy you upgrades to your game so it is important to find as many as possible in each area.
You are in Egypt and the map takes you to various locations in your search for treasure. Also watch out to not click randomly on items or you will be deducted time. There are 2 modes of play for the hidden object game, Regular Time and Extended Time. The choice is yours.
In Jewel Quest Mysteries you have the familiar story of searching for gems in this case the Emerald Tear, Rupert and 
Emma Pack and in a place like the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. Of course, not to mention the fabled power of this gem to do great things is another draw to investigate this unique game. All this sounds all too cliché, but Jewel Quest is consistently good with all their games and this one is no exception. The graphics and sound effects are excellent, and the play is enjoyable. This game combines the Jewel Quest match games with a hidden object play in the best possible way.
Features of Jewel Quest Mysteries:
-18 Backgrounds
-Exotic Hidden Object Games
-Mini Games
-Jewel Quest Mystery Storyline
Play more Jewel Quest games: Jewel Quest 1, 2, 3, 4 & Solitaire
Rating:
The ancient quest for buried treasure and wisdom can be found beneath the ground in Egypt. Saqqarah is a story of ancient gods, good and evil, riches and knowledge. You are to unveil and conquer what lies beneath the Pyramid of Saqqarah put there 1000 years ago.
Your journey begins at the Temple of Isis. All the other temples are locked until you complete the necessary levels. The temple has been ruined by Seth, the evil god who was placed below the pyramid of Saqqarah. The puzzle is a match 3 or more colors and light up the entire board. You click on a color to swap position with another piece and make a match of 3 or more gems. If time runs out you lose the level and must start again. You will be assisted by Khufu a blue talking primate. Every 5 moves Khufu will charge one of the tokens with explosive power. By destroying the obstacles you will finish faster. Matched gems fall to the ground and the scarab sweeps them away for Khufu to cast helping spells. If you want the scarab to work faster, click on it and see it scurry.
If you are stuck and cannot make any more matches, click on the shuffle button, but be wary that the next time you need it, it will take longer. When you have combos your score is higher. The token of Seth will block your moves, and you must destroy them if you can. After completing a level you will come to the Bonus Rounds. The Glyph of Magic will have you matching hieroglyphics at the bottom of the screen with rows of options above.
Each temple offers different types of puzzles. One is making a pattern with the gems to light up the boards and the other is to make the longest chain of the same color with the gems instead of swapping.
I got to the 3rd temple quite quickly and am anxious to find out what kind of puzzles with its many levels await me. This Mac game has great graphics and appropriate music, but I did not enjoy the announcer every few minutes talking loudly about each event. It was okay a few times, but after that it became annoying. I did like the fact there are 7 different kinds of puzzles in this one game. It gives you a variety of plays in one location. More bang for your buck.
Features of Saqqarah:
-Over 500 Levels
-7 Different Puzzle Game Mechanics
-Earn Ranks, trophies, Magic Powers
-Hidden Object Bonus Rounds
Rating: 
Mystery Stories: Island of Hope is a sequel to the great hidden object game Berlin Nights. Michelle Deanfield, the courageous reporter, is feted with accolades on her recent coverage of the mystery in Berlin and is offered a lavish, relaxing vacation in the tropics awaiting a possible Pulitzer nomination.
Little does Michelle know that another mystery awaits her on the Caribbean island. Her fun in the sun is suddenly 
brought to a halt when the professor of the local museum and a Mayan artifact disappears. Knowing Michelle, she cannot let this matter go and must investigate every nook and cranny of different buildings, dive into the crystal clear, warm waters of the sea to find answers to all the strange happenings of this paradise.
The play is similar to Mystery Stories: Berlin Nights with many interesting hidden object scenes. In addition to finding the listed items you must at times perform acts such as putting film in a camera (anyone do that anymore in this digital 
world?) or fill a case with gold coins. The scenes are all pertinent to the story and all are interesting places with intriguing objects to discover. To solve the mystery you must solve the tasks. Some things are difficult to see and you may have to move objects to look behind them. The cursor will change to a hand for you to be able to move an item.
In each level there are hints you can find in the scene. The speed search will display many of the objects at once for a limited time, and the stop bonus will stop the clock for a limited time. Bonus points will double the amount of points for each hidden object found for a limited time only.
Also like in Berlin Nights there are the different types of hidden object play such as searching for items by viewing 
silhouettes or by their sounds. The mini puzzles like the moving pieces to access the lock and others are interesting but can be skipped if you wish to get back to the main play.
Even though the games are similar to Berlin Nights, the scenes and atmosphere of the Caribbean isle is engaging and 
interesting enough to play. The music is dramatic and appropriate for the story. The graphics are great with deep intense colors. The story is not as engaging as Berlin Nights but maybe it isn’t fair to compare the 2 stories with its different locations and circumstances. Also the mystery may increase as the levels go up. With 87 levels it’s bound to peak anyone’s curiosity of the mysterious disappearance of the professor and the precious artifact while playing some fantastic hidden object puzzles.
Features of Mystery Stories: Island of Hope
-87 Levels
-8 Bonus Games
-Secret of Ancient Dream Island
Rating:
