You know, one of the things I love about simple games is that thereís this fine line between
good simple and too simple. Sometimes, all it takes is one little hook or a smart design
element that separates them...that makes one great and the other a failure. I wouldnít
call Cocktail Mania a failure...but itís not great, either.
Maybe itís been drinking too much.
Cocktail Mania is an iOS game that takes the simple route. A bunch of fruit fall from above,
and the game tells you which one to tap. You have to tap as many of them as possible before
the game changes the target fruit. Tapping an incorrect fruit costs you points, which
obviously costs you time to make up. Reach the goal total in a certain amount of time,
move on to the next screen.
So given the gameplay and...you know...the fruit, Cocktail Mania has some obvious similarities
to Fruit Ninja. But then...thereís that fine line again. And Fruit Ninja sits on one sideóthe
good sideówhile Cocktail Mania falls a bit short.
There are a few things that keep Cocktail Mania from really excelling as a simple iPhone
game, and one of the biggest is that itís all repetition with no hook. I mean, youíre
tapping and tapping, and nothing ever changes. You keep waiting for some clever hook or idea
to come along and convince you to keep playing...
But it never comes.
Instead, Cocktail Mania stays the course. Just tap the fruit.
In fact, the only time the game really changes things up is when you get to the bonus levels.
The game gives you a recipe for a certain cocktail, and you tap the fruit to make as
many as possible before time runs out. And thatís actually a cool idea. In fact, thatís
the hookóright there! Thatís the kind of thing the rest of the game is missing.
Although...to be fair, the bonus levels donít capitalize on it very well, either.
So this is really the definition of a casual game in that it doesnít offer anything to
the discriminating gamer whoís looking foróabove all elseóa reason to play. This is the kind
of game for iPhone owners who are looking to waste time, and for that purpose, Cocktail
Mania isnít bad. As an ultra-simple casual game, it works.
Just donít expect these cocktails to get you drunk.
Theyíre a little watered down.
