Cake Mania: Lights, Camera, Action! Review
Posted by admin on August 9, 2010 under Game Giants, New Games | 
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Introduction
Cake Mania: Lights, Camera, Action! is the latest in the series of Cake Mania cake baking games. The Cake Mania games have come a long way from the original Cake Mania time management game. Game play in the original title was simple: bake cakes, add toppings, quickly serve customers before time runs out to advance to the next level. At the end of each level you could shop for a few upgrades to your equipment. Several different customers came to your shop, but for the most part they lacked depth. This is not to say that the original game was not enjoyable, it was and still is today!
One of the great things about the Cake Mania series is that each successive sequel has evolved and polished the game play. As in the previous version, Cake Mania Main Street, Cake Mania: Lights, Camera, Action! is not just a cake baking game. It actually is three game in one! It combines the original style baking game, a fast paced seek and find game set in a clothing store and a cooking game set in a pizza shop. The player can move freely between the different businesses once they are unlocked.
The Bakery
You start the game in the bakery as the owner of the shop, newly wedded Jill. You quickly learn that Jill has something in her oven besides cakes! It is very busy in the bakery as they are filming a movie in town. The production has brought a bunch of special “high maintenance” customers into town! This is the storyline of the game. Your goal is to help Jill and her husband Jack run the cake shop during this busy time.
The first bakery level serves as a mini tutorial to introduce new players to the mechanics and play of the cake making game. Short mini tutorials appear when needed throughout all stages of the game and introduce the new businesses, new equipment and special new characters. The tutorials are excellent and for the most part do not interrupt game flow and play.
One minor annoyance with the tutorials is found between levels when you shop for equipment. Sometimes it can be hard to tell if you are in a tutorial or not. It seems that the game is asking you to click items, when in reality it is just explaining how to purchase items. You can easily tell if this is the case. If you see a next button on the bottom of the screen, the tutorial is explaining a process and not asking you to do it. To easily resolve this situation read the instructions and just click the next button.
In order to succeed in the bakery levels and indeed the whole game you must keep your customers happy! You do this by serving them as quickly as possible. Each customer has a “heart” meter displayed next to them that shows how happy they are. If the meter gets to zero they will leave your store in a huff without paying!
As you earn money you are able to buy new and upgraded equipment. This equipment will allow you to make more expensive cakes with toppings and such. It also will allow you to make cakes faster and even keep your impatient customers occupied and happy while they wait for their cakes.
The most important piece of equipment in Cake Mania: Lights, Camera, Action! is the television. The television has four channels that can be switched to. Each customer has a preference for a channel. It is up to you to determine which customer prefers which channel. If the TV breaks it will only play a couple channels. It is important to keep the TV operational! If it breaks get it repaired ASAP.
Players who have played the previous Cake Mania games will immediately recognize the extra effort the developers have put into the baking levels. Character art and animation is at it’s best for the series. Character personalities and special character traits have much more effect on the game. Characters just don’t look different, they also behave differently.
The number of upgrades has also increased and upgrades can be sold back for cash for future upgrades as well. Equipment can be moved around to a few different locations in the kitchen, allowing the player to optimize the layout for his or her play style.
All the above changes lead to much more complex and rewarding baking game levels. This version of Cake Mania does not require just speed in the bakery but also requires strategy, more so than any of the previous games. The improvements to the baking levels will keep old time Cake Mania players involved, without overwhelming newcomers!
The Boutique
After three “game days” of play the second business becomes available for play. Players can choose to continue playing levels in the bakery or try running Risha’s Boutique, a trendy clothing store. As a game Risha’s Boutique is really a fast paced hidden object game. If you have followed our blog over the years most likely know we are not fond of the Hidden Object genre. Surprisingly, it really works in Cake Mania: Lights, Camera, Action!
Shoppers enter Risha’s shop at the top of the screen and ask for the items they want. It is your job to retrieve the items from the racks and shelves and deliver them to the customer. What makes this game mode different from the typical hidden object games is that the items are somewhat organized in the store. Clothes hang on racks in groups of outfits. Accessories and jewelery are found on tables and shelves. All items are in clear sight, they are not obscured in anyway. They are only “hidden” by the clutter in the store! You never spend hours looking for a small, partially obscured, poorly drawn item, as you would in a typical hidden object game.
The player is introduced to several new characters in the boutique. Most notably are the Psychic who can predict the orders of customers before they are placed, and the Shopaholic who will steal your payments and tips left by other characters.
The boutique is a fun place to rack up cash to spend on upgrades in any of the businesses. The rules in the boutique are a bit relaxed and game play is less nerve wracking than in the other businesses. The boutique levels are a welcome edition to the latest version of Cake Mania!
The Pizza Shop
The third business is unlocked after three “game days” of boutique play. It is Gordo’s Pizza Shop. This business adds cooking simulation levels similar to the sushi bar levels or burger shop levels found in Cake Mania Main Street. In the pizza shop, you are the pizza chef who makes pizzas according to your customers orders. You heat the dough, add the cheese and then add on toppings from over 30 ingredients found in the kitchen. You also are able to cook pasta and grill chicken and eggplant for your customers.
A host of new characters may show up in the pizza shop game levels. Each of the characters have their own personalities and quirks! As in the rest of the game you have to learn how to handle each one to minimize the impact on other characters ordering food and maximize the character’s happiness.
Conclusion
Each of the three businesses once unlocked, may be entered and played at anytime during the game. There are around 60 bakery levels and around 20 levels in the boutique and 20 in the pizza shop. Cake Mania: Lights, Camera, Action! maybe played in timed mode or in relaxed mode. The best way to play is timed. In this mode you really feel the pressures of working in a small business. In timed mode you only have a few minutes to make enough money to advance to the next level. If you are slow, make mistakes, or make too many customers angry you will make little cash and fail the level. If you fail you will have to do the level over again. In relaxed mode there is no time limit the level ends when you reach the sales goal.
Cake Mania: Lights, Camera, Action! is the most polished Cake Mania game yet. The graphics and character animation are far superior to those found in the previous versions. The addition of more complex character actions and new equipment and the ability to resell and move equipment in certain levels adds a strategy component which was lacking in earlier versions. All in all we highly recommend Cake Mania: Lights, Camera, Action! as a great time management game. Try out the free trial download or purchase the game at the links below: