Cake Mania

Rating ESRB: Everyone Genre puzzle Publisher Majesco External Links Official Cake Mania Website

Based on the hit online game from Sandlot Games, Cake Mania with its Back to the Bakery expansion pack have made their way from hundreds of websites and a ba-jillion downloads to an exclusive appearance on Nintendo DS. Cake Mania’s culinary craziness will turn you into a cake-baking maniac!

Jill has returned from culinary school only to find her beloved Grandparent’s bakery closed down. With business in a major downturn due to a new MegaMart store opening in the neighborhood, your job is to spread the word of your small bakery while growing it into a baking conglomeration and still keeping that mom and pop customer satisfaction.

Jill is challenged to bake cakes in five different locations: Home Bakery, Beach Front, Circus, Casino, and her Grandparent’s Bakery. Jill must complete 12 months at each bakery by achieving the Bakers Goal (a cash amount to earn that’s specified prior to gameplay) in the time allotted. During those stages, Jill must master single and double layer cakes along with many holiday themed cakes. At the beginning of each month, spend the money that you earn wisely with the Kitchen upgrade feature.

The majority of the game is controlled through the touch-screen and since the original PC title was completely mouse controlled, it seemed ideal to move it to DS. While your top screen is used to view your customers and their attitudes, your bottom screen is for all functions in the kitchen. Prepare to wear out your stylus as you multi-task your way to greatness.

In Cake Mania, customer service is everything. Pay close attention to the hearts above there heads. Many times you’ll have to skip an old granny and move to a businessman who talks away on his cell phone and is obviously in a huge rush.

It’s a simple idea with a simple design. The move to the Nintendo DS wasn’t entirely clean, though; the touch-screen interface is easy to follow but the small “buttons” are not easy to tap in quick succession. The designers also went with a kitchen that’s larger than the display’s resolution which forces important information off-screen when it has to scroll to follow the player’s character. The DS developers do put both screens to good use, however, utilizing as much visual real estate as the system offers.

For fifteen dollars you can own the basic version of the game on PC, or for twenty dollars you can own both versions of the game in a handheld form. This title, while simplistic, will keep you busy for hours demanding perfection out of yourself as you bake, frost, decorate, gift wrap, and sell your cakes to Granny, skater kids, Easter bunnies, businessmen, jocks, and many more as you go around the world in 84 levels.