Transform a basic salon into an all-inclusive hair-dying, eyebrow-plucking, nail-buffing spa. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewArt.cfm?artid=17774 Sally’s Salon was originally a point-and-click adventure developed by Games Café for the PC that has since been brought to the Mac, cell phones, and now the DS. Mimicking gameplay found in similar titles such as Diner Dash and Cake Mania, Sally’s Salon delivers a simple, addictive, and satisfying formula.
Players control Sally, an up-and-coming stylist who aspires to be a great hairdresser and own her own prominent salon. Sally’s journey takes players through fifty playable levels set in ten different locales including The Mall, Ski Resort, Sunny Beach, and Star Studios.
Sally's Salon is a simple game, and the graphics match that overall tone. A top-down view is used to display the on-screen action, with simple sprites depicting each of the in-game characters. Players are only able to perform medial tasks in the beginning, such as washing, dyeing, cutting, and drying, but as they progress new responsibilities are added. Typically, as a new location is unlocked, a new ability is added as well. For example, after the player unlocks the second location, City Center, a new salon chair is revealed in which customers can sit to have their eyebrows plucked. Later on, abilities such as perming, moustache-shaping, manicuring, nail buffing, spray-on tanning, and adding hair charms are unlocked.
Every day in the game begins with customers arriving at the salon. Each customer has a patience meter which is represented over their heads by hearts, with some customers having more patience than others. For example, brides expect to be waited on immediately, whereas Grandpa will wait longer without becoming agitated. A thought bubble over a customer's heart meter serves as an indicator of the desired service. In order to satisfy customers' requests, players must slide them from one station to another. With many of the tasks players must scroll through a variety of different options, such as hair color, hair cut, and perm level, until the customers avatar is smiling widely, indicating a maximum level of satisfaction.
As the level difficulty increases so does the strategy required to optimally complete a level. Since many of the later abilities are performed in the same station as others, that station quickly congests as other customers patiently, or impatiently, wait their turn.
The ultimate goal of each level is to earn enough money to progress on to the next day. Money enables players to upgrade their salon by adding station chairs, upgraded waiting chairs (which will increase a customer's patience level), or adding employees to share the burden. Players can also strive to complete each level's "expert" goal, which awards a gold star. If players obtain the target amount and manage to avoid upsetting or losing a customer, they will earn the highest rating: a gold star with a heart in the center.
Controlling Sally’s Salon is quite simple and done entirely with the stylus. On-screen tutorials familiarize the player with the controls by mimicking the required stylus motions for specific styling abilities. They are flawlessly responsive, which is extremely important since the game is quite fast-paced towards the end.
Titles such as Sally’s Salon have been around for years now, and while many have migrated over to the DS, few have achieved this level of excellence. Great gameplay combined with seamless controls allows for a wonderfully fun experience. Anyone who takes interest in games such as Cake Mania and Diner Dash will be instantly hooked, and even those who only enjoy pick-up-and-play titles every once in a while won't be disappointed.
Pros:
Fun and addictive gameplay Constant additions to styling abilities Surprising element of strategy towards the end Cons: Forgettable music Generic characters Graphics: 7.0 For a game of this nature, the graphics are effective, though they are not flashy or high-tech. Colorful and fun depictions of satisfied customers compensate for bland character designs.
Sound: 6.0 While the background music barely changes and isn't memorable, ambient noise from performing tasks adds a frantic and energetic undertone.
Control: 10.0 Flawless controls are vital for a game played entirely with the touch screen. There’s no need to jab at the screen repeatedly to get Sally to move. Just remember to lift the stylus before selecting another customer when the pace increases!
Gameplay: 9.0 The constant addition of new salon techniques increases the pace and keeps the familiar from becoming stale and boring. The fast-paced congestion towards the end of the game is great for the player who wishes for a bit more of a challenge.
Lastability: 8.0
After completing the game's main story line, players have the option of going back and attempting to acquire the best possible achievement on each level. Even long after completing all of the game's goals, it's still enjoyable to put ten minutes into the game in an attempt to best your high scores.
Final: 8.0
From the colorful salon setting to the constant addition of entertaining styling options, the feel of Sally’s Salon is charming and alluring. A combination of addictive gameplay, surprising depth, and minor strategic elements are enough to satisfy gamers of all skill levels. Fans of the point-and-click genre should be sure not to miss this wonderful offering.
Topic: REVIEWS: Sally's Salon (Read 2685 times)
