Party Planner

Party Planner, a new time management game by developer Games Cafe Inc., deals with the party-planning business. The fans of such titles as Party Down or the Wedding Dash series will quickly feel comfortable with it, which is based on a similar concept. So let us see if there are some interesting twists.

As expected on each level you should move around the banquet room and provide guests with specific meals or drinks. What slightly complicates the game are the different spots on which the guests stand. These spots allow people to do concrete acts: eat, drink, dance or talk. It would be much better if it were possible to swap guests. On each level you earn both hearts and money by fulfilling the guest’s requests. The amount of money has no influence on whether you reach expert goal, but it can be used to upgrade your staff or to purchase very helpful items. The variety of upgrades is not exactly great, but still helpful, and ranges from quicker cooks to Fireworks or Confetti that improves the mood of your guests.

The fact that you will earn a lot of money early on, therefore being able to buy as many upgrades as you prefer, is the game’s great fault. It is much too easy, even for newcomers to the genre. It is even possible to not lose any guest during the game and gain the epic goal on every level at first try. As a result, you will have seen every upgrade and every feature of Party Planner rather quickly. After the fifth party or so, no new challenges or surprises await player.

To crown it all, different types of guests, who are drawn in a funny way, behave absolutely similar, which is not exactly lowering the repetitive feeling. There is no endless option for the campaign, which will probably discourage people who normally dislike fast-paced games.

However, there are more disadvantages than advantages we have to admit that tastes differ. So you should try it to mold your own opinion.

17, November 2009