Legacy Games Blog

Happy Birthday to Us!

Hi there,

It's Legacy Interactive’s 9^th birthday this week.  Yahoooo!  And while I can’t share any birthday cake with you, I do have some bouquets to pass along.

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First and foremost, I want to thank you, our customers. Without you, we wouldn’t exist. You make time in your busy lives to include us and our games, and for that, I am very grateful.  I read every letter, good and bad, and thanks to your suggestions, and occasional berating, we’ve survived, and thrived, in a difficult business.

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Secondly, the Legacy staff works tirelessly to make games that we are proud of. In fact, the entire office has worked, without a day off, for the past two weeks, to finish up our latest PC/Mac game in time for Christmas, Zoo Vet: Endangered Animals. I have been in the game business for almost 24 years, and I simply don’t remember a time that I have worked with a smarter, more talented, and more committed group of people.

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Now, a couple of newsworthy items:

1. If you haven’t played this game yet, drop everything and check it out:  The Scruffs.  I LOVE the story telling, the characters, the music…all the production values that we have come to expect from Hollywood, but have not seen until now in the downloadable game space. The gameplay is cute, and while I, personally, am tired of hidden object games, they added some creative new mini games to the mix.

2. Do not miss the new novel, Away, by Amy Bloom. The prose is perfect. Another interesting thing about the book is that I almost didn't buy it because the cover is so terrible, or at least unappealing to me. But that would have been a mistake. It is the best fiction book I have read this year.

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Keep those emails and suggestions coming, to suggestions@legacygames.com, so Legacy will be around another 9 years, making games you want to play.

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Enjoy your weekend!

Ariella

President

Legacy Interactive

Real Life Games

www.legacygames.com

www.legacyinteractive.com

Let The Mania Commence!...Cake Mania 2!

Allow me to introduce a game that is the equivalent of a Transformer. At first glance it is a peaceful, calming, and wonderfully animated game for people of all ages. Then, the game’s true power emerges with intense difficulty, mind-numbing strategy, and pulse racing speed. Deception, thy name is Cake Mania 2.

The title sums it all up. You will spend the entire time baking cakes as per the customer specifications. After an easy to understand tutorial and some easy beginner levels, LET THE MANIA COMMENCE!!! You have to budget your money in the right direction for customers yet to come. Do you buy a new oven enabling you to make more cakes at once or do you improve your current oven allowing you to make cakes faster? Do you buy the TV to slow down the loss of hearts on your customers or do you buy the addition of cake toppers to receive more money? The decision may be up to you, but always remember that the customers are always right and never stop flowing your way.

Money, that’s what you want, that’s what you need, that’s what you have you have. Making cakes cost money but as long as you watch your clicks, then you will always make a profit. Then that profit gives you the chance to improve your store in multiple ways or just wait and save up for a big addition or improvement. Which route will you follow? Well that is entirely up to you and your virtual income. I must suggest buying the TV and display stand, that way your customers can watch TV and drool over a tasty treat.

The animations of each character does a great job of keeping your attention from your total profit. How much is in your pocket right now? Who cares cause some old lady is throwing her cute kitty cat in the air!! Also, you will never have to watch the screen for additional customers. This is possible because every time they show up on the screen a highly noticeable sound is made. Whether the sound is a heart monitor beeping from a doctor appearing or guitar riff announcing a punk rocker, it is impossible to miss a new arrival. And, as an added bonus you get to listen to an odd orchestra when multiple customers arrive…look out “Beethoven’s 5th” here comes an combination of Grandma hello’s, heart monitor beeps, and guitar riffs!

If you are expecting amazing graphics, genre changing mechanics, or anything spectacular, then you will not like Cake Mania 2. This game will provide tried and true game play, smooth and sweet animations, an easy story, and a fast pace. Is it worth a buy? YES!! Just try this game out and prove me wrong. If I am wrong, it won’t really matter since I can’t stop baking those colorful cakes for all of my customers. Now would you be so kind to let me get back to my game, I’m trying to buy a toaster oven so I can bake cookies as well...yum COOKIES!!!

Aaron Roberson

DOWNLOAD CAKE MANIA 2 HERE>>

A Perfectly Timed Torment...Cake Mania 2!

The good news -- my baby girl, Chloe Pauline, is finally here! The bad news – I am an embarrassing 20 pound heavier. You know what that means...diet time. Good bye carb-loaded sugary goodness, and hello treadmill, rabbit food, and “healthy” choices. Bleargh! I'm convinced that Cake Mania 2's release was perfectly timed to torment me. At least I can make pretend cakes without worrying about breaking my diet.

In Cake Mania 2, you play as Jill. Having already salvaged her Grandparent's yummy bakery, two of her good friends come calling in desperate need of her help. Jack needs to revive his underwater theme park, despite a pesky radiation problem, and thinks some goodies might do the trick. Risha has an exciting city bake shop, but is totally overwhelmed. You decide which one to help, and save the day. Having two different story lines is great fun, and gives the game extra replay value.

If you're a fan of the first Cake Mania, you already know how to play. The two are nearly identical, as far as the game play is concerned. Customers come into the shop, and you provide a menu. Bake the cake, frost it, and decorate it – all before the customer loses his/her patience. You can bribe them with cookies, and buy upgrades to increase the value of the cakes you are selling.

The pace is very steady, so you never get that “hectic” feeling. This time management game is more about precision than speed. As the number of customers increases, you need to pay extra attention to the cakes you are making. Choosing the wrong frosting can mean losing a sale, as it takes time to bake a new cake.

Fans will be quite happy with this sequel. If you've never played a time management game before, this is a great one to start with. With 200 levels, it will keep you busy for a while.

Lisa

DOWNLOAD CAKE MANIA 2 HERE>>

History Through Ancient Mythology...Forgotten Riddles - The Mayan Princess

About a thousand years ago (ok, just 5), I studied Linguistics at University. The most interesting bits of the subject were “decoding” unfamiliar languages, and philology. I used to make my professors batty by crossing fields, because I'm a firm believer that the complete history of almost any group can be found hidden in their mythology. South American mythology (like the Anasazi of the four corners region) was among my favorite, since it is so incredibly detailed and I think it sheds light on what really happened to the Ancient players.

So...when I saw the plot of Forgotten Riddles - The Mayan Princess, I had to check it out. The mystery was what really interested me. You are investigating the demise of the Mayan Royal family during the time of the Spanish Conquistadors. The Princess' diary details events twenty years after her supposed death. Her diary entries hold the key to the mystery. Page by page, its revealed as you move through the game. It's a very intriguing story.

The game play is hidden object style, but not in the usual way. You are given poetic clues about what to search for, and you then need to find that particular hidden object in the scene. Okay, so these clues limit replay value, but they totally add to the fun of finding objects. You can solve riddles to open up new areas and new clues. Once you've met your target number of objects, you can rearrange images to make a picture, and a new diary entry is revealed. Ta-da!

You can choose to play as an archaeologist, or as an apprentice if you want more time and clues. The mini-games are a bit too easy, as is finding some of the objects, so its a good beginner game. Advanced hidden object fans might get bored quickly... The graphics and music are about average. You don't need to solve everything in order to advance, which is nice, as you're less likely to get stuck. I just wish it were a bit longer, since it only took me two days to beat!

Lisa

DOWNLOAD FORGOTTEN RIDDLES - THE MAYAN PRINCESS HERE>>

Big Dreams and Fast Action...Delicious! 2 Deluxe!

Do you have a dream to be a big shot? Do you envision yourself owning a large business? Well if you want to make that dream a reality you have to start out small and practice, practice, PRACTICE! And, what better way to practice hard work and reaching for that big dream than to play Delicious! 2 Deluxe!!

Like most business games, money is all that matters. Usually you receive tips by helping customers and then spend those tips on buying upgrades for your business. In this case, you don’t have to waste your hard earned money on improvements for your restaurant, but you can spend “decoration money” given to you by your boss. You want these additions since they not only enhance the overall look of the place, but if you can find a certain combination of décor, you get a bonus. That bonus being an increase in tips, making it easier for the player to reach the expert level on every level. And trust me, you want this game to be as easy as possible.

The game is quite simple, click on the food you want to make, click on the person or table of people who want the food, click on the register to make the sale, and then clean up. Simple? Yes! Easy? Not at all!. At first it all starts out at a snail’s pace, but then the game really turns on. This game will turn you into an achievement machine. You will have to work for that expert level every time and then work even harder to strive for those hard to earn trophies that you will covet in your trophy case. Basically, each trophy allows you bragging rights. But beware of the horrid “Click-fest Syndrome” that will cripple you for about an hour or so. Plus, you will have to be concerned for you home’s furniture. Since your mouse will be zipping back and forth so fast you should have a fire extinguisher ready just in case of friction heat.

In short, Delicious 2 Deluxe is another great game that you can pick up from Legacy Games. Fast, VERY fast action, quick levels that usually last approximately five minutes a piece, and simple game play sans the tedious choosing (i.e. choices between upgrading several current pieces of equipment, or purchasing new equipment or staff) make for a simple game for anyone to pick up and play. So get this game since it is the perfect game for the person going back to school and wants a game to keep them going full speed until Thanksgiving vacation.

Aaron Roberson

DOWNLOAD DELICIOUS! 2 DELUXE HERE>>

If you like Legacy's Real Life Games, you'll love...part 2

Hi there,

Last week I wrote about a cute new simulation called Plant Tycoon. This week, I want to tell you about another Real Life Game that I think you'll enjoy...Build-a-lot.

But first, have you watched the new TV show on Bravo, called Flipped Out?  It's a wacky reality show about a successful Los Angeles house "flipper". Jeff Lewis would seem unbelievable if he didn't actually exist. He is an obsessive-compulsive control freak who demands his employees line up bottles with labels out and perform exorcisms on houses that do not sell. My favorite scene was when, enroute to the cat's acupuncture treatment, Jeff gave elaborate instructions to his assistant via cell phone on how to explain the procedure to the patient.

Normally I don't watch that much reality TV, but there are two reasons why Flipped Out caught my eye. First, my oldest son Eli works at Bravo TV and actually helped to produce the show.  Second, it takes place in our beautiful neighborhood of Los Feliz, in Los Angeles. Regardless of my personal biases, however, I really think you will enjoy the show, and more to the point, it is a great introduction to the craziness of buying and selling houses. Jeff Lewis always seems on the brink of financial ruin, yet his neurotic attention to detail has resulted in a successful house-flipping business.

Which brings me to this week's featured game. Build-a-lot is a charming real estate tycoon game, available for download from Legacy Games. It has a simple interface and a great tutorial that teaches you the basics. One of my beefs with tycoon games generally is that they sometimes feel like work in terms of all the resource management required. Thankfully, in Build-a-lot, you don't have to be a serious number cruncher to succeed and have fun. And while there is no Jeff Lewis character to spice things up, each mayor does have a distinct personality that influences what they ask you to do.

So, in sum, watch Flipped Out on Bravo TV and then play Build-a-lot on Legacy Games.  Let me know which one you like best!  They give you a very different experience of the same business, but both the TV show and game are terrifically entertaining.

Enjoy!

Ariella

President

Legacy Interactive

Games With Lasting Value

Bridesmaid Brawls, Crying Aunties and More...Wedding Dash!

I love weddings! Wedding Dash is the newest wedding themed game, to add to the list with Dream Day Wedding and Dream Day Honeymoon. A true story aside...at my own wedding, I was so nervous that I downed a few cups of coffee with the maid of honor just before the ceremony. Well, guess what – after I was all dressed up in layers and layers of crinoline and silk and pearls...I had to use the ladies room. It took ALL of my bridesmaids to help me accomplish that task, as my dress was enormous and couldn't fit into the stall. They earned the pearl earrings I bought them all, and everyone made a pact not to drink coffee on their own wedding day. But, back to the game...

Wedding Dash is a time management game, following the usual rules. You are Quinn, an impromptu wedding caterer. Its your job to seat everyone where they request, bring the loving couple their wedding presents, and (of course) serve the hungry guests their three-course meal. If you take too much time, the guests get angry, which makes the newlyweds angry at YOU.

In addition to serving guests, you have some special duties to perform. When meeting each couple for the first time, you must listen to their ideas, and pick out specifics to design their dream wedding. Typically, this involves making three choices, about things like the food, the flowers, or the honeymoon spot. Choosing correctly gets you bonuses. But that's not all. You also have to put out fires started by the chef, break up slapping fights between bridesmaids, soothe dramatic crying Aunties, and generally keep the order.

The storyline is pretty funny, with good dialog and passable graphics. It's made by the same people who created Diner Dash, so even before I started playing, I assumed it would be good. It's not *quite* as great as its predecessor – nothing beats the original -- but its still a worthy play, and great fun.

LISA

DOWNLOAD WEDDING DASH HERE>>

Where On Earth Is That Spoon?...Mysteryville 2!

What good could come from playing a game that is a sequel to another where the story starts out as a case of missing cats? Well not much good, but a lot of greatness. Amazing visuals that are wonderful pieces of art and simple pick-up-and-play controls equal Mysteryville 2.

Yep Ms. Winners is back and this time she is starting a vacation from her last adventure in Mysteryville. But, now she is wrapped up in a new mystery that starts off with a friend, , going MIA. After discovering an odd stain on one of his shirts, Laura Winner goes off to find out where her friend is. But, is it all one big game of hide and go seek or is something deeper and darker in the works? You will just have to play the game to find out.

How can one single journalist find a person who nobody noticed is missing? Well that is where you the player and her psychic powers come in. Throughout the game you will be looking for items on the screen and click on them to take them away. They range from everyday ordinary object (scissors, teacups, shirts, etc.) to odd things such as spiders and registers. Sounds easy right? You couldn’t be any more wrong. The fantastic art in this game will make it both easy and difficult to find the items you are looking for. So some times the item you need to find is right in plain sight and others its hidden behind a book.

One driving force to keep the player going is the unique dialogue between Laura and the local people of Eurekaburg. Most of the people know well enough to call them friend and will even joke with them. Such as, “What does the bunny say to you?” “You make me feel very Hoppy!” Other times she will have creepy conversations with people that need to improve on their social life. Such as a man in a lab coat who keeps giving Laura skin-crawlingly odd names, like Sugar Lips, Honey, and more. Ugh, makes me shiver thinking about that guy.

So to wrap this up, if you are in the market for a game filled with word scramblers, picture puzzles, memory games, and will exercise your eye sight you want Mysteryville 2. The story will keep you going and the puzzles will keep you awake and fresh for going back to school. Now go and find those items and hopefully you won’t become stuck like I am…where on Earth is that spoon…

Aaron Roberson

DOWNLOAD MYSTERYVILLE 2 HERE>>

Don't Leave Home Without Mascara...Beauty Factory!

I'm crazy about my make up. I've worn it everyday for the past 15 years, and cringe at the thought of leaving home without mascara. What about natural beauty? Well, maybe it works for some of you ladies, but I need a little more help!  Beauty Factory really caught my eye, as you could imagine. I've always thought it must be terribly exciting to be involved in the cosmetics industry. Just think of all those free samples...

In Beauty Factory, you are the CEO of a major cosmetics chain. You get to design your avatar from a whole bunch of choices, so she really looks like (an idealized) you. You also get to pick your goal. In “start the career” mode, your goal is to beat out the competition by expanding your company. In “find the challenge” mode, you must beat one of the four hurdles – getting rich, having top ten products in every field, inventing all the cosmetics, or completing missions in general.

Game play involves multi-tasking, but the learning curve is quick. You must keep up with trends, and be sure to keep your products up-to-date. Watch sales figures and act accordingly. You need to consider advertising to increase product popularity. You also need to manage inventory and stocks, and expand your facilities so your company can grow. Phew, it sounds like a lot of work if you had to do this in real life!

The graphics are cute – definitely reminiscent of the original Sims. The music fits in well enough, so you hardly notice it.

My only complaint is that the game is a bit too short. I was able to beat it in career mode just before my trial expired, and I didn't get the chance to unlock all the cosmetics yet! I would have liked each session to last a bit longer, and perhaps be a bit more challenging. The fact that you can set different goals for subsequent games is a real perk that definitely increases replay value.

LISA

DOWNLOAD BEAUTY FACTORY HERE>>

If you like Legacy's Real Life Games, you'll love...

Hi there,

When I started Legacy Interactive, 9 years ago this month, I knew that most women who played games preferred realistic situations, populated by people rather than orcs or wizards. We started out developing Emergency Room games, where you could be an ER doctor, then went on to create detective games based on the TV show, Law & Order, and our popular animal doctor games. We call what we do "Real Life Games."

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So everyone at Legacy knows and appreciates a good simulation when we see it.  That is why I am recommending you download and try the new Plant Tycoon, by the same folks who created Virtual Villagers. You start out with a couple of dollars, some seeds, soil, and water. Ultimately you get to experiment with really rare and truly beautiful plants; you genetically mix and match and watch the results. You can download Plant Tycoon at www.legacygames.com.

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Gamers call this a "persistent world", which basically means that it continues to exist and progress even when you are not playing. You can't necessarily predict what will happen in your plant kingdom while you sleep, so be prepared for anything when you turn the game back on. This is definitely part of the fun for me.

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Legacy is putting the finishing touches on our latest Real Life Game, Zoo Vet: Endangered Animals.  I'm looking forward to telling you more about it when it releases, in October. We are partnering with a great nonprofit on this game, the African Wildlife Organization, so stay tuned!

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I hope you enjoyed your summer, and hope you enjoy Plant Tycoon.

Ariella

President

Legacy Interactive

Games With Lasting Value

And What a Week it Was!

August is typically one of the busiest times around the office, because games that Legacy wants to sell for Christmas must be ready to ship by Labor Day. This week, exhausted, we finished two wonderful new games – Pet Pals, our first Nintendo DS game and Brain Spa, a PC/downloadable game.  I’ll talk more about these games when they actually are available to buy…in a few weeks…but suffice it to say that I am very proud of them. They have all the integrity, quality, and good value that we try so very hard to incorporate in all our games.

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But the highlight of this week was the announcement that we made about our gaming partnership with the children’s charity, Starlight Starbright, www.starlight.org.  Just check out their website to see all the amazing services they offer to seriously ill children and their families. We are creating a game together, called The Tuttles Madcap Misadventures, in order to raise money for their very worthy organization. While we have worked with some great talent in the past, especially in our Law & Order games, the stars really came out to support Starlight in The Tuttles.  You can read more about the contributions of Bob Saget, William Shatner, Jamie Lee Curtis, and all the others who lent their talents to the game at the Tuttles website, www.tuttlesfamily.com.

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The downloadable game will be available in November, so stay tuned for more information about The Tuttles Madcap Misadventures and how you can have fun while doing good.

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So this Labor Day weekend, everyone at Legacy is taking a break from work and enjoying our recent accomplishments.  I hope you have an equally restful weekend, and take time to enjoy life’s successes.

Ariella

President

Legacy Interactive

Play Games. Enjoy Life. Repeat.

www.legacyinteractive.com

www.legacygames.com