[JJ-x]

Game: Gourmania v1.1
Developer: Alawar Entertainment, Inc.
Category: Casual
Price: $0.99
IAP: N/A

If you're a fan of both time management and hidden object games, then you need to check out Gourmania. It's a cooking themed game which mixes both time management and hidden object into a fun dish. (Oh, I'm so punny!) Gourmania isn't big on a storyline, you're just a chef starting out in a local fast food outlet and climbing the ranks to become a master chef. Throughout the game, you acquire several restaurants and experience cooking different cuisines from around the world. From tropical foods of the Caribbean to sushi bars in Japan, the game has 8 locations in total with 60 levels.

In a nutshell, you find ingredients in the kitchen hidden object style. Then, you use those ingredients to prepare dishes for customers before their patience runs out. The actual cooking part is much simpler in Gourmania and mostly involves just a click on the overhead appliances, like the chopping board or fry cooker. Once an order is complete, you pick up cash, and work on another order. For the most part, ingredients are straightforward, though you might be asked to find the occasional unusual one like a garnet or guava. Also, not all items are clear – the coffee looks a bit like chocolate mousse. If you don't know what something should look like, you can use the hint function, which continually refills. Also, hovering over any food item will eventually bring up a named description. Don't expect all of the items to look the same – a plate can be any color or shape or size, and a kiwi might be cut, sliced, or whole. This is kind of neat, and makes the game more challenging.

Specific items are only in several places on the screen. So, there might be only 3 bottles of wine, or four ice buckets in the room, and these will disappear and reappear as you play. Eventually you can become very familiar with item locations and get expert scores more easily.Sometimes there are extra items hidden in the boards which can help you out. Hourglasses are the most common, and these extend the amount of time you have to complete the day, which means a better chance of earning expert level cash. Batteries will speed up your appliances.

Unlike most time management games, you don't need to play through the restaurants sequentially. If you can afford to buy a new restaurant and have met the basic requirements, you can do so even if you haven't completed the others yet. The difficulty level stays pretty consistent for most of the game. Every three levels, there's a bonus game where you can unlock new recipes. This is pretty simple, and involves matching food items to their corresponding silhouettes that roll by on scrolling bars. As far as I can tell, there's no way to lose, so all this really does is break up the game a bit.

Pros

• Nice graphics. Good variety of food items and restaurants. Hidden objects are mostly clear with a good hint system.
• Challenging. Flexible level system allows users to jump to different restaurants at will. Good replay value.

Cons

• No storyline. Peculiar recipes. Lacks structure. Food item locations repeat. Unoriginal concept

Reviewer rating:
Device/OS used: Coby Kyros MID9742 / Ice Cream Sandwich v4.0.3

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Mobilism: Gourmania v1.1