Puz: Fashion Cents [by My Game Company]

Game: Fashion Cents
Release: October 25, 2003
Genre: Puzzle
Developer: My Game Company
System Requirements: Windows 98 SE/ME/2000/XP, 800 MHz+, 128 MB RAM, 70 MB hard drive space, DirectX 8.0
Price: $15.00

Fashion Cents is one of the more different puzzle games that I have yet played.  The game seems to be squarely aimed for young girls as well as women who are into the fashion scene.  As you might have guessed by the title, Fashion Cents is based around having good fashion taste.  In this game you are given 10 dolls.  The point of the game is to dress the dolls up in individually matching outfits. 

As you play the game, you are given different components of the outfit.  One after another, much like most puzzle games, you will receive a different piece, the only difference is, in the case of Fashion Cents, you are getting pieces of clothing.  You may first receive pants, then a blouse, then a hat and finally shoes.  Each outfit requires these four basic components to be complete.  In addition, the outfit has to match.  Putting lime green shoes with a blue hat will get you a resounding "EWWW!" 

So the basic idea is to put all the clothing on the dolls in a way that they have a color coordinated outfit.  Beyond the blue going with blue, there are different items that are fringed in a second color.  Hence if you have a blue shirt with red trim, it will go with both blue and red.  There are also Denim and White items that go with anything.  After you have put together an outfit, the doll with the outfit is reset so that you can again start dressing her up.  Progression through Fashion Cents is based on levels, and on each level you have a minimum number of outfits that you must complete to move on.

As you progress through the levels, the game gets harder by adding more colors to the mix.  Whereas initially you only have to complete outfits of green, blue, red and yellow, the farther you go in, the more colors you have.  Additionally, the later levels add extra items, such as sun-glasses and purses to make even more complete outfits.  The clothing items also expand to including dresses and more types of shirts, pants, hats and shoes.  Beyond the wild white and denim colors, the later levels also add scissors to cut badly placed items off of the dolls, bleach to set any one item to white, and a credit card to instantly buy any one item that you are looking for. 

The game plays rather quickly though thankfully there is not a timer keeping you madly scrambling as new items come up, instead strategy and luck help you progress farther into the game.  There are 6 shelves at the top where you can place your newly purchased items that you want to save for the future.  As the items come out randomly this can certainly help.  After receiving 3 straight pairs of blue shoes, you start running out of dolls to put them on real fast.

Fashion Cents probably isn't' going to appeal to many male gamers as going shopping for great outfits isn't the first thing on most guys minds.  However, the game does offer a different look at the Puzzle genre, making the game very accessible to younger players in addition to older ones. 

Graphics 8/10
Graphics are well-done, and a very nice supplement to the game is that they have continued to expand the graphics by offering free Add-On packs that include a variety of new themed clothing.  Thus far 3 packs have been released in the short time the game has been available.  The graphics are basic 2D drawn cartoon art, but for the purpose of the game, they work just fine.

Sound 8/10
The music in the game is something you might expect to hear during a teenage fashion show with a Jazzy-Samba sort of beat to them that keeps the tunes fresh even after you have heard them over and over again.  However the real treat in the sound comes from the California voice-overs are truly hilarious to listen to when you complete outfits or try to match things that you really shouldn't.

Game Play 9/10
This is a game that is very easy to pick-up, and again, certainly easy for even children to play.  My 4 year-old had no trouble getting in and playing, though the difficulty of the later levels certainly provides more than enough challenge for more veteran gamers. 

Value 9/10
I tried out the demo and played it quite a bit before getting the full version.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much better the full version of the game is.  Through playing the demo you may think you've exhausted what the game offers, but the full version, with more items and combinations makes the game much more fun to play.  Fashion Cents, with its free add-on packs has done a lot to keep you coming back for more, and have definitely created a lot of bang for the buck.

Concept 9/10
Turning dressing up dolls into a video game is an idea that I'm sure has been done before, but turning it into a puzzle game that is fun to play I'm sure was a new twist.  The game offers multiple features that make it even more interesting.

Fun 8/10
I found the game fun enough to play that I spent a couple of nights on it.  My kids have been playing it nearly non-stop for 3 days.  The key to how much you'll enjoy the game comes from your background.  Again, I cannot foresee any of the Halo audience downloading it, but for a good portion of the current Indie Market, this game will be right up your alley, and a blast to play.

Overall 8/10
Overall this is a game that I think a lot of people are going to enjoy, though just due to the premise of dressing up dolls, the group of players will likely be mostly female in gender.  I could make a good argument that this game should get a 10, and I'm sure from a large portion of the female audience, that is exactly the score they would give it.  Still from my vantage point I can definitely appreciate what has been done here to make a great game that is fun to play and extremely well designed.Added: February 21st 2004
Reviewer: Russell Carroll
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