Shopping Tycoon – Review
Follow Genre: Simulation, strategy
Developer: DreamsSoftGames
Publisher: DreamsSoftGames
Platforms: PC
Tested on: PC

Shopping Tycoon – Review

Site Score
6.0
Good: Lots of elements you need to keep in mind
Bad: Music, tutorial isn't extensive enough, no goals or story
User Score
7.5
(2 votes)
Click to vote
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Rating: 7.5/10 (2 votes cast)

Shopping malls have been growing like mushrooms the past years and people like this a lot as it holds all of the shops they want to visit. But, how hard is it to actually manage such a big collection of stores? In Shopping Tycoon, you can find out yourself as you can build your own mall. Are you up for this exceptional amount of multitasking though?

Shopping Tycoon

Story

A lot of simulation games don’t really have a story implemented, as you can build everything to your own liking. This is fine of course, but at least some of these other games have some goals to work towards, which didn’t seem to be the case for Shopping Tycoon. Sometimes some important people visit your store, which is the biggest highlight. After dawdling in the easy level, you can start over again in a medium one where you get less starting capital, but that’s actually the only difference. Of course, it doesn’t need something more than this but it would give the game at least a purpose to play it.

Graphics

Don’t expect the top-notch of graphics when playing this one. The developers have chosen to go for a more comical style which is nice and everything really fits together. There are several customers, each with their different clothing styles and other features, which gives quite a diversity in your stores. You can change color of the walls and floors while you can also decide what you will sell in the mall. This might not be much, but it gives that bit extra. There are different chairs or decorations to choose from, all so you can build your optimal shopping experience. It would have been nice if there was a bit more diversity. There are, for example, different types of chairs but they differ in price and quality but you can’t choose the color, which is a bit limiting.

Shopping Tycoon

Sound

When you run around in the mall, you mostly hear a more generic jingle and this is exactly what you get. You might think it will get on your nerves fast, but this isn’t the case. On my laptop (Asus Predator), the sound was crackling now and then, which wasn’t too pleasant to hear and actually surprised me. The ambience in the store is hearable thanks to the bustling of the people in the store and the traffic outside, making it a rather nice experience.

Gameplay

Shopping Tycoon is a simulation game with strategic elements as you have to make your dream shopping center while also raking in some profit. You will have to keep several elements in mind while expanding, like money and the needs of your customers. When starting the game, you can pick the easy tutorial level, where you get some information on the several aspects the game offers. It would have been nice if this was a bit more extensive though. You get some information about the basics, but that’s not enough to get you on track. You will have to discover a lot yourself, which might lead to making mistakes and losing money.

Shopping Tycoon

For starters, you can expand your shopping mall by adding new floors or making the first one larger, the sky is the limit in this case. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that you will need to have something to transport you to the different floors. Also, providing toilets, seating and food is a necessity for your customers. How and where you want to do this, is completely up to you. At the beginning, you will only be able to sell clothes but this will expand when you gain more levels by providing a great experience to your customers. You can click on the question marks above people’s heads to find out what they desire and act upon it. When you put down some racks or dressers, you can choose what you want to import. This isn’t all too clear, as you can choose which t-shirt you want to sell but you can choose between two options: all the same or multiple colors. In the end, it’s a bit strange as you have to choose which t-shirt you want to import but the visuals in the racks are different. In the end, as long as you get your money, it’s ok.

After selecting your wares, the delivery truck is on its way. You can add more trucks at your disposal and you can also pay some money to improve their services. After they deliver it, your shop clerks have to put it in the correct racks. You will have to hire one to do so, just like you also should invest in a cleaning lady and shop assistant, while a security agent can save you some money as well by stopping shoplifters. The employees tend to work slower if their fatigue is higher, so it might be a good idea to put them on some rest now and then. The actual control that you have on your employees might not be enough, as I had issues with my clerks. A lot of wares were delivered on the third floor, but all of my four clerks were on the first floor. After dragging one to the top level, he just went down again. Eventually after a few hours in-game time, which you can speed up, they went up to fill the racks. Quite frustrating, as you lose a lot of profit like this.

Shopping Tycoon

Next to providing wares, you also have to build parking space and invest in subway routes, taxis and bus stops. The more you have of these, the more people can visit your store and spend money. Just as with the delivery trucks, you can invest in more and faster cabs. Not only transportation but decoration is an important aspect as well. You will have to invest some hard-earned cash in ornaments as well, so your customers have a nice experience. Another aspect is the amount of light, as your clients would like to see what they buy. This will lead to higher temperatures, so you have to invest in air-conditioning and by doing so, it could be that you will need to buy more electricity. There is a lot of things you have to keep in mind and hopefully you can make some profit.

Conclusion

Shopping Tycoon has a lot of different elements you need to keep track of, but you have to discover a lot on your own, which could lead to you making mistakes and needing to start over again. It would have been better if the tutorials were a bit more extensive and if there were goals you could work towards. Ok, now some celebrities come and visit, but it’s not like a real goal. This game might win some people over, but a lot of people might leave it aside after a few hours.

Shopping Tycoon

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Rating: 7.5/10 (2 votes cast)
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Shopping Tycoon - Review, 7.5 out of 10 based on 2 ratings
AnneMieke


Faster than lightning

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