![]() I am completely addicted to this Facebook game, I confess. And when you “sell” them, they don’t go to a store or another aquarium. The baby fishies were so cute I just wanted to pinch their fat wittle cheeks. Within minutes, I was hooked (bad pun intended) on this twee little aquarium simulation. I did a quick look over my shoulder to make sure no one was looking, and I clicked on the link. That’s not something you can say about many invertebrates. Now, not only is that an adorable title for a game, but the art managed to depict a truly charming octopus. Then one day I saw an ad in Facebook’s side rail that said I could adopt an adorable octopus for my aquarium in a game called Happy Aquarium. Nothing could make me suffer through FarmVille. Everyone wanted to build the next FarmVille. It’s a shallow experience that may hold some appeal for part-time players, but for the rest of us who want a fish game to catch us hook, line and sinker, Happy Aquarium floats belly-up at the top of the tank just waiting to be flushed.But as much as I tried to ignore it, game developers I know and respect were soon being hired to build Facebook games. While we hate to argue with popular opinion, it turns out that 28,000,000 Happy Aquarium fans can be wrong. We applaud the initiative in taking a different direction than many of its competitors, but the game sometimes flubs in its execution. Maybe it’s best to view Happy Aquarium as a starter fish tank rather than a full-size 30-gallon behemoth. Add to that fish that never seem to die and can be sold at any time, and you’ve got a game that skews far too much into the “beginner-friendly” category to have a lasting appeal. It would be impossible to argue that Happy Aquarium somehow offered less gameplay than its competitors, and yet it feels like it does despite evidence to the contrary. This sort of repetition and ease of gameplay made Happy Aquarium feel shallow despite the breadth of content that the game offered. We love the idea of mini-games in an aquarium sim and praise developer Crowdstar for introducing them here, but the light and repetitive gameplay offered by each really rob the experience of its intended goal. Considering you’ll need to play them over and over again, it would have been great to see some variety. ![]() The mini-games themselves aren’t terrible, but they’re overly simplistic and get repetitive fairly quickly. An A+ for concept, but a C at best for execution. Spicing things up like this is a welcome change for aquarium sims, but the games included in Happy Aquarium failed to really excite us or hold our attention. Training your fish, on the other hand, will have you clicking on hazardous obstacles to remove them as your fish tries to safely navigate his way to the finish line. Hunting treasure, for example, will have you guiding a fish of your choosing around and through coral and other obstacles on the hunt for an elusive chest. In a surprising twist for a game of this nature the mini-games are somewhat action-oriented. Unlike other games that are only about breeding and selling, Happy Aquarium also includes a number of mini-games that give the genre some much needed variety. Plus it leads to an adorable little mating dance animation, and who doesn’t love to see two little fishies in love? It’s a little touch, but it’s a nice way to fill your tank without having to spend in-game coins. Sure you can buy them in the store if you want to, but Happy Aquarium also allows you to mate fish to produce more eggs. Getting new fish, for example, can be tackled in a far more natural way than visiting the in-game fish shop. ![]() While much of the game shares common themes with other aquarium sims on Facebook, Happy Aquarium does a good deal to set itself apart and create a truly unique experience. Cartoony visuals and forgiving game design make this an experience well-suited to gamers who don’t have the time or patience to commit to the massive fish farms of Fish World or Fishville. Happy Aquarium, unlike many of its chief rivals, is a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Happy Aquarium may be the biggest fish in the sea, but it spreads itself too thin to be considered the best. And yet despite these massive numbers, once you get ankle deep in tank water you can’t help but wonder why anyone would find this relatively shallow offering so appealing. With more than 28 million players every month as of this writing, it’s not only the most popular aquarium game – it’s the 5th most popular app on Facebook. When it comes to aquarium games on Facebook, Happy Aquarium is easily the biggest fish in the sea.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |