Cake Mania [DS]

Cake Mania is that specific sort of game that mainly appeals to casual gamers and people playing on the clock (think: train commuters and bored office employees), folks who might be intimidated by a complex action game but quite amenable to, say, baking virtual cakes. This sort of game is enjoying a renaissance on the DS, and Cake Mania is another solid example of these high-appeal, low-calorie time-wasters.

The plot in Cake Mania loosely frames a frantic puzzle game that requires the player to tap on the screen with the stylus in an endless attempt to deliver the best cake possible in the shortest time. When the main character, Jill, goes back home after graduating from culinary school, she finds out that her grandparents' bakery has been appropriated by the evil Mega Mart corporation and she decides to buy it back by starting a small cake business at home. Cue frantic cake-baking action.

"This... is... CAKETOWN!"

Each level of the game spans over a month, in which Jill has to reach a certain financial goal that will in turn give her the money to upgrade her kitchen. Level after level, four years and four locations will pass by before Jill is successful in her task, but that doesn't mean "game over." The DS version of Cake Mania also includes Back to the Bakery, an expansion pack that is sold separately on PC. In this update, Jill decides to participate in a bakery contest, in order to win her grandparents a cruise to Hawaii. The total number of levels is 84, enough for every wannabe baker to get quite sick of cakes and frosting.

The gameplay couldn't be more intuitive and can be easily learned in a few minutes, although mastering it is something totally different. When customers show up, you have to tap on a balloon to get their order, then tap on the right shape of cake on the oven. As soon as the cake is ready, you'll have to tap on the correct frosting color and then on the correct decoration in order to deliver the cake and get paid. It sounds easy, but after the first levels, the pace becomes faster and faster.

Moreover, an important factor comes to complicate things: customers won't wait forever. Each of them initially displays three to five small hearts on their heads, but this number decreases as time goes by and Jill serves other customers. The initial number of hearts depends on the nature of the customer: grannies and deliverymen are the most patient ones, but kids and food critics lose their temper easily. There are only two ways to keep them waiting, apart from working fast: turning on the TV to a channel they like, serving them a cupcake, or both. Losing a customer means losing money and wasting a cake, which in turn can prevent Jill from reaching her monthly financial goal.