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Nothing like the quality Tycoon or Sim Game; it [is bad]!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 35 / 37
Date: February 12, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game appears to have mixed reviews, but all things considered this game [stinks]!

I was excited when I first heard about this game. Now I own it, and I'm severly disappointed. It's certainly a great concept in the world of simulation games, (the creation of my own shopping mall) but there is so much lacking. The graphics and sound/music are very poor in quality. The game interface is tough to get used to and the action of the game is extremely boring and controlled mostly by the AI, which takes away so much fun from the game.

The game is lacking in how much detail the user can control, (as said before) most of it is controlled by the AI.

This game ranks right down there with Airport Tycoon, Snow Resort Tycoon and Skatepark Tycoon... If you want good quality sim and tycoon games, check out: Roller Coaster Tycoon, The Sims, Sim Golf,the original Theme Park, Theme Hospital etc. You are bound to enjoy anything made by Maxis, Interplay, Bullfrog, Electronic Arts, and Microsoft. These games allow you to have control over the most minute detail, not just broad things with no depth; ie. what type of store you put in.

The characters walk around in the stores without bags, and you don't even see them pick up things to buy.

Maybe if Mall Tycoon was [low in price] it might be worth buying... Play the demo first, or get it from a friend who's already wasted their money.

One of the worst Tycoon games by far

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 18 / 21
Date: October 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I am a huge fan of tycoon games and this one is awful! What few controls you have are not 'instinctive' and it's basically just.. boring. You buy a shop, which is pre-made and plop it down on the plot. That's about all there is too it. Plus you can hire a few people (janitors and security I believe) and that's about it. It's boring, the graphics are horrible and its a waste of money. Believe me, I have played just about every single tycoon game out there, you will have a lot more fun with Zoo Tycoon, Rollercoaster Tycoon, SimCity, the Sims.. even Restaurant Empire.

Don't Do It

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 16 / 18
Date: May 31, 2002
Author: Amazon User

If you are a fan of some of the better simulation games, like the SimCity series, or even Tropico, etc., don't buy this game. The graphics are substandard, the gameplay is boring and unimaginative, and the interface is less than intuitive. This game is a blatant attempt to cash in on the reputation of some of the more succesful and better-made tycoon games.

a rare tycoon that works, and has tons of replay value

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 25 / 34
Date: February 13, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game just because i love the mall, and have been waiting for a game like this for a long time. But there are so many tycoon games that have ripped of the success of Roller Coaster Tycoon and put out horrible, confusing games. well you will be relieved here. this game is not only very straightforward, but one of the most addictive and fun tycoons ive ever played. sometimes the load times get really long, and the game slows down, but other than that its a great game. you can choose from so many different types of places to put in, and research more. there are also atriums you can put in to put on special events like fashion shows, car shows, roller coasters, train rides, santa claus, and more. you can choose differnet layouts from boutiques to department stores, and choose from a vast number of wallpapers and tiles for the floor. the graphics are good, but not great, but shouldnt be a problem. it is also chock full of scenarios to keep you occupied, as well as freeplay, to build the mall from scratch with plenty of money to build a great mall. its not too easy or too hard, and its just a solid game over all. you can also put in restaurants, playgrounds, movie theatres, etc. its great! you gotta get it!

Misses a great opportunity for a great game

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: April 24, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Being a "Tycoon"/Sim Fan, I figured to ignore the warnings of other bad reviews and got this game. I like malls and shopping, I love sims, so how bad could it be?...ya, its pretty bad.
The graphics, although apparantly take a lot of system resources to run, remind me of the old Nintendo/Arcade game "paperboy". The movement and detail of the characters are about the same and look very underdeveloped.
The game does have a lot of potential. There is a large variety of stores, products, and decorations you can select from to build several floors worth of mall. However, the purpose and goals of the game are vague. The in-game help and descriptions are limited and the play is not as user-friendly as other games in this genre. There is plenty of "scenerios" to play, but I have yet to win or lose one and not sure how to. You do have control of the store names and some details, but there is no control or details about the customers that roam your mall.
After playing this for a bit, I decided to go back to playing "Sims:Hot Date", where I could build shops and enjoy a game with some purpose.
Overall, with Mall Tycoon, I feel like I'm playing a beta version of a game and want the final product that I was hoping for.

Ugh!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: April 01, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I was really excited when I got this game. Talk about total disappointment! The money is totally unproportional and the game just overall stinks! Please, don't waste your money!

Get this game if you like wasting your money!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: May 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

PC GAME REVIEW:

Basically, the game involves building and running a shopping mall.

I got the game, because the pictures of the game on the box gave the impression that it would be a fun game to play. Also, I spend a lot of time at the mall, so I thought this game would be really fun, because it had two of the things I really like--the mall, and video games.

Unlike most simulation (SIM) games, which is fun to play for hours then gets boring after a while, this game is boring from the start! The animations are awful, and it slows down my computer quite frequently!

I wouldn't suggest this game to anybody. If you're looking for a great SIM game, I suggest getting "The Sims" and its expansion packs.

The fun lasted me for about 30 minutes...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: November 29, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Great concept, yet it was tourn apart by the terrible programming. The controls are hard to get used to, and the animation is poor. They messed up how the mall should be made. It should have been that people came in and asked you to put their store in, but you have to create each of them. All though this is a good point, it's also one of the bad ones. I hate the animation, because the customers don't look like they buy anything.

Word of advice to the makers of this game: Think a bit more before you go and ruin something as cool of a concept as this. There could have been so many more options and better graphics as well as sounds.

Not as bad as people say

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: November 09, 2002
Author: Amazon User

So what if Mall Tycoon has a bad rap, well I have the game and it is truly fun. It's graphics aren't great, but they aren't awful. And once you get the hang of the game there are a ton of options of things for your mall. I have only been playing this game for about a week and my mall's huge. I have over 200 k already. I must admit I thought the game wasn't so good at first, but all it takes to play is some know how. I recommend for those of you that just skip over reading the instructions to actually read them because they will really help you. All in all once you get the hang of this game it is really fun.

Fun game, but a few technical issues....

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 11 / 14
Date: March 09, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I'll admit, I am a mall-nut. I always enjoyed going to these places since I was real young, so to have an actual 'mall-sim' game released was quite exciting when I found out about it.

This is my first game review, so I'll categorize things.

Graphics:
This isn't no FFX (Final Fantasy 10) style graphics here, but they function for this game. The thing a lot of people look for these days is flashy 3d animations and what-not. Well graphics aren't everything, just look at the NES for example. Games are meant to be fun, and this one 'is' fun, flashy graphics or not. Whether your PC has a high end DDR type video card, or even on lower-end ones (not 'too' low end), the graphics should pretty much be the same.

Sound FX:
Sounds range from typical construction sounds (when building / demolishing) to the sounds of people chattering & walking through your mall, and the fountains when you have the game unpaused.

Music:
If there was a seperate rating for this area, it gets a definite 10 +. 16 tracks, ranging from typical mall 'Muzak' with a 1970s sound to it (the heydays of the dimly-lit enclosed malls), jazz, a bit of modern Latin, and even a couple holiday tracks. (Little trick: You can pop this CD right in your audio CD player and play the music righf off it, since its Redbook audio, just be sure to skip track 1...the music starts on Track 2).

Control:
Lets just say, so-so. When you start out, its quick, but the more graphically involved your malls get, the mouse (pointer) will slow to a crawl. It does get a bit tedious to have to go back to the main menu each time you want to do a lot of things.

Stability:
Where this game hurts most, and this is typical of all first-released games...which is why they make update patches to rid the said game of any bugs, is that it's a bit buggy. It's also prone to booting you out, and back to the (Windows) Desktop. Lets hope for a update patch.

The stability and control issues are the reason why I docked off 2 stars for a 3 star rating.

Other things to Note:
The land area you're given is quite small. Most of today's mall models wont fit on a 48x48 grid. A bit more land to work with, or start out with various sizes like with Sim City 2k/3k, wouldnt hurt. You can, however, build up to 3 levels of mall area.

Overall, not bad of a game, but the occasional boot-outs and the few bugs it has will frustrate some. If you save often, and can live with getting booted out of the game every so often, go for it....it's really a fun Tycoon sim. However, if you hate glitches, and expect flashy 3d animation and graphics, this one isn't for you.

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