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Awkward play -- not all TYCOONS are good!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 27 / 29
Date: January 03, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Until a few weeks ago, I thought all "Tycoon" games were made by the company who brought us that wonderful game "Rollercoaster Tycoon" (Electronic Arts). While perusing the Sim aisle at my local computer store, I realized that in fact, many companies use the name "Tycoon" in their Sim games, and not all of them are of the same quality.

How different could they all be? you ask. Well, I asked myself the same question, and figured that while some might be cheaper, it didn't necessarily mean that they would make for a poorer game. I got Fast Food Tycoon in my christmas stocking, and promptly installed it.

Note: in the jewel case version of this game, there is no instruction manual. There is a "Read Me" file, but it doesn't give any hints as to gameplay.

The startup menu was cool - bright colors and clever cartoony drawings. The beginning even has a 3D animation depicting the neighborhood where your Pizza parlor will be located. Pretty cool. (Oh, and "Pizza Parlor Tycoon" would have been a more accurate moniker, as there aren't any choices as far as fast food joints go). I also got to choose my own company logo & signature color. Also cool. So, I start with the tutorial, which is so annoying I have to turn it off and try to figure the game out on my own. (Why is it annoying? I have to sit and wait while information scrolls slowly across a little dialog bubble whenever I move my cursor over something. Then, the tutorial ends before I've really learned anything.) Another note: apparently the proofreading team wasn't all that great, as at this point, five minutes into the game, I've come across about five misspellings and/or typos.

The play screen has picture icons lining every side of the screen, none of which is self-explanatory, and several of which overlap (for instance, the "staff" icon shows up in three different places, and each one does a slightly different thing). And that's the least complicated aspect of the interface. (If you're into complicated gaming, then maybe this game IS for you...) There are the basic Sim things to deal with before you can open your restaurant: furnishing your restaurant, hiring staff, determining your menu, ordering your supplies. And as I mentioned before, setting all these basic functions up is anything but easy to figure out. And, there are so many things to manage that it becomes difficult to oversee everything, especially since as far as I could tell, there was no way to pause or slow time.

So, the tutorial tells me that the most important thing in the game is the special recipes of pizza you invent (it IS sort of fun to make pizzas -- there is a list of probably a hundred ingredients you get to put on the pizza including the usual suspects: olives, cheese, salami, etc, and some not-so-usuals: kiwifruit, maggots, lemon balm) based on the tastes of eight different demographics in the particular city you are playing in. The only problem is, this is so hit-or-miss that it's virtually impossible to come up with a pizza that anyone actually likes.

There are aspects to the game that are less typical in a Sim (and add to the interest of play), namely the decision whether to build your business legitimately or through less-legal means (no tutorials ever really broach this subject, by the way). You also have some pretty interesting choices in a couple of areas: financing (loan sharks offer competitive rates with several banks), and marketing (you get to choose from several firms that specialize in different forms of advertising), which I haven't seen in any other game. The problem with these, again, is simply that they are convoluted and difficult to understand.

This review has run quite long, so let me sum it up. Basically, this game has potential if you can stick it out long enough to figure out how to work all its intricacies. However, you'll have to be a very patient person to get to that point. The idea behind the game was fun, but the team who planned it out needed to streamline, and distill everything (especially the interface) down to the very essence. Unfortunately, they didn't, and we are left with a game that is as hard to digest as a kiwi pizza with extra maggots.

Wait until this one hits the dollar bin.

Total Crap

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: November 10, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game because I have enjoyed other tycoon type games in the past and was sorely disappointed with this purchase. Instructions for this game are laking to the point where even after going through the game's own walkthrough you still have no idea what you are supposed to do, or rather what you are continually doing wrong even though you followed the directions to a T. Also, the menu bars are poorly done as they are not word based, but picture based, which is confusing as the pictures do not always make sense and watch out if you don't immediately know what a picture is supposed to mean, you'll spend the next half hour trying to find what you were really looking for. Don't waste your money on this one.

Don't botheria to open this pizzaria.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: September 29, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Don't but this. You want to make pizzas, it'd be more enjoyable to just grab a mix or a frozen cheese pizza and add your own topings. The interface sucks, the focus of this financial sim is on wierd ingredients-not actually running the business realistically (I worked in a rl pizza joint, and nothing that sells in the game was EVER made...we didn't even have most of thier ingredients), and the worst part of the game is that it commits the biggest sin of game manufacture...it just isn't fun to play...

Review for Fast food

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: August 21, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I thought this game was really dull! The manual doesn't help what so ever! But, if you buy be careful and watch your money because you go in debt real fast!

HORRIBLE GAME!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: February 23, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If I could have given this game no stars I would have. Don't be fooled by the word "Tycoon" as I was. This game shouldn't even be able to bare the Tycoon name. It is impossible to play! I would have been happier throwing the twenty dollars I spent on this game out the window. And aside from the difficulty, the game isn't even fun! It was a good idea, but the game concept is too complicated. Don't be fooled into buying this game. You're much better off buying Roller Coaster Tycoon or one of the games from The Sims series.

Grat Idea....Terrible Execution

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: November 07, 2000
Author: Amazon User

As a fan of sim games like SimCity and Free Enterprise (to name but a few), I purchased this one thinking that the concept of operating a fast food chain had great possibilities....unfortunately, Activision has blown this one. First, if you want instructions, you are out of luck. Next, the tutorials are meager to say the least. Throughout the game, the icons that drive everything you do are hard to decipher without using the help feature. To really start playing this game and to know what you are doing would take hours since the only way to learn it is through a great deal of trial and error (much more than any other games of this ilk).

In a nutshell, this game disappoints.

Thought it looked cool at first, but. . .

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 10
Date: December 17, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I just got this game at Costco for $14.99--not a bad deal, I thought at first. When I picked it up i could feel it was VERY light, but I didn't give it much thought. It looked like an old game from the graphics, but it said it was made my Software 2000 or something, so I got it (bad graphics dont bother me too much). . .

I open the box, and there is a CD in a paper wrapper (jewel cases too expensive, I guess) and a ONE SHEET piece of paper with install instructions--no manual. Ohh yeah and a piece of paper with some ads for other games.

After I installed it, I loaded up the game. At first I couldn't figure out how to do the tutorial, I didn't even know there WAS one, because the icons were cartoonish and hard to figure out, as they didn't have labels unless you hovered over them with your cursor. So I just made a game-I can figure it out, I thought, I mean I'm an expert at SimCity 3000 and RollerCoaster Tycoon. Well, the icons go all around your screen, and they're confusing as Heck, because of the cartoonish pictures. It took me 10 minutes to find the freakin exit button alone so I could get the tutorial (Its in the Configurations/Settings screen (WTF is up with that!)).

Anyway, so I do the tutorial, and the instructions are in this little box and you have to scroll down to read them, which is annoying because the mouse scroll-wheel doesnt work and you have to drag the thing. Anyway, it half-explains a few things to get you started and divert your attention from the fact that you just wasted 15 hard-earned buckaroos.

I did the tutorials and then messed around for 45 minutes, and I still had no clue what was going on. The execution of the interface was probably the worst I have encountered in my gaming career. It seems like it will be fun once I understand it, but my dilemma is: Why mess with it for another 2 hours if it feels like work and is frusterating? Is there that great of a payoff?

Anyway, it seems like a good idea, but the interface, execution, and graphics are horrible. I don't mind bad graphics, but when everything else sucks, it should at least be kinda pretty to make up for it. The killing blow is definately the interface.

If you are interested in these games, you should check out The Sims, SimCity 3000, definately Rollercoaster Tycoon, and Start-Up. Stay clear of this one. Believe me, you'll thank me.

If you would like to venture out of this genre, I would recommend Diablo II. Its still fun for me after 5 and a half months--I got my $$ worth on that one.

If you have alotta games already and still have time, you can get this, but only if you're willing to spend 2+ hours _Figuring it out_ Peace out,

Fast Food Tycoon - Beware!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: March 21, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Okay, here's the deal: I'm an avid fan of sim games, especially business and strategy sims, so I was pretty excited to see this game. I ignored all of the bad reviews (which are many), and figured that these were written by non-sim gamers. I mean, how bad could this game be? Hmm... pretty bad. Actually, really bad. Even after setting the 1993-style graphics and slow game pace aside, I still couldn't see a spark of worth here. This game definitely belongs in the bin... even then it might not be worth it.

Most games are very easy to learn, even without a manual. This game however, practically requires a degree in patience, rocket science, and psychic intuition. Its interface seems to lack basic common sense, which makes navigation throughout the game, incredibly complex.

To be fair, the concept of the game is appealing, it's just that the developers couldn't make it work. As a true sim-fan, take my word and heed the reviews. This game should not have been released. To be frank, more money was probably spent on the catchy box, than the game itself.

Bummer Tycoon

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 7
Date: June 19, 2001
Author: Amazon User

When I saw Fast Food tycoon at Best Buy, I had to get it. Now that I do have it, it confuses me. There are so many buttons and it just isn't as fun as I expected. They had a great idea here too, just it's too bad that it didn't work out. I normally love simulation games, but this one is just plain boring. It took me about 20 minutes to just figure out how to quit the stinking game! I wish it wasn't so complicated.

Stupid

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: March 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

THis game is the stupidest game I have ever played!! It is called FAST FOOD I don't consider pizza fast food!! It is so boring!! I would give this game no stars if it was possible. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!!!!!

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