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Ah, the air is changing, the leaves have a variety of color and I’m torturing myself with a new indie game. Isn’t life great? Comic Store Arcade is brought to us by the same people as Mall Manager, which I just did a review for. Well, is it better or worse? Let’s break it down.
Gameplay
The gameplay is similar to that of Mall Manager, but with some improvements. The whole store is one big area, and yes, it all runs at the same time! This surprised me, and also made me happy. The game is slow starting out, stocking comic books and then ringing people up. Eventually, I got a cashier and some people to stock the comics. This game also allows different types of upgrades, such as the conveyor belt carrying the comics can be upgraded to spit out more items and at a faster pace.
Your profit can also be upgraded, but this is done differently in Comic Store Arcade than it was in Mall Manager. This time, the actual items we are selling and using can be raised. For example, the comics are starting at $5, but they can be taken all the way to $50. The tables and arcade machines can also be upgraded.
That’s essentially the whole game in a nutshell, selling your merchandise to make in profit and then putting it back into the business in the form of buying upgrades or employing staff. This, though, brings us to the bad sides of this game. Unfortunately, it’s shine starts to wear off after you’ve put enough money in.
The game has multiple bugs, two of which make it a game killer. One of them makes people stop moving or makes them collide and get stuck. For instance, the stock people will suddenly stand there and do nothing. Then the customers heading to the check out will get stuck, bunched up together and then sales won’t be made.
The second bug comes from after this happens. Comic Store Arcade will crash. Thankfully, the game does save regularly, so you won’t lose progress, but it still is an unnecessary and annoying problem. There’s also the issue with money, because once it stacks so high, the game will slow and move at a snails pace.
Soundtrack
The music for this game does its job, but that’s all it does. It isn’t very unique nor special. It makes appropriate noises when collecting cash and making upgrades.
Graphics
These are basically the exact same as Mall Manager, so not much to say there. They do the job, but they aren’t special.
Controls
These are alright, but again, they are not complicated. You run around with the left analog stick and press A to confirm choices.
Replayability
I would say this game has a higher replayability than Mall Manager, but the bugs force its rating to lower. The game itself isn’t bad as far as the gameplay goes, but who wants to fight with a game that crashes every couple of minutes sometimes? I don’t.
Scores
Gameplay: 3/10
Soundtrack: 3/10
Graphics: 3/10
Controls: 3/10
Replayability: 2/10
Overall:
Conclusion
As much as I would like to say buy this for short-term entertainment, I have to advise against it. Due to the game lagging and crashing, it’s a waste of money. It had more promise than the game before it, but it just didn’t quite hit the mark.
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