Game review: Fashion Craze

About a month ago, I talked about Fashion Fits!, a game that sounded it would be about fashion design but was more of a time management game. I recently played Fashion Craze, which is a lot more like a designer game even though it is still a time management game. In the game, you play Maria, a young woman helping out at a clothing store. There are the normal time management game objectives: seating customers, making sure they are happy and taking their money. The customers tell you which color fabric they want and which clothing item they want. So, this time around, instead of just picking out pre-made merchandise, your character is cutting the specified color fabric and taking it to the sewing machines for the seamstress to put together.

I think this makes the game a lot more difficult. Instead of just having a couple of things for your girl to do, there is tons more. You have to seat the customer, get toys for any kids, get the fabric they want, take it to the seamstress, get the accessories the customers want, put the customers in the dressing rooms then take their money when they are happy. When you have more than two or three customers at once, it can get extremely difficult to juggle everything while making sure their happiness bars still have life in them. It's still a very fun game. I enjoyed seeing the different looks that the customers picked out. There were a lot of funny ones. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes time management games but might be looking for something a little bit different.

Tin Man - Part 3

After what seems like forever, I finally got to watch the ending for Tin Man. While the miniseries started out slow, I enjoyed the ending. There were a lot more references to the musical Wizard of Oz movie in this part. I think the biggest downside for the series was SciFi's marketing of it. In all of the commercials I've seen for the past few months, they've been calling it a "re-imagining" of The Wizard of Oz. Meanwhile, it's closer to a sequel than anything. Not a direct sequel but a sequel that takes place a long time after the original story ended. So I imagine that a lot of people were disappointed and there's probably a lot of people that didn't stick around to watch the third part, where they make a direct reference to the Dorothy of the first book. I think I would have preferred to see this as an actual series though. Perhaps with a one-hour timeslot. It would have been nice to have a bit more information on the Queen (I don't think she ever gets a name) and Raw and even Glitch. We learn a lot about Glitch but we only see a little bit of who he was before his brain was stolen. It would also be nice to see where things will go now. What will happen to the three friends? We get a pretty decent ending for DG, Az and their parents but we get nothing on the others. I doubt that we will see any sort of sequel to this so we'll just have to imagine what happens to them.

Need help finding a nursing home?

Recently, my mother had to look at nursing homes for her father. It took awhile to find someplace that had the proper care for the elderly but wasn't extremely expensive. Luckily, my mother is a nurse so she knows exactly what to look for. I don't know that I would have known what questions I should have asked or what would constitute "proper" care. Both my mother and my grandmother worked in nursing homes when I was younger but that wouldn't make me an expert on the subject. I really would need someplace like Bettercaring.com where I can get tips from experts and talk to people who have had to look at homes before. If I'm lucky, my mother will stay healthy for a very long time so I won't have to try to find someone else to take care of her. While she's still too young for it now, the years seem to pass so quickly and I'm dreading the day that she will be "old."

Tin Man - Part 2

I got to sit down and watch the second part of SciFi's Tin Man last night. I have to say that I liked the second part much better than the first. Obviously, the first third of the series was intended to introduce everyone to the characters and their surroundings. That alone tends to make a very boring story, especially when these are based on characters that we already know. In this part of the trilogy, we find out why Azkadallia is evil and DG's role in the O.Z. We also find out why Glitch's brain was stolen plus there's a bit of insight into Raw's character. After wondering how they were going to work him into the series, we finally get to meet Toto, though he's quite a bit different from the barking dog we're familiar with.

I don't want to give any spoilers away for those who, like me, weren't able to watch the show on it's original air date. I am definitely looking forward to the last part of the series. I think I may even be a bit sad when it ends.

America's Most Smartest Model - Episode 9

The more I watch this show, the more I realize that it's not about being a SMART model. It's about being a sneaky, manipulative model. It annoys me. I liked the show better when it stuck to its premise. Last week we saw Pickle getting the big heave-ho. This put the model headcount at 5. For the Edge Challenge, the models are once again asked to break into pairs. But wait, it's an uneven number! So one model has to volunteer to get screwed and be alone. Brett steps up to that challenge. Rachel pairs off with Andre and VJ goes with Angela. Then it is revealed that the teams will need to build a go-kart. But wait, not all of the teams get to participate! Only the two fastest go-kart building teams, with correctly built karts, get to race. Angela, who claims to have spent her childhood fixing cars with her dad, and VJ finish their kart first. After having to make a few adjustments, Rachel and Andre finish second. Poor screwed over Brett gets nothing.

To win the Edge Challenge, the two racing teams must compete. Angela and VJ get the pole position since they won the first half of the challenge. But can they beat Rachel and Andre in racing? While Angela claims that she can build a car, she knows nothing about driving one. She takes the corners wide leaving the perfect opportunity for Rachel to grab the lead. As Angela tries to catch up to Rachel, she spins out. Of course, this annoys VJ. Then the boys jump into the karts for their laps. Andre sweeps the floor with VJ. The victory and the Edge goes to Rachel and Andre.

When the models get back to the house, they find a note for them. They are to decide who they think should be eliminated. If the person they pick does not win the Callback Challenge, they are automatically eliminated. Since the Alliance is still in place, VJ's name goes into the envelope.

The Callback Challenge this week is to be a spokesperson for a Jaguar. Rachel and Andre get the specs on the car so they'll know what they are talking about. Sneaky, manipulative VJ calls his friend to gather all the info he can on the car. Despite being filmed doing this, there is nothing from the producers or judges about this. I guess the "edge" is only an edge as long as your competitors decide to play by the rules of the game. Cheating is A-OK here! It's even encouraged!

Arriving at the Jaguar headquarters, the models are given some basic information on the car they will be talking about. Then the models are sent out one by one to give a presentation with what they have learned. However, most of the models have a problem with the rotating stage. VJ, in a surprisingly non-cheating move, simply steps off the rotating part. Angela moves so that she is always at the front of the stage. Rachel, Brett and Andre all blew their speeches. Brett actually dropped the f-bomb in front of the audience. When it came down to announcing the winner, Mary Alice declares that it's a tie and BOTH VJ and Angela win the Callback Challenge.

Wait, what? Let me say this again: BOTH VJ and Angela WON the Callback Challenge. We're down to the last five models on the show and they are going to take two of the models out of the elimination? That's a little ridiculous. On top of that, Mary Alice sends a bottle of champagne to VJ and Angela. No, that's not showing favor there at all. At this point, I would really like Mary Alice to be thrown off the show.

At the elimination, Andre, Rachel and Brett are on the line. Mary Alice was SURPRISED that VJ's name was in the envelope but since he can't be eliminated, that doesn't really matter. I'm not really sure why she was surprised. I'm thinking that she's not really paying any attention to the actual competition. She's just picking who she happens to like the best. In the end, Rachel is the first one thrown out. Yes, I said FIRST one thrown out. In a somewhat surprising move, Mary Alice tosses Brett out too. The only reason it's not completely surprising is because I now hate Mary Alice and think that she taught VJ how to be a sneaky bastard.

Next week is the finale episode. We're left with Andre, VJ and Angela. I have this sickening feeling that VJ will win. I would like Andre to win just because VJ is a slimeball and Angela is annoying. However, I don't think Mary Alice will let that happen. She might let Angela win but I think it'll be her personal favorite, VJ, that will take the crown. It's too bad he's such a douche.

Tin Man - Part 1

Last night was the first part of SciFi's new three-part miniseries, Tin Man. The story is loosely based on L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz series. Zooey Deschanel plays DG, a young woman who is transported from her small, rural farmhouse home to the Outer Zone, more commonly known as The O.Z. As she searches for her parents, who were also pulled into this new world, she befriends some strange characters. First, we meet Glitch (Alan Cumming), a man with half of a brain. The other half was stolen by the evil sorceress Azkadallia (Kathleen Robertson) because he knew too much about something but he can't remember what. Next the pair meets Wyatt Cain (Neal McDonough), a former police officer or tin man. Azkadallia's soldiers tortured him and his family before locking him in a suit of armor to watch a recording of the horrors repeatedly. Finally, the trio comes upon Raw (Raoul Trujillo), a psychic empath with healing powers. DG rescues him from being eaten by another creature.

I won't post spoilers here for those of you that haven't seen the series yet. Assuming that most people are familiar with The Wizard of Oz, I will let you know that DG and her friends make the trek down the brick road to meet the Wizard. There are definitely some variations from the Judy Garland version that we all know and love but that doesn't make the miniseries bad. I found the first part to be highly enjoyable. While it isn't an exact retelling of the story, I liked trying to figure out who was representing whom. The second part starts tonight, though we are recording it so we can watch the season finale of Heroes. If you missed the first part, SciFi is rerunning it tonight at 7PM Eastern, just before the second part starts at 9PM.

Jmovie review: Honey & Clover

Title: Honey & Clover Release date: 7/22/06 Genre: Romance, Slice of Life Cast: Sakurai Sho, Aoi Yuu, Seki Megumi, Kase Ryo, Iseya Yusuke Plot: A group of art students try to make sense of life and love. What is good: The acting isn't terrible. What is bad: It takes a long time for the movie to get even vaguely intersting. Letter rating: C- Overall: I haven't read the manga that this movie is based on but I have seen the anime adaptation, which I thought was mind-numbingly boring. The movie is pretty much the same. There were some minor changes from the anime version. I chalk this up to the fact that the movie is only about 2 hours long while the anime ran for 26 half-hour episodes. Either way, I'm guessing the source material is as boring as the two adaptations. We aren't given any real reason to care about these characters or why we should be pulling for them to be successful in their lives. When the characters begin to get interesting, they all stop talking to each other, tossing us back to not caring anymore. This much be fairly popular in Japan since there will be a drama series starting next year. I can only hope that the drama will give a little more oomph to the characters.

Game review: Holly: A Christmas Tale

My daughter frequently asks to play hidden object games with me. Since she's learning to read, the lists help her recognize words. For the Christmas season, we decided to give Holly: A Christmas Tale a try. You help Santa as he prepares to deliver toys on Christmas Eve. This game actually has two parts - a hidden object part and a find the differences part. Sadly, it is extremely difficult. Objects are frequently hidden behind other objects in both sections. We were able to tough it out and stick with it through the entire 60-minute demo but it's not something that we will be paying for. I probably would have given up on it if I was playing by myself. People are who looking for something more difficult than a normal hidden object game might enjoy this but I think that it will be too frustrating for most people.