Game Review: Paradise Pet Salon
If you couldn't tell by now, I visit Big Fish Games a lot. This time around I gave Paradise Pet Salon a try. After all, I like pets and I like when pets look pretty! The description for this one reads: This is no day at the spa! It's you versus Pet Corp in this fast paced fur flying good time. Your pet spa is competing against the evil Pet Corp. You'll turn a small corner spa into a huge success with fast and hard work. But it's not all about speed. You've also got to plan ahead. Serve hundreds of great pets and people too so you can earn more money to improve your spa by buying upgrades and special treats for your furry clients too. Fur has never been this fun or addictive.
When you start the game, you have to decorate your pet salon and buy some equipment. There isn't a lot you can afford yet so you're pretty much stuck with the free wall color and floor tile with just a bathtub and cutting station. Oh, and don't forget to buy some chairs for your waiting pet owners. They don't leave the store until you are finished with their pet and they'll get angry if you leave them standing for too long. After a couple of rounds, you'll be able to buy some new equipment. This is where the game starts to get really hard. You can only afford to buy one new station and everyone wants to use it. It gets really difficult to juggle all the pets and their wants while keeping their owners happy. I came very close to losing a couple of customers when I first got a health station.
Paradise Pet Salon is basically another time management game. Instead of waiting tables or baking cakes, you're grooming dogs and cats. It can be a fun game when it's not too difficult. However, when you can't afford to buy additional stations to help with the abundance of pets coming in the door, it can get overwhelming. So while I enjoyed the game, I don't forsee me spending the money to buy the full version of it.