The Cake Mania series is back with its third installment, Cake Mania 3! Not content to confine the game to slinging cakes in fancy modern-day locales, Sandlot installed an interesting storyline that splits the game into five unique areas, each in a different time period and different place. While the core mechanics remain unchanged, Cake Mania 3 serves up something unique in the resource management series to create a wholly enjoyable game.
Jill, the star of every Cake Mania game, is fretting over the details of her upcoming marriage. Just when she thinks everything will work out, the Time Bender artifact she received at the end of Cake Mania 2 is shattered into half a dozen pieces! Each of her friends picks up a shard and is transported to a different period in history, from the prehistoric era to ancient China, Egypt, and more. In order to bring them back, Jill must visit each location and — you guessed it — bake cakes!
The overall objective of Cake Mania 3 is to serve customers the cake they ordered as fast as possible to earn more cash. Bake the right cake, put the correct icing on top, add any extras and take it to the customer right away. Between levels, use the money to upgrade to faster, more efficient machines, buy Jill better shoes so she can walk faster, or to purchase additional items that help you squeeze a little extra money out of each patron.
Customer types in Cake Mania 3 have a more direct affect on gameplay than before. For example, if a leader walks in to your store, he must be served before any other customer. Robin Hood also makes an appearance and will steal money off of the counter, encouraging you make cash-gathering trips a top priority. These little touches add just the slightest twist to the gameplay and get you to change your playing strategy.
Analysis: It's great to see such an established franchise branch out and embrace new ideas. Cake Mania 3 goes a long way to removing the same old atmosphere present in previous games (and in most resource management titles). Part of this is due to the extraordinary variety in artwork and styles, all of which are bright, colorful, creative and fun. Jill's outfit changes depending on what time period she's in, which is a subtle but effective way to brighten up the look of the game.
Once you're over the initial visual upgrade and have digested the somewhat odd storyline, Cake Mania 3 settles into familiar territory. Maybe too familiar for some, as the mechanics have barely been tweaked since the last release. Building and serving cakes is the same no matter what time period you're in, and I would have loved to see the process shifted a bit to compensate for each era's technological leanings.
Cake Mania 3 starts off very slowly, so you'll have to spend a little time digging into the game before you get to the really good stuff. And this game has more hidden gameplay gems than the previous titles, such as unlockable mini-games. Cake Mania 3 is different from its predecessors in many ways, but the changes are all for the better and make it a fun, interesting, and often zany experience.
Windows:
Download the demo
Get the full version
Mac OS X:
Not available.
Try Boot Camp or Parallels or CrossOver Games.
Walkthrough Guide
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Like many others, I found Cake Mania 3 to be very challenging when I got into the third and fourth levels. I read through all of the comments and started a new game using everyone's suggestions. Success!! So, here is (hopefully) a well-rounded list of tips and suggestions to get through the game.
Oven and frosting machines:
Focus on upgrading only one oven and frosting machine at first. Upgrade them all the way to gold before buying the second ones. The speed of the upgraded oven and froster will serve you well, better than trying to juggle two or three slow machines.
Toppers:
Hold off on buying all the toppers. Speed is the key at this point and you need to spend your dollars carefully to upgrade your oven and froster. I didn't have all the toppers until the near the end of the sixth level.
Television:
The television is a good investment. It can almost make your cupcakes obsolete. Learn which channel all of the customers like and keep hitting the television buttons. Try to keep everyone at five stars for the biggest tips. Don't bother upgrading to the wide screen television. I couldn't tell any difference.
Television channels:
Here is a list of the channels that each customer likes. I'm going to refer to the channels as the color of the buttons. On my computer, the upper left button is blue, upper right is orange, lower left is yellow, and lower right is green.
Unicorns - Orange
Robin Hood - Yellow
Witches - Green
Girl dinosaurs - Blue
Boy dinosaurs - Orange
Fairies - Blue
Wizards - Blue
Executioner - Blue
Marquis - Green
Lady in blue dress with ship hat - Green
Hunchback - Blue
Napoleon - Yellow
Monkey - Orange
Emperor - Yellow
Warrior - Blue
Dragon - Yellow
Geisha - Blue
Pharaoh - Blue
Anubis - Orange
Mummy - Yellow
Queen - Green
Egyptian bird face - Orange
Caveman - Orange
Opera performer - Orange
Fat lady - Blue
Refrigerator:
Upgrade to the refrigerator fairly soon in the game. An excellent strategy is to make the most expensive cakes ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator. It saves time and brings in more money. If you know you're going to win the level once the bakery is closed and not letting in more customers, go ahead and make a couple of expensive cakes for the refrigerator. They'll be there at start of business the next day and you won't waste any time making them.
Watch the line:
Keep an eye on the customers waiting in line. Make the smallest and easiest cakes first to get those customers out. Same goes for the ones who just want drinks. If you keep the line moving, you'll have more customers and be able to make more money.
Arrange the kitchen:
While you're using just one oven and froster, arrange the kitchen so that they are close to each other. This will save on time spent walking back and forth. You can move things around while you're in the purchase screen.
Sugar Rush:
Try to get those Sugar Rush power ups as often as you can. They make a huge difference. Think in terms of three. Bake three cakes, hand out three menus, collect three money, etc. Sets of three charge the Sugar Rush bar and that can make the difference in winning a level.
Posted by: Pam
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October 21, 2008 7:42 PM