G5 preparing to stock the shelves with Supermarket Mania 2 on iPhone

Back in February of 2009, G5 released the first Supermarket Mania on iPhone. What quickly went on to become both a critic and fan favorite has now spawned a sequel - Supermarket Mania 2, which will be launching on iPhone on May 12. I had a chance to go hands-on with the final version of the game, and can say that while the main gameplay ideology hasn't changed, there have been tons of upgrades released on these store shelves.

For those unfamiliar with the story of the first game, in this sequel, you continue to follow Nikki, grocer extraordinaire, who is invited to open a new chain of supermarkets in Tinsel Town after successfully defeating a robot army back home (of course the robots wanted to take over the entire supermarket profession, what else would they be interested in?). Now, Nikki is surrounded by the surf and sand and must start from the bottom once again by making sure her customers' every wish is taken care of, all in a level-based, time management format.

Supermarket Mania 2 sees Nikki taking on basically every job in the supermarket, except for perhaps security guard. Each of the game's chapters sees you taking over a new (and usually more complex) supermarket than the last, but throughout them all, you'll need to keep track of the stock on shelves so that your customers always have enough fish, bread, chips, and even ice cream to buy. Where that used to be the end of the story, in Supermarket Mania 2, there have been a ton of other features added.

For one, the floors now become dirty, and fast. You'll be given a mop, and by simply tapping on the mop, Nikki will automatically clean every aisle in the store. This is a time consuming process, however, meaning that shelves could be emptied while you're cleaning, and guests could even become frustrated and leave. Other features include a bread-baking station, a milkshake machine, a coffee maker, and a delivery grocer, among others.

For the milkshake and coffee stations, you'll have to first tap on the machine to transition to the "cooking" mode (she loses the cart), where Nikki can then either automatically grind coffee grounds, or you'll have to run out into the store and collect milk and ice cream to put the milkshake together yourself. This of course takes away some of the stock your customers could purchase, but if you manage to keep these luxury items available, you'll earn more money in the end.

The same can be said for the delivery grocer, who stands near a window outside and waits for you to gather three or four food items from your shelves and then deliver them, fast food drive-in style. The bread machine is the simplest item of the bunch, requiring you to simply tap on the bread shelf, wait for a loaf to be cooked, and then carry that bread to its shelf on the main store floor.

As you play the game, your cart will often become empty, forcing you to head back to the stockroom to resupply, and you'll even have to run up to the cash register to handle check-outs, along with resupplying the grocery baskets your customers use to shop. Each level has a timer and a base dollar requirement that you must earn before moving on (as in most every other time management game), and you'll be able to use these earnings to upgrade your store, allowing for everything from automatic store clean-up, to more stock being held on a shelf at once (so that you don't have to refill them as often). You can make Nikki a faster worker, hire a cashier, and can even use a security guard to chase off annoying teenagers.

Gallery: Supermarket Mania 2 iPhone


As a big fan of the first game, I have to say that Supermarket Mania 2, while much more complex and hectic, still doesn't lose its charm or fun, at least from my time with the game. The final product will span 80 levels, across six new stores, and will be released on both iPhone and iPad on May 12. For more information about the game, check out G5's official website, or you can check out my hands-on gameplay in the video at the top of this post.

Will you purchase Supermarket Mania 2 when the game releases next week? Have you ever played the first Supermarket Mania or other time management games on iPhone? How do you think the gameplay handles on such a small screen?

The Oregon Trail: American Settler combines Pioneer Trail and CityVille on iOS

In the time that Zynga's Pioneer Trail (formerly FrontierVille) has been available on Facebook, many similar games have been released, but perhaps no other game has been so downright similar (the word "clone" quickly comes to mind) as Gameloft's The Oregon Trail: American Settler. The main difference here is that Pioneer Trail is available for play on Facebook, while American Settler is for iPhone / iPad.

The game starts with your family of three ending their trip on the Oregon Trail and winding up in the overrun wilderness of the open frontier. You'll be asked to construct items like a cabin for your family, farm plots to grow food for your family (and eventually visitors), chop down trees for lumber, and complete quests for your family members and friends alike. That being said, some of these features do introduce slight differences to the experience.

For instance, some buildings, instead of automatically turning a profit every few hours, require food to operate. It's a situation similar to that of another Zynga game, CityVille, in that the food here is the "Goods" there, and you'll receive coins and experience points when they're gone (this could take minutes or hours). In keeping with the CityVille comparisons, we also see decorations being used to offer bonuses to the payout of surrounding items. For some originality, and to bring in a classic "Oregon Trail" element, your family members can get sick. You'll need to collect medicine to help them by asking your friends to send it to you.

Speaking of traditional Oregon Trail elements, you'll also have a chance to go hunting for food by shooting at the random critters that appear while chopping trees and performing other "nature-themed" tasks on your land.

Gallery: The Oregon Trail: American Settler iOS


Once you start building your city out in the frontier, you'll quickly need to build more homes so that you can staff more businesses (again, this is the CityVille element of the game), but will also run into random encounters a la Pioneer Trail. You'll be given a short story and will then need to choose from various options, depending on the risk you're willing to take to be successful, or how many resources you'd like to dedicate to that choice.

Even though I could continue (for quite a while, I'd imagine) with the comparisons to other games, as, let's face it, Gameloft is kind of known for that, The Oregon Trail: American Settler is a pretty fun game in its own right. It runs great technically, and looks pretty sharp as well. The game's social elements are handled directly through either Facebook or Gameloft Live (your choice), and you can post rewards or requests directly to Facebook (after connecting to your account), asking your friends to come play the game with you. Best of all? The game's free to download and is universal, meaning that it will handle equally well on both iPhone or iPad, although I can see there being some issues with the iPhone version, if only due to the size of the screen.

If you've ever wished you could take these sorts of Facebook games with you on the go, why not try out American Settler as a substitute?

Download Oregon Trail: American Settler from iTunes -->

Have you tried the Oregon Trail: American Settler on your iOS device? What do you think of this frontier-themed combination of Pioneer Trail and CityVille gameplay mechanics?

BBCW launches CBeebies games app

Games based on popular CBeebies Games series Charlie & Lola, Teletubbies, 3rd & Bird and Numberjacks are available through a new app launched by BBC Worldwide.

CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.

Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.

Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.

She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”

More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.