I know what you are probably thinking right about now, “Oh no, not another game about serving customers”. To that my fellow gamers, I reply “No, and I wish!” At least with an RTS game, I know what I am getting into, but “Digby’s Donuts” kinda dupes you.
You see, it is simply a catch, stack, and drop game puzzle game. Don’t get me wrong, I love puzzle games like the rest of you ( I am a Tetris fanatic) but when I sit down to play a game I want to know what I am getting into. That being said, let’s get into the game’s synopsis.
Digby, a bispectacled, nerdy looking dude wants to own a donut shop franchise. It is your task, as shop employee, to move around the country helping him open stores in different cities. That’s about where the story begins and ends. You think you are getting a nice rags to riches “I’ve got a dream” story but then nothing. It doesn’t have any more substenance than that, it just fills you up with empty calories.
The game play involves you catching donuts as they fall from the top of the screen and aligning them correctly by frosting color in the display tray. Three or more of the same frosting color stacked together in a row will earn you enough tip points, indicated by a jar on the side, to be successful enough in your shift to move on. It gets more challenging with each new level the donuts will inevitably drop more quickly, so your reflexes and eye- hand coordination skills will be getting a workout.
I quickly came to realize by day 10 that opening another donut shop in another city doesn’t change a darn thing about the game whatsoever! It tries to make you feel like you are accomplishing some great goal or milestone (keep your eye on the prize type thing)
even poor Digby looked bored and uninspired. For instance, when I reached the Las Vegas level, the only difference in the visuals was Digby wearing a ridiculously large gold chain with a $ charm on it (?) like that was supposed to make us think of Vegas. South L.A. is more like it.
By day 29, I was playing half-heartedly, waiting to see if this game would surprise me and maybe just maybe give me a little something, some closure to a storyline that was all smoke and mirrors to begin with.
I set out for this game to be given a full review, sadly, it quickly became obvious to me that it would remain a munchkin. To be fair there are some elements that I will give some kudos to. The game does a good job of what it truly is- a fast paced, puzzle game that keeps you on your toes, trying to catch the donuts, to tell you the truth, I think they resemble falling LifeSavers . There are some cool add-on challenges, such as burnt donuts that you must trash (I wish Dunkin’ Donuts were as diligent!), as well a recycling mini- game stage, and a special orders level. This is where the game really shines, and broke up the monotony of falling sugary rings of dough. In it you had to catch various requests like coffee cups or milk containers and put them in a special orders tray with a particular frosting color. I also enjoyed the quirky music of the game, very upbeat.
But at the end of my minimum wage paying shift, I have decided that this game, not so unlike most fast food careers is a dead end and just didn’t work for me.
Don’t give up your day job!
Get Digby's Donuts Here
Graphics
B-
Sound
B
Pickup & Play
B-
Overall Fun
B-
Posted by oxyjen on Sep 23, 2006
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