Publisher: Alawar Entertainment, Inc.
Developer: e-FunSoft Games
Minimum System requirements: Windows 2000, XP, Vista or 7 / 800 MHz processor / 256 MB RAM / DirectX 7.0 or later
Genre: Time Management
Release date: Available now
Written by: Mindy Hartman

Attention fashionistas! Are you ready to style models, put on fashion shows and compete to have the most profitable boutique on the planet? Alawar Entertainment Inc. and e-FunSoft Games present Juliette’s Fashion Empire, the latest time management game for your speed-clicking, action-chaining amusement.

Juliette’s Fashion Empire follows Juliette on her quest to become a designer known all around the world. Your mission starts in New York City. There you will meet an old rival who challenges you to see who will earn more money through putting on fashion shows and selling looks in their boutiques. As in any time management game, the goal is to get your models through the stations (food/hair/clothes/accessories/fashion show) with as many hearts as possible so you can earn the most money. Once you have the money, you can buy the upgrades, and then repeat the cycle of keeping more and more difficult models’ heart meters full. The challenge continues throughout four other fashion forward cities- Tokyo, Milan, Paris and London…(one of these things is not like the other).

The play in this time management game is much the same as any other: point, click, point, click, chain repeat actions for maximum bonus. Juliette’s Fashion Empire adds an additional challenge in that you have to do more than drag the model to the right station at the right time. At certain stations you have to click hair and make-up tools, choose the outfit that makes your model smile, and pick the accessories the model wants to wear. Once you have the upgrades available, you can add energy drinks, smooth jazz and male models to the mix to slow the loss of hearts when a model is left at a station for too long.

My secret confession- I truly love the time management game genre. Diner Dash hooked me and when I’m in a mood to kill an hour with mindless gaming, I turn to trial versions of games like Juliette’s Fashion Empire. The game has one feature that makes it stand out from other games in the genre. All the upgrades you purchase with bonus money stay upgraded permanently; you don’t get reset to basic stations every time you move to a new block of levels. The game also makes me laugh. In what world do models demand a sandwich or video game time before doing a fashion show? And in what world does a model’s opinion of what she wears in a fashion show have any impact? I’m pretty sure the job description is to be a walking hanger.

Juliette’s Fashion Empire has some annoying points that would turn me into the model requiring a some smooth jazz to boost my heart meter. The minutia of selecting the right dress at the clothing station or putting on mascara and lipstick in the right order at the make-up station did not add to the game. These extra steps slowed my chaining and interrupted the flow. I also don’t think you could actually lose the game. There is a competitive element in each level block which requires you to outsell your rival. I’m pretty sure that if I beat every level without expert score, I would still win that challenge. And most importantly, I’m pretty sure none of the make-up, outfits or accessories in this game could be considered ‘fashion’.

E-FunSoft Games’ tagline is “games that are simple but fun”. Juliette’s Fashion Empire is definitely simple. If you’re just killing an hour with the free trial, you’ll probably have the fun as promised too.

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