Showing posts with label game. Show all posts
Showing posts with label game. Show all posts

5.16.2008

Wedding Triumphs and Disasters












Wedding Planning

Several years ago, a young restaurant manager I worked with, had a horrible cough. For months. After much persuasion she went to a doctor who told her she had allergies, possibly asthma, and gave her a prescription for Advair. Another few weeks go by, still no relief. After more persuasion from friends and co-workers, she asks for a chest x-ray. And is immediately rushed to the hospital, due to a large tumor found wrapped around her lungs.

This young lady was engaged to be married to a local police officer in October. It was only spring when she received the diagnosis. With the upcoming chemo treatsments, hair falling out, radiation burns and such, it seemed improbable to her that she would make the beautiful bride she always imagined she would be, come October.

So what's a girl to do?

Let her restaurant co-workers plan a wedding for her at the NC beach, of course!

The management and staff of our restaurant made phone calls, organized, planned and schemed for 2 weeks. The wait staff donated their tips for a week so we could pay for a beach side bed and breakfast for the honeymoon. A phone call to a local natural grocery store for a small wedding cake. Another call to a florist who would help us out with a discount for the bouquet and flowers for the cake. The father of one of our waitresses, volunteering to perform the ceremony, as he was a preacher. A bartender volunteering to be the photographer. The staff all driving a couple hours to the beach to be the couple's attendants and witnesses. And more donations for the film to be developed, albums made, and photos for the couple's family, some of whom were not able to attend.

Overall, a lovely affair, made with the love and friendship of a lot of people.

But not all weddings go like that. Some in fact are quite hilarious or even disasterous. We've all seen them on the internet and tv. Brides sitting on the cake, the champagne tower falling over, a bird flocking at the best man's head, wedding guests falling on the dance floor.

As if wedding mishaps didn't happen enough if real life, PlayFirst has come out with Wedding Dash 2, a sequel to it's original spin off from the Diner Dash series. In this game, an assortment of wedding planners have been asked to participate and compete in a reality contest to see which is the most professional, who can plan the best weddings, and keep the strange disasters at bay. We help seat and feed a myraid of guests while our wedding planner Quinn does her best to make sure nothing ruins the bride and groom's big day. Mr. Wright is available to capture those wedding memories on film, and the band, well, they are like most wedding singers.... unpredictable and sometimes out of control. And oh, the food! Where'd they hire that chef? I'd love to try the Chili Rubbed Lobster, Crab Bisque, Steak Au Poirve, and Baked Ham with Pineapple. Let's hope we don't have to throw any out!

My favorite wedding guest is Uncle Charles. He's an extremely suave gentleman, and popular with the ladies. A very dapper dresser also, might I add. But don't let him get distracted while he's chewing or Quinn may need to run over and help him to stop choking! Or don't send her over, cuz that's funny too! Especially when his face turns red.

And poor ol' Norbert. He's deaf. And he keeps forgetting that he needs to order his food if he wants to finish dinner on time and get out on the dance floor with his version of Kylie Minogue's 'Locomotion'.

Let's not forget Chloe, the beautiful and popular blond from the original Wedding Dash. She's back this time with her cry baby, Kathleen. But don't stare at Kathleen too long because that child really got hit with a whole lot of ugly when she was born!

For another wedding disaster story, check out:
http://www.playfirst.com/blog/192

11.28.2007

Indulge Your Cravings As a Chocolatier




Chocolatier
If I got to choose one last thing to drink before my one last breath, it would be a Large Iced Whole Milk Caramel Latte with Whipped Cream and Caramel Drizzle on top. I am certain of it.

If I had the chance to choose one last dessert before my last breath, I would choose a Creme Brulee, as I personally find it to be the most perfect dessert, made with sugar, cream, and eggs, topped with burnt sugar. YUM. No regrets there.

But if I was asked to choose one last piece of chocolate or candy bar that I wanted to enjoy before my days came to an end....I might die before I had made the choice.

I love chocolate candy. There's no getting around it, or pretending like it isn't the truth. If I could jump in a huge vat of melted chocolate, I would dive in with no hesitation, slather it all over me, or do a cannonball to the bottom of the vat. I have no loyalties to any certain brands either. Hershey's, Lindt, Mars, Nestle, Russel Stovers, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, european brands, etc., you name it, if it contains chocolate, I love it. So it makes perfect sense to me that when I am looking for a little relaxation, I would choose to play a game that involves making and selling chocolates.

Does such a game exist? Of course!

Chocolatier, available at www.playfirst.com, is a casual PC game that I love in which the responsibility of the player is to apprentice for the famous Baumeister family in their chocolate confection business, learning new chocolate recipes, creating them in the factory, and then traveling the world selling your chocolates to the highest bidder.

While you are traveling to ports like Sydney, New York, Maharanja, and Accra, watch for the best prices on ingredients, haggle with vendors, meet other Baumeister family members and previous business acquaintances, and learn the family saga that originally tore this family apart. Perhaps your contributions will help bring them all together again along with a very successful chocolate business.

I love the games graphics. The story line is set in the 1880s and all ports of call, character dress, and manner of travel are reminiscient of that era. While originally playing the trial version, I spent nearly the entire free hour just looking at the artwork and testing out the mini matching game in between game tasks.

My only original dislike once I purchased the game, was its replay value. It seemed rather low to me, and still does to this day, although I can say I have played it multiple times since. It does have a long story line to begin with, so you won't be able to complete the entire game in one sitting anyway, unless you really have nothing better to do. It took me multiple plays to finish my first Chocolatier game, which was 10 years according to the storyline. Right around the time I was getting tired of replaying it, PlayFirst issued a Challenge Circle for online participants to play against each other, which was fun to participate in. There's always room for improvement in your profit margin and weekly sales. The game winners are those that have the highest weekly sales in the least amount of weeks. I came in 3rd place for the Challenge Circle.

Oh well, I knew I shouldn't have paid that price for cacao beans in Trinidad!


To read reviews of the above game, play trial versions, purchase full versions, or ask game related questions, please visit the game developers websites:
www.playfirst.com

For a player's prospective or free game downloads, check out
http://www.gamefairy.blogspot.com/.


HAPPY GAMING!!