The Village Idiot : Gameloft`s Ice Age Village

When it comes to tablet gaming a lot of the reviews in these early days will be casual games. Yeah, I got The Bard`s Tale to review sure, but for the most part a big chunk of reviews is in the category of casual. Specifically Cafe World clones, Farmville clones, and the on the go quick gaming experience here and there... and the occasional T for Teen content Adults Only game. Seriously have we become so sensitive that games that used to easily get a T rating is considered too Adult even if said game has ZERO adult content? Boggles the mind.

But this is The Village Idiot, and as you guessed the name of the game is village building Sims and what better way to start then to take a trip to the marketing tool of DreamWorks Animation and Ice Age Village... actually there are far better trips we could be taking, I wad bring sarcastic.

Released by Gameloft and set in the world of Ice Age, but not tied to any particular movie or plot, you build a village... and that is that. There is no attempt to even create a story here, but then again even the best of these Sims lack a real narrative so cest la vie. Your progress is not hampered by limited energy that measures out how much progress you make each day, but you really don't discovery satisfied with progress you make either. You go through the motions, you build a village, and that is that.

The highlight of the game, if I dare call it that, is an unlockable theater that runs promotional trailers and clips of Ice Age Continential Drift, aka Ice Age 4. It's nice and all, even if a bit dated given how long ago that movie came out, but that gimmick is just not enough to recommend this... almost. If I am to recommend this one it would be to young children or for the casual gamer looking for a lite bite of village SIM without the grinding needed to play a good village SIM. It is a taste, but not a burden to grind through so it gives you the experience without the constant working at the game to progress. Some people thrive in games like that yes, but for those who don't you have Ice Age Village, a 3 out of 5.

Next time...

The first of two going native island Castaway Sims that had promise, but fell short somewhere along the way. First off we look at Pixonic`s Robinson, a slow grind of a game where true progress is hard to achieve, and the most difficult thing to unlock is human companionship on both the virtual and real sense.

Next time. Stay tuned.