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Boring, monotonous, and superfluous

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 19 / 22
Date: June 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

While starting this game, it'll serve one best to go right into a coma. You start off with (even on the easiest level) very little cash, and attempt to build a small 2 page tabloid into a giant tabloid empire. Each week consists of 5 research days to make the stories convincing and truthful. It was a tycoon-type game, so it was worth a shot. Well, this could be the most boring, unintelligible, tycoon-style game out there.

First, management is done from a single stagnant screen with mouse-over animations that, after the 5 millionth time of seeing the animations gives one a sense of rage. The options on the management screen are: Managing staff, Checking financial statements, Dealing with legal issues, Buying items that upgrade staff and allow you to hire "special"(?) staff, Managing stories, Looking over archive papers, Freelance reporters, Looking over trophies won (that also have an effect on staff), Espionage, Upgrading the building and number of pages in the copy, and Managing the stories.

The problem with all of this is, most of it uses algorithms that make no real sense at all. The Espionage, even at the most upgraded and powerful paper, fails 9 out of 10 times. Each time they fail, you have to wait 1-3 weeks (5 research turns each) to try again. This makes missions that require espionage minimum completions take forever. All the while, you have to manipulate staff on the stories over, and over, and OVER, and OVER, and OVER, and OVER, and OVER, and OVER, and OVER, and OVER, until you want to blow your brains out.

The system does allow you to automatically assign staff to stories... but if you want to win over the competitors, this is not useful. Again, it uses an unintelligible algoritm to choose which stories it's going to research.

Even when the staff does research, it makes no real sense how their research pays off. Sometimes story quality goes up and down... for what reason, who knows?

Even on the easiest level, they give you very little cash... and it requires very specific maneuvering to start building up quality staff so you can put out papers that make a good return.

I could go on about all of the issues I have with this game, but I'll leave it as this: IT'S BORING. It is only useful for a couple of hours of your time until you realize it's never going to get fun.

What's your story?

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: July 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Well I'm a bit surprised at the lack of reviews and the negativity of the ones that exist: but we all have our opinions don't we? Having said that here's mine:

Tabloid Tycoon is a strange animal. You're more or less the owner and operator of a tabloid (you know, the supermarket 'baby alien with 3 heads born to a cow' type) trying to beat the competition to leads. You can hire reporters and photographers with various skills, you can carry out public relations scams, and gain a bunch of awards and special devices.

Having said all that there's a catch: this game requires substantial investment on the player's part. You have to get involved and dig into the game for it to be rewarding. You can just glide along with the gameplay but you'll be missing the wealth of possibilities that are dormant. Here's some of them:

+ Editing your stories in a MAD-LIBS fashion to create really strange and often amusing combinations.
+ Assigning specific reporters and photographers to certain stories based on their skills (which can improve the effect of the story)
+ Gaining awards for Amusement or Drama which have a permanent effect on all stories published by your Tabloid. An award that actually has a reward.
+ Conducting espionage and sabotage on your competitors to gain new leads or debunk their leads.
+ Expanding your operation to allow for more staff members, more pages in your tabloid, and more popular opinion.
+ dealing with legal troubles that result from slander; including negotiating settlements or going to court.
+ buying cool gadgets like hidden microphones or cameras that have effects on how your reporters and photographers succeed.

There's more than that - but you won't notice unless you explore the game and find all the little nuances. The tutorial is pretty good but it doesn't cover all the little details. In my opinion the game is well-designed, easy to navigate, and thoroughly amusing.

If you want a game that is light-hearted and fun this is it: it's really not a super-serious simulation so play it with the knowledge it's tongue-in-cheek tycoon.

Take care!

boring and a total dud

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 10
Date: December 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If anyone is reading this and thinking o maybe i want to buy this it looks fun, well fun is not the word you want to use, how about so BORING, BORING, BORING. This game looks fun on the out side but is so boring when you start to play the game. I mean i almost fell asleep playing it now i know i sould read the feedback befor i decide to buy it! (Trust me, i wasted 20 bucks)

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