Cake Mania: Main Street

Cake Mania Main Street is a time management game that's like 4 different games wrapped into one. It picks up where the last Cake Mania left off.

For those of you who've never played Cake Mania, it's one of the most popular time management games around. Underneath the quirky plots, the game play in the previous 3 games followed the same pattern, and involved baking cakes, frosting them, and adding cake toppers to serve demanding customers. The first Cake Mania had Jill restoring her Grandparent's bakery. Then, Cake Mania 2 had her traveling to outer space and the deep blue sea to help her friends. Finally, Cake Mania 3 had Jill traveling through time to rescue family members, while also planning her wedding. You can play the earlier versions free on iWin, with ads.

The plot of Cake Mania Main Street has Jill trying to restore her home town to its former glory. After a super mall opened, the shops around town began to close. Jill can't stand to see this happen, so she calls together her friends, and plots to revive the town by opening new shops and building fancy tourist attractions.

As you play, you unlock 4 different types of shops. It's non-linear, so you can switch between shops, or play them in any order you choose.

The Evans Bakery is like all the previous Cake Mania games, and has you selecting the right cake, frosting, and cake toppers to please your customers. As you advance, the cakes become more elaborate, involving more layers and special upgrades.

Risha’s Flowers shop is just like the cake shop. You select the flower type by clicking a button on the machine, wait for it, and then repeat this by selecting the wrapping at the wrapping center.

The Jack’s Burger Barn game reminds me of Burger Island. You have to assemble the burgers one item at a time. For example, to make a basic burger, you need a bottom bun, a meat patty (which you must grill first), ketchup, and a top bun. The controls are a bit finicky, and it took me a while to get used to things. Still, it's something different.

Tiny's Sumo Sushi is much like the above, but with a sushi theme. Being able to switch between these different shops keeps the game play feeling fresh. It has a little bit of everything. On the downside, you have to master each shop separately, which can leave things feeling disconnected.

I found the voice acting a bit grating, but I'm not a fan of most voice acting in games. Whether you like “talkies” is a matter of opinion. Jill has a slight twang which made it hard for me to take her seriously. There's also a lot of dialogue, but you can skip it if you prefer.

As with all games in this series, the graphics are bright and colorful, all cartoon style, and peppered with plenty of humor. It's a family suitable game, with nothing dark or scary.

Cake Mania Main Street is pretty cool for what it is. Personally, I prefer Cake Mania 3 because of the cake making theme. I wasn't as crazy about the burger and sushi shops in this version, mostly because the controls frustrated me. Still, the game play is addictive, and the pace is fast. The quirky customers are fun as always, and there's lots to see and do. If you like time management games, this one is worth checking out.

Review by Neroli