“There are already 10 people living in your town, and they owe you rent!”
This is the first line of text that confronts us in Super Fun Town, owner of the most over-compensating game title in recent history.
“Click on the Farmhouse to collect it” is the order issued swiftly after, presumably by some hitherto unknown and anonymous figure who is probably an utter, utter git.
In fact, the whole of the tutorial does enough to make us think that this town is not Super Fun, and more Super Run by a Super Large crime syndicate, whose Super Skills include Super Extortion and Super Threatening Behaviour. All right, enough of that, we’re beginning to sound like Batman’s youthful sidekick. Super Fun Town is a town management simulation, unsurprisingly in the style of…well…Sim City.
But Gosh! Willickers! Super Square Go Fans, this Facebook game isn’t half full of obscure phrasings and strained game dynamics! For a start, why is a Log Cabin or a Farmhouse cheaper to build than a Trailer? Why do all your potential city folk stand around at a bus stop waiting to be housed instead of realising that their brave new world is actually a big patch of grass with a few fields filled with ‘Bouquets’ which are a mix of flowers aren’t they? [genetics - Ed] This seems even stranger when compared to growing a field of Sunflower Seeds. Another small thing that makes us think that Super Fun Town was created in a Super Hurry!
Moving on, once you finally build your homeless bums a hut, you are informed that you can ‘collect a deposit’ from them. Wow! We are really going to be known amongst this town as the heartless mayor that steals the pennies from the guitar cases of buskers at this rate! But no, here we go, a chance for redemption. Build them a gas station to work in; picturing the smiles on the children’s faces as finally, Daddy can afford to put something more than stewed rat on the table.
“Now stock your gas station” Okay! With what?! Oil Change, Gasoline or of course New Car Smell.
Super Fun Town could be a half decent waste of time, as minus the millions of niggles that layer this title it does have a good selling point. It’s a Facebook game that echoes Farmville and throws in a grander scale and plenty of customisation options. It will definitely keep its target audience happy for a few minutes a day, as they check on their bums, build a few trailers and gradually level up their plot of land.
Our biggest gripe with Super Fun Town however is this: Do we need to constantly be bombarded with “SHARE SUPER FUN TOWN WITH FRIENDS” and “DO YOU WANT TO BOOKMARK SUPER FUN TOWN” messages? Everything about this game screams ‘Cheap Cash-In’, and all this spam combined with the micro-transaction pay model means that Super Fun Town seems less like a game and more like a swift lesson in making money from idiots.
It’s probably just too different a world for us old school gamers to truly enjoy. Actually no, casual gaming can be excellent fun but badly made and overly garish games, filled with cash-sapping techniques, will never be anywhere near enjoyable.
However, in a field full of these games Super Fun Town is a pretty average one. So in the context of videogames we’ll be generous but tell it that if it ever comes into OUR town, there will be trouble in store, and definitely no new car smell.
