Parking Dash Game Review by Michael Pitre
Game Rating = 4/5 Balls
Playfirst’s Parking Dash is a fresh, fun and innovative take on puzzle/strategy games. The premise of the game – managing a parking lot business – may sound strange at first, but the concept is executed with such charm that its peculiarity quickly becomes one of its best features. Both easy to learn and yet increasingly challenging and complex, Parking Dash is a game that merits the attention of any
casual gamer.
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While many games of this genre are typically released without much of a background story, Parking Dash features a “Story Mode” where Karma’s story is presented in faithful comic book style. Along the way, a whimsical map illustrates the various (and surprisingly eclectic) locations of Karma’s fifty-level journey. Alternatively, Parking Dash also includes an “Endless Shift” mode that provides additional challenge and replay value.
Your goal is to transform Karma’s initially dingy parking lot into a hopping, high profile fountain of wealth. To do this, you’ll need to win the hearts of your customers, and in turn, their tips. You’ll also customize your parking lot, as well as Karma’s abilities, by earning upgrades.
The first level begins with an optional tutorial that briefly walks you through some of the game’s mechanics. Karma’s varied interactions include serving as a valet, washing dirty cars, and even appeasing impatient customers with vending machine snacks. All of this is done through a painless point and click interface, allowing you to stay focused on the action.
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Because the waning mood of your customers affects their generosity, your most basic task is to park and return their cars as fast as possible. Each customer is accompanied by a floating clock, indicating the duration of their stay. You’ll need to use this information wisely to match the more accessible parking spaces (i.e. not blocked by other cars) with the vehicles that need to be retrieved sooner, and vice versa. To make things more interesting, the parking spaces begin to light up in various colors; matching car color with parking space color results in bonus points. Consecutive color matches create combos that boost your earnings even further. The game enjoys throwing new elements into the mix as you play, and you’ll soon find yourself involved in a mind-boggling decision making process.
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While the world of Parking Dash isn’t exceptional in terms of appearance, the graphics have a colorful and distinctive cartoon-like quality. This, mixed with the vibrant, hand-painted scenery, make the game pleasant to look at. Parking Dash features an excellent, upbeat soundtrack, crisp with the sound of real instruments. In fact, the game’s partnership of sound and animation produce a surprisingly engaging experience. Cars “vroom-vroom” and billow smoke while being driven. Happy customers jump for joy, and being tipped results in a shower of gold coins. If you’ve managed to spark a customer’s fury, they’ll race from the parking lot with tires squealing.
My 60-minute trial of the game went by in a flash and left me wanting more. Unfortunately, I found that the price of the full game wasn’t competitive enough compared to other downloadable games on the market. However, those who aren’t deterred by the price are in for a treat. Pricing aside, Parking Dash is an addictive and memorable game. My rating: 4/5.
