Toy Factory Review (game)

The story behind Toy Factory starts like most Shockwave games, some relative gave the main character their shop/diner/ranch and the main character has to run it. In this instance, the niece is given a toy factory she immediately decides she is going to turn into a cafe. Before she can even begin dreaming of the remodel some of Santa’s reindeer show up asking if Santa’s standing order is complete and ready to go. The new owner agrees to help them, but incorporate the cafe idea into the toy factory since the elves are a hungry lot.

Playing the game is simple enough. Reindeer on motorcycles drive elves up to pick up the toys. Each elf carries one box. You park the reindeer in a parking spot, make the toys, feed the elves, and deliver the ready toys to the reindeer. The reindeer drive away after they pay you and if they made a mess in the parking spot you have to clean it before you can park another reindeer in that spot. Between levels you can upgrade your shop to make your machines go faster or help increase the reindeer’s patience. The elves will never lose patience, but the reindeer will blow their tops and leave, if angry enough.

There are 3 shops with 20 levels each. It is pretty easy to get expert on every level the first time. A few things I did not like about the game were that any left over money from one shop does not carry over to help you upgrade the next. The first level of shop 2 and 3 are PAINFULLY slow. You start with one table and one parking space, but the reindeer still come at their usual pace. The game has “pretty” elves that are chauffeured by Manager Reindeer. I find these “pretty” elves pretty offensive. They have blonde hair and pouty (what I call standing bitch face) faces, but the offensive part are their boobs. They made them so huge that when they sit down they bulge out in front of them obscuring their necks. They also wear shorts that look like underwear. The other elves are fully clothed in pants and long skirts. I guess for the animators at Shockwave (no other game companies were listed in the opening credits, except Shockwave), “pretty” means “trashy and offensive”.

The game is cute, but gets monotonous after a while. It is the same thing every level and there are 60 LEVELS. I finished the game in an afternoon with never having to repeat a level to get expert. The first shop I thought was adorable, but got boring quickly. This may be a great game for kids if you don’t mind the slutty looking “pretty” elves (who only buy the most expensive drinks and food, but the cheapest toys – dolls. Because pretty girls only like dolls, not the rocking horses or tanks or pugs. Nope, just princesses and knights to save them. Ugh.)

A few tips to help you along:

• You can carry 3 food items at one time, but only one toy at a time.
• Feed the elves while music is playing, especially the “pretty” elves. They pay more when music is playing and stay happier longer.
• You don’t have to feed the elves, but it helps get expert on some levels.
• They give you some prep time at the beginning of each level before the reindeer start rolling in, so prep what you can. There isn’t much since most machines make 2-3 different types of toys, but some machines only make one type of toy at a time. Prep those.

It isn’t a bad game, but the “pretty” elves ruined it for me. I would rather play a Christmas game that is not offensive and projects stereotypes onto little girls about how they are suppose to look and what they are suppose to like. This game was quickly played and quickly uninstalled.