Kim Kardashian: Hollywood Review

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is not a game aimed at me. That's something that I guessed correctly before playing and was confirmed five minutes into starting up. Besides being a game aimed at people who actually like the Kardashians (I have a pretty limited knowledge of their purpose), it's also a title that's aimed at the very stereotypical young girl, probably aged around 12 or 13. When I was that age, I was too busy playing Final Fantasy VII to care about this kind of stuff, but you know what? Kim Kardashian: Hollywood isn't that bad. However, it is slow.

Kind of like a streamlined version of The Sims, players control an aspiring celebrity who is taken under Kim Kardashian's wing. Success is dictated by going to various photo shoots, wining and dining with the right people, and eventually acting in movies. All of these tasks are completed in the same manner: by tapping on related bars to indicate that one is performing that act. Somewhat appropriately (for the cynics, at least), no significant ability or talent is needed to succeed at Kim Kardashian: Hollywood - just the ability to tap a bar when the game asks.

Oddly though, it's mildly bewitching; even though it really shouldn't be. Much like many free to play games, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is busywork rather than anything offering any kind of depth. Frustratingly, it's regularly disrupted by a harsh energy system, so often players can only achieve anything in five minute bursts before waiting for the bar to recharge.

Still, I can see why Kim Kardashian: Hollywood would snag the right kind of player. It's incredibly simple to play and in an unexpected sort of way feels almost RPGish in terms of progression. At times, its focus on life fulfilment being related to shallow fame or dating the right people will annoy parents, and understandably so, but it is mostly harmless - despite that infuriating energy system.