Pawn Store Tycoon Review

It's nice to be surprised at just how addictive a game is. This is what happened with Pawn Store Tycoon. When I first loaded it up, I planned on playing it for about 20 minutes before moving onto something else and returning at a later date. 90 minutes went by and I didn't even notice. This is a very good sign.

Pawn Store Tycoon isn't the most attractive game by a long shot, and it's not even overly original. There's something about it, though, that hooks you in, refusing to let go. The idea behind the game is exactly what you'd expect. You run a pawn shop and have to make as much money as possible.

There's a series of levels to undertake which you can always continue playing after you've completed the objectives. The objectives start out fairly simple with the likes of 'earn x amount of money' and the tutorial that is compulsory to play at first introduces everything in an easy to understand manner. By the time you get to the last few of the 11 levels though, things will get challenging. Indeed although 11 levels doesn't sound like a huge amount, it will take you a few hours to complete. Impressive value for your money at $0.99.

The strategy lies in determining how best to make money. You sell electrical goods for the most part, starting out with CDs and video games while being able to upgrade to selling consoles, DVDs, musical instruments and electrical appliances like DVD players and computers. Eventually you'll be selling precious metals too. It costs money to upgrade your stock though as well as buy new stock so it's a careful balance of figuring out where best you can profit. You can also earn extra money by buying items from your customers at a low price then reselling them for profit. This is a particularly lucrative way of earning the big bucks.

Game Center support and the ability to share your scores via Facebook adds a slight competitive edge but really the fun lies in simply progressing through the levels. Pawn Store Tycoon might be very basic to look at but the fun garnered from it will keep you hooked. A proper 'endless mode' option rather than simply carrying on after achieving your objectives would have been welcome, but it's difficult to criticise Pawn Store Tycoon too much at this low a price when it's this compelling.

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