Supermarket Management HD Review
iPad App
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Supermarket Management HD Review

Our Review by Brian Hudson on September 3rd, 2010
Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar :: FAMILIAR TASKS
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Supermarket Management HD is an obvious riff on the Diner Dash games. It's not a bad game, but it fails to offer anything new or original.

Developer: G5 ENTERTAINMENT
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPad

Graphics / Sound Rating: starstarstarblankstarblankstar
Game Controls Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar
Gameplay Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar
Replay Value Rating: starstarstarblankstarblankstar

Overall Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar

If you’ve played other time management games, then Supermarket Management HD, the new iPad offering from G5 Entertainment, will be instantly familiar. You control Kate, an aspiring supermarket manager who must race around a busy store, stocking shelves and serving customers to keep them happy.

Both the controls and the game play work the way you’d expect them to, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with either. By tapping on areas where tasks need completing, Kate goes to the area and accomplishes the task. Sometimes tasks require Kate to perform a skill of some sort, like building appetizers or selecting the right cake as it scrolls by. Scoring is based on how happy the customers are when they check out – the happier they are, the more money and credit coins are earned. The early levels are easy, and the customers are not that demanding; but later levels become increasingly chaotic. The best strategy is to keep Kate moving, to monitor the shelves at all times (empty shelves earn angry customers the quickest) and get everything done. G5 has done a decent job of keeping it balanced, so that while any level can become chaotic, it’s always possible to complete it. They even threw in some mini-game challenge levels to mix things up.

Visually, the main game looks okay. It’s done in a cartoon style that’s typical for these games, and there’s nothing to complain about. The comic book “cut scenes” are less accomplished, however, and accompanied by scripted dialogue that is both badly written and badly translated. Just skip through these and get to the next level -- there’s nothing in them worth reading.

There’s no way to review Supermarket Management HD without comparing it to the Diner Dash series in its look, its controls, its game play, and even its comic book presentations; and in every category Supermarket Management HD feels like a copycat. This isn’t to say that task management games aren't a dime a dozen in the App Store. But Supermarket Management HD just seems like a particularly obvious one, and one that does not do what some other copycats do: apply top-notch development to the imitation.

Overall, Supermarket Management HD isn’t a terrible game, but it is not a great game, either. If you’ve conquered Diner Dash, Diner Dash: Grilling Green, and Supermarket Mania, and you’re shopping for one more task management game to scratch that itch, then Supermarket Management HD might make you a happy customer. If you’re looking for something fresh, however, then you might get better service elsewhere, because this store's shelves are empty.

iPad Screenshots

(click to enlarge)

Supermarket Management HD (Full) screenshot 1 Supermarket Management HD (Full) screenshot 2 Supermarket Management HD (Full) screenshot 3 Supermarket Management HD (Full) screenshot 4 Supermarket Management HD (Full) screenshot 5
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