Nikki and her friends are back in Supermarket Mania 2! Help her uncle Ross manage and run his chain of grocery stores on the other side of the country. Keep the supermarket shelves stocked up, floors clean and customers coming as you work on improving the stores and increasing profits. It's not all peachy though, as the evil Assistant Torg and his robotic minions are back causing trouble. Can you handle the pressure?
The game begins as Nikki (that's you!) sits back to relax after the original Supermarket Mania, where she successfully managed a grocery chain that beat a competing store run by robots under the direction of the evil Assistant Torg. Nikki's Uncle Ross in Tinsel Town heard about her success, and invited her over to help expand his supermarket empire. As Nikki and her friends pack their bags and head off to the west, Assistant Torg is just a step behind, intent on causing trouble and sabotaging Nikki's business!
Supermarket Mania 2 is a fast-paced time management game, similar to the popular restaurant management games such as the Diner Dash series. However, instead of seating and serving dining customers, Supermarket Mania 2 requires you to maintain a well-stocked, clean and efficient grocery store for your shopping customers. You have to do most of the work though; you have to refill empty shelves with stock from the storeroom, mop up the dirt, ring up the cash register and ensure the shopping baskets are available. And that's only the first level!
There are over a dozen shelves in your supermarket, and each is stocked with different kinds of groceries, from roast chicken and cheese to milk and bags of chips. You need to keep each shelf stocked; otherwise your customers wanting an out-of-stock item will start to get impatient as they wait for you to restock. Thankfully, restocking is just a matter of clicking on a shelf, and Nikki will roll her cart to it and fill it up. Cart empty? A click on the storeroom and Nikki will zip in with her cart to refill it.
However, the game is not just about keeping the shelves full and watching your customers walk around. You also need to be at the cash register when customers want their orders rung up. When a customer wants items that need preparation - such as a milkshake or a croissant - you will have to prepare it. Getting the milkshake ready will require you to collect some milk and ice cream, bring it to the milkshake machine and wait for the drink to be processed. You also need to serve "drive-thru" type customers. If a customer pops up at the window, you'll have to run through the store collecting their order for them. And if the place starts to look dirty and grimy, clicking the mop will have Nikki spend the next few seconds cleaning up the place.
There are also a variety of customers who will frequent your stores. Each of them has a different set of goods they are likely to buy, and each of them has their own personalities and quirks. For example, the little old ladies will take their time walking around the place and will most likely buy sausages and fish, while the college geeks will head for the bags of chips and can just stand there being distracted by their gadgets.
Certain customer types can also cause problems. The little girls on their scooters will make a mess of the place and knock goods onto the floor if you don't notice them in time. Luckily, you just have to notify the security guard, and they'll keep the little devils under control. And then there's the evil Assistant Torg and his robots. They'll also cause trouble for you, sneaking into the store and sabotaging machines that will require you to spend precious time repairing.
There are also special levels in the game with special conditions and objectives. For example, there is a milkshake level where you have a huge milkshake sale and all your customers are here to buy milkshakes. Your goal will then be to see how efficient you are at getting the milkshakes made and sold before the customers start becoming too impatient with waiting. There are also the various upgrades you can buy between levels, similar to other time management games. You can upgrade each shelf to stock more goods, upgrade the bakery to bake more croissants each go, and install radio and TV so that your customers will be entertained and less likely to lose their patience. There are plenty of other upgrades as well.
Supermarket Mania 2 is a really fun time management game that surpasses the original. The gameplay is interesting, and doesn't feel like a chore or a whole bunch of constant mindless clicking. The graphics and music are also vibrant and pleasant. You are guaranteed to spend hours enjoying this game. If you liked time management games such as Cooking Dash or Farm Frenzy, you will love Supermarket Mania 2.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
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