Having played a lot of business sim games over the years, it was appealing to me to try a new theme. I recently got a chance to run my own (cyber) Hunting Lodge, and now I get to be the Master designer and "Trump" of a mountain paradise. In Cat Daddy Games's Ski Resort Extreme, you get the opportunity to build, run and maintain your own ski lodge and slopes. While there's not too much "Extreme" about this game, it offers some chilly slices of reality and challenge for the most jaded of sim-Masters.

Once upon a gaming time, I was introduced to the amazing "Theme Park" game for my new Pentium II system. It was not the first sim (think Sim City), but the most appealing to me. It took a recreation I loved-- theme parks, and blended it with something I love to dream about-- running a (successful?) business. I was hooked for months. Since then, we have been given a chance to simulate everything from ant farms (Sim-Ant) and Sea Monkeys; to playing God a la The Sims, which reigns as the greatest sim franchise out there. I love Maxis' The Sims a great deal, but find myself looking for the "old school" business sims from time to time. As much as I love meddling with cyber-lives, I yearn for the chance to reap fortunes via dreaming up and building vast businesses and seeing how well my knowledge of that genre and money-making savvy can blend. This time, I got to mix one of my favorite recreations with that business drive. Though I do not snowboard, and haven't "needed" a kiddie-slope in many years, I was very curious to test my meddle in the arena of cold-weather sporting. I got my chance, and did OK.

There is a tutorial, which I highly recommend for novices anytime they get a sim of any kind. It's a good way to introduce you to building, layout and removal of objects. They do not teach you how to think, which is the most critical aspect of sim-success, but knowing how to build comes in a strong second. If you don't think about which direction the front door of your guest's cabin is situated, you will make your customer very unhappy. So, if you're new, spend some time on the tutorial. 

Ski Resort Extreme (does everything nowadays have to be Extreme?) provides you with several landscaped to choose from right from the beginning. From the tranquil "Gentle Slopes" to the more aggressive "Powder Peak", there are many places to start your journey. Gentle Slopes is a "bunny slope", or one made with a minor grade for new skiers (my first real-life experience was on a slope called the "Potato Patch"). I started with Instant Action, which provided a quick start right into the experience. Using available start-up funds ($10k-100K range), you layout your entrance, additional parking if needed, maintenance facility, first aid center, snack place, etc. You have to think about every detail and get as much as you can with every penny available. That is where a lot of gamers fail: not spending wisely and thinking things through by putting yourself in the game and asking questions about every little detail. This game has you even create a power station, which is realistic. You're on a mountain... it's hard to get a extension cord running up that far! You need workers to turn the generating machines on... and keep them running. Get the idea? Little details like that made this more in-depth than I anticipated. 

Once my toilets, ski lifts, equipment rental buildings and various structures were in place, I had to make inviting walking paths to all of them. Clear away trees with a "eraser" type tool and then replace them later on with more aesthetic landscaped foliage so your guests have something pretty to look at. Trust me, this isn't big on their needs list! More importantly, you have to put the right slopes in place, and make sure you have good human traffic flow all over the resort. 

By watching guests comments and "listening" to them you can get this game running smoothly rather quickly. You will be quite broke for a long time, however. But, it does take money to make money. There are details such as advertising via various signage that will enhance your success. How else will people know what they can do and where to go to do it? As with any sim game, once you start making money, more options for structures will be unlocked and your once-limited offering of bathrooms will grow into lavish options. Take advantage of them, but keep things balanced. You may start with a simple taco stand, but if you buy a fancy eatery and do not also enhance parking and other details, you will fail. Everything must grow in balance. That comes from playing, watching and experimentation. Your guests may want more slope options, but your funds are too low to undertake such a expanse. If you don't do something, you will lose business. So, you may have to sell a portion of your property and replace it with something cheaper, in order to build what the customers want-- to keep them coming back. Balance. 

The sounds were rather subtle and forgetful. you can adjust your music, environment and other audio settings in your Options area. I suggest tinkering with that after playing it for a short while. I almost always end up turning the music completely OFF. Other sounds are kept at a minimum, to help my PC handle other things more efficiently. 

The video is rather nice. It's a lot of white (snow)! That actually made my vision kind of fuzzy after a while. I do not recommend playing this with all of the lights off. You may get headaches and have issues. This is something I had not anticipated, but felt it after a while. Odd. They should label the game: Consult your Optometrist before undergoing any skiing simulations. You can adjust the view from a close-up zoom to a far away pan shot. You will use both, as you need to see the big picture, as well as what kind of activity is going on at the bottom of your ski lift. Maybe it's time to splurge on a double-lift? Take a look, read comments and take action. The images are not mind-blowing, but in this type of game, it's not about such things. They provide enough detail to make it appealing, without taking resources away from more critical areas.

It was a fun diversion from the usual sim games I have been playing. There will surely be more sim games with focused target audiences. Cat Daddy seems to be directed in the way. As long as all of the various developers can make their games stand out as unique, and not feel like the same game-- different title, the public will continue to give them a try. Even the mighty Sims underwent a major overhaul before it became stale. I do not see there being a ongoing, lavish series of Ski Resort Extreme sequels in the future, but this is a good base game that's worthy of a try for skiing enthusiasts. Obviously, if you do not ski, nor have any interest in it at all, this will be boring and hard to master. But, if you need something to keep you warm and fuzzy in between trips to the real slopes, give this a try. 

Graphics: 7.0 
Keeping in mind that the point of the game is to successfully create and manage a ski resort, the graphics are good. There is an option to select between two graphical shading scenarios. One taxes the system less, but does not take full advantage of how nice it can look. I played in that mode a lot, as the looks do not matter to me as much as speed and the ability to select building options without making the system slow down or (worse) possibly crash. If you have a beefy gaming machine, by all means... use the full Shadow Maps option and enjoy the view. 

Sound: 6.5
The sound exists, though after a while I forgot about it. I typically turn down the various sound options to help the processor manage more critical tasks, so it was easy to forget the pretty audio was there. The music was dull and I turned it off quick. The environmental sounds were good, though I don't have much to compare it to in real life. I don't pay much attention to sounds when I ski, so I overlooked them here as well. TREES get my attention when I ski. 

Concept: 7.0 
Creating a sim is a lot of work, but the idea of a Sim-whatever is no longer new and as exciting as it once was. The developers are left to just make everything we do into a sim. Maybe someone will do a sim-job and I can do that instead of the real thing. Sim games are not new, and the novelty is worn out, but that does not mean they should not be created anymore. They have the challenge, now, of making them stand out and not feel too much like one another. I don't want my skiing sim to feel like feeding my virtual Sea Monkeys.  

Overall: 7.0
This is not a bad game, but maybe a bit lacking on gaming "freshness".  I liked playing it, and it had a good replay factor. I always like trying to take something like this higher and higher, but after a while it feels the same. The selection of sites to tinker with is somewhat small in comparison to what Cat Daddy offered in their recent Outdoor Life hunting simulation. Many of them felt the same, but nonetheless fun to play around with. I do not see a long history of this title in the future. Perhaps if they only tweak it every couple of years to keep up with technology. Otherwise, it's as good as it can be in this present form. Maybe some terrain upgrades will be made available via their web site? It's always fun to see how good you are at turning your starting budget into profits and building the best resort possible. I'll still play it beyond this review, which is a testament to its fun factor. But, it is a niche interest game and will leave other sim enthusiasts wanting something more vast. If you need something to fill your needs until you can get back up the mountain, I'd recommend this game easily. It's priced right and will provide some quality entertainment when you want to get a view into the nightmares and benefits of running your own (Extreme!!) ski resort.