Mall Tycoon 3 is, of course, the third game in the series from Global Star Software. Developed by Cat Daddy Games, they take over the Mall Tycoon series from Holistic Design. Cat Daddy has had some work in the past with ‘tycoon’ games before. Having worked on Casino Tycoon, Ski Resort Tycoon I & II, and Golf Resort Tycoon 2, Mall Tycoon 3 should be a decent game right?

I am not a huge mallrat myself but I have always dreamed of running my own shopping center the way I always wanted it to be. My dreams always included some type of huge arcade, a comic shop, huge video game retailer and of course tons of escalators. Oh wait, I have always wanted to add in a Red Lobster, too since I have expensive taste for food. Ok, beyond my mind-bending dreams of a mall, there is a lot to do within Mall Tycoon 3.

Inserting trendy stores, restaurants and arcades are easily done as there are over 40 unique stores to put within your mall. What’s even better is that you can make it multi-level with the escalators that everyone loves to ride on. If you want some entertainment, why not put a multiplex in your mall. The more you play and research, the more stores you’ll unlock that will be available to be placed within your mall.

Other managerial aspects include the finances, ad campaigns based on season events, and hiring staff to build a safer retail empire. Sure all that is fine but there has to be more right? That’s correct, there is a little more besides all of that but nothing that amazed me. You can customize your mall with designing items to place all throughout to give it the sprucing up it needs.

There are 20 challenges that you can pit yourself up against to test how smart of a creator you are. These tests will try to put your design and economic skills to the limit. Besides that, you can enter the sandbox mode. Sandbox mode is there allow you to play around without any constraints. The sandbox mode is a sigh of relief since that’s all I wanted to play after touching everything the game had to offer within the first few hours.

Hyped up for this installment are new 3D shoppers that will be interactive with the mall you create. Beyond that, Mall Tycoon 3 delivers a new 3D environment to go along with the customers. Since I am speaking about the graphics, I might as well speak about how this seems all too similar to EA’s SimTheme Park. The character models have large heads on small bodies and seem disinterested in being in your mall 90% of the time. I often had them walking out of my mall with an angry face slapped on that huge head they have. The graphics aren’t beautiful but it is a simulation game so I didn’t expect much when it comes to graphics.

Here are some helpful tips on when you play if you aren’t familiar with the simulation genre. Make sure you have both an entrance and exit for your mall. Always have stairs that lead up and down to both levels. Also always fix your escalators if they are broken with hiring a mechanic. If these three things aren’t done, be prepared for a surprise that is reminiscent of George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead.

Mall Tycoon 3 should attract everyone since it is lighthearted and all about having fun. It is rated “E” for Everyone and shouldn’t be a problem for parents to pick this up for their child. Only problem with the game is that I feel that almost everything within Mall Tycoon 3 has been done before and done better within other tycoon releases, so only way I can recommend MT3 is if you are an avid fan of the series and all the other ‘tycoons’.

Specifications:

Windows 2000/XP
Pentium III 800MHz or better
128 MB RAM
8X CD-ROM Drive
750 MB free of hard disk space
Direct X 9.0 compatible 3D video card and sound card.

Gameplay: 6.2
The sandbox mode is the best mode offered in Mall Tycoon 3 but that isn’t saying much since this mode is expected in every simulation game nowadays. The challenges aren’t really challenging at all and it seemed to drag on as I played more. The rewards of playing more didn’t feel that gratifying to earn.

Graphics: 6.0
You can see yourself that these graphics are dated. There’s nothing that surprising or eye appealing about it. I will admit customizing items and placing them around the mall did have its moments though.

Sound: 5.0
Typical sounds from a simulation game. I wish there was more to say about the audio but there’s nothing really here that shows they even worked on the audio.

Difficulty: Easy
I found playing Mall Tycoon 3 not challenging at all. The 20 challenges I completed easily and had no problems moving onto the next in no time. If you can’t manage finances in real life, you may have a problem handling fake money then.

Concept: 4.0
The whole ‘tycoon’ idea has run its course and I believe it may be coming to an end. Sure they were fun a few years back but the originality of simulation games are wearing out and they are doing so at a fast rate. There’s not much originality here and it’s already the third in the series.

Overall: 6.0
I must advise that Mall Tycoon 3 is only for the hardcore ‘tycoon’ and simulation fanatics. It’s nice to have if you are into the whole managing finances and see how you fair, but it can only go so far before it comes stale.