Drawing from a multitude of sources, Deep Red Games' Virtual Resort: Spring Break is a title that manages to merge a mélange of genres into a single compelling game. Partly a business simulation, it'll demand fiscal prudence as you set prices for your resort, research new ways to entice more vacation goers and wring hard-earned dollars from your guests' pockets. Partly a resort builder, its sandbox approach will require creativity in constructing the ultimate vacation hotspot. Finally, add a shot of social interactivity and you've got a living virtual resort working on your PC. Break is separated into campaign and sandbox modes where the former tasks you to shape up pre-built resorts within a certain timeframe. Some will require you to heavily rework the landscape. For example, in one scenario you're asked to build a certain level of services to help cater to a big cruise ship landing a few days away. In others, the goals are more subtle and the solutions will require some skillful work. One island is almost drenched in perpetual rain; not exactly the best weather to profit from your beach-like resort. Another island suffers from endemic trash problems. But as Break is wholly a simulator, how and what you use to solve these problems is entirely up to you. Good case studies for MBA grads will probably arise from here. Like many similar simulations, Break lets you construct buildings, hire employees and embellish the scenery in order to run your resort. Technological advancements come in the form of entertainment events, like wet t-shirt contests but these need to be 'researched' before you can employ them. Meanwhile, buildings provide things like food, entertainment or accommodations while employees will be hired to ensure these things continue to run well. For example, every resort will require a string of power generators since we're talking about crafting secluded island or seaside retreats. Generators need to be maintained by construction workers and these workers, in turn, need to be paid. Wages increase the efficiency of employees and in a first that I've seen, Break even keeps track of working shifts for your employees and buildings. Want to make money from refreshments past midnight when you're hosting your beachside dance? Choose a twenty-four hour beach bar rather than a nine-to-six soft drink stand. Need to ensure certain attractions go up for the big cruise ship tomorrow? Set your construction workers to night shifts so you can quietly put up your buildings before the crowd comes. Break adds some new twists to employer-employee relations. Unlike Rollercoaster or Zoo Tycoon, Break has a distinct mature edge to it. Social aspects simulated amongst your guests include not only whether they are hungry or full, but things like alcohol level and general friskiness are taken into account. Now, you can micromanage your beer prices as well as alcohol content. After all, this is a vacation resort we're talking about and happy guests in romantic bliss are more likely to spend money than ones who aren't. Call it capitalism, par excellence. Break also packs humor, in the form of satirical names for your guests and employees. It can't take itself seriously either. A theme bar is described as "Like an ordinary bar, but with more expensive drinks and a silly exterior! Guests love them!" Beach barbeques sell "yesterday's bread filled with grease." Included in Break is an extensive MP3 soundtrack. By day it's filled with sunny easy listening music. By night, the music transforms into bass-driven dance tunes and Latin beats. Since it uses digital music, the soundtrack is lengthy and features a good selection of non-vocal music. You can control this yourself with the internal GipAmp interface; a parody of the popular WinAmp if there was any. Visually, Break has a unique look. It's filled with cartoon representations on the one hand. Its presentation, in its artistic style, feels like other European titles I've looked at. The simulation itself, on the other hand, is dotted with realistic looking animations: the lifeguard leaving the lifeguard post, people throwing out sunbathing towels, the paddleboats and sea-doos are all immaculately well detailed. So detailed, in fact, you'll be able to tell people apart from what type of swim or holiday wear they're wearing. Attention to detail is what Break is able to provide in terms of statistics and to succeed, you'll need to devote some time to listen to your customers. Whether they're having a hard time to get to the washrooms or complaining about prices, these complaints are linked to each other such that with a few clicks in the interface, you'll go from a complaint, to the person and their activities, to a specific building and the call-up for a service employee to get on it right away. It's a smart design and the interface itself is cheerful, like the resort you're running. Overall, Break is shaping up to be an intriguing game based on an equally stimulating concept. The scenarios right now are a tad short. None really go on for weeks so it's tough to tackle any far-ranging goals. Clearly, the challenges are tactical business ones in nature. The sandbox mode is working for some maps and is by far, what I found to be most enjoyable with the title. Without the time constraints, it opens up to let you experiment and tinker. That's the secret behind titles like The Sims, Theme Park and SimGolf. Deep Red Games is no stranger to combining seemingly unrelated genres together. Their last work, Monopoly Tycoon, was a combination of a board game and the tycoon motif, garnering the development crew much critical acclaim. In Break, they seem to have that magic once again, combining the spring break holiday with a good dose of humor and capitalistic business values. It doesn't matter if you have no interest in North American spring break madness, free sandbox tinkering of The Sims, or even finance or business in general, Break is a fascinating title that works on purely human terms-definitely worth a look by everyone. Questions or comments about the upcoming release of Virtual Resort: Spring Break? Talk to us! [ E-Mail Fwiffo ][ Comment in our Forums ]

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