Tap Paradise Cove Review
My husband found Tap Paradise Cove on his iPad and suggested that I download it too. The game is free so I figured I would give it a try. I was glad I did because I have been having a lot of fun building my little town on Paradise Cove
Downloading Paradise Cove
I was able to find Paradise Cove at the App Store and download it easily. It is officially called Tap Paradise Cove but within the game is just called Paradise Cove. The game downloaded with no problems and it was free of charge. I have not had any issues getting the game to load and have not had any game errors so far.
The game is available for iPhone and iPad but I play the game on my iPad. I think it would be difficult to play on a small screen but I guess it could be done. You can enlarge the screen with your fingers so that you can see a small section up close
Graphics Sounds and Special Effects
This is a pretty basic game. The graphics are cute but more like little block figures. I would not say that the graphics are the strong point of this game. Sometimes things are hiding behind something and I have to move things in order to see what is there. It would be nice if the game was designed so that you could switch to a different vantage point but still its a fun game so the graphics are not that important. Sounds and music fit nicely into the background but again there is nothing really fantastic here to mention. Obviously the game play value is there. It reminds me a little bit of the towns in older Nintendo games like Zelda. There is a certain charm in the simplicity.
I have noticed as I get further into the game that the graphics are a little more elaborate. I think the people look like Lego people. Or at least that is how they look to me.
Basic Game Play
When you start Paradise Cove you have only a small plot of land and there are trees all about. You have to clear the trees before you can build anything. I know they are just pixels but its bugs me to be cutting down trees. I needed to get over that though because you are building in a tropical jungle area and there are tons of trees. If you do not cut them down you can not build your town. The land is surrounded by water and there is a bit of an old world theme.
Paradise Cove contains Houses, Buildings, and Merchants as well as little block people running about to do things. There are also ships to be built and bought. Some items can be upgraded so that they earn more coins. The object of the game is obviously to build your town. Everything you do costs coins, rubies or pearls. I have had a lot of fun playing so far.
Rated 9+
I noticed on the App Store that Tap Paradise Cove was rated 9+ for Infrequent Mild Mature Suggestive Themes. I have to say that I have yet to see anything I would call Mature or Suggestive. Maybe that is yet to come but I thought I would mention this. I am sort of a prude and I could not find anything in this game to so much as make me blush.
In App Purchases
Like many other free games, there are in app purchases to get more purchasing power in your town. This is one game that if you are patient you can get pretty much everything without really spending any real money. I usually will cave in and buy something and I already did when they flashed a low cost 99 cent special for a variety of different game currency. I fell for it and I think they know people will and then they will want more. This of course is how they make money!
The in app purchases will change in price so if you are going to buy something it pays to wait and watch. Occasionally they have a sale or special. Some of them last only a short time so watch for a note on the side of your screen.
Game Play Specifics and Tips
Leveling up: I have been playing the game for a few weeks on a daily basis and have reached level 10. You advance levels by cutting down trees. As you level up everything costs more money but you also get paid more for the same things. It is sort of a catch 22. I was holding off cutting down trees because it seemed like the cost of land was not going up unless I leveled up. That worked for awhile and then a price increase occurred. In the beginning of the game the land is really cheap so I would advice opening up as much land as possible as soon as you can and don’t worry about chopping down trees until you need the space.
Buying Land: You start the game with a small piece of land. Over time you will need more land to place your buildings. You can open up one piece of land at a time and there is a waiting period from the time you pay for your land until it is ready to use. If you buy an extra little explorer dude you can open up more than one piece of land at a time. You can buy more than two but if you do that you will probably have to buy rubies with cash to do it. I bought one extra explorer. I wish I had started buying more land in the beginning.
Ships: As you level up you can buy more ships with coins. You can also buy some ships with rubies but again you will have to buy them with cash to get the amount that it is asking for those ships. If you have made a commitment to not spend money then just avoid those. At level 9 I have four ships. Setting your ships out to sale is a great way to bring back goodies. You can get Pearls, Coins, and other Gems. You can also do battle with other ships but I avoid this because most often it leaves your ship with damage that is costly to repair. The battle scenes are fun. You have to attack when the circle over the other ship is green. I just wish it did not cost so much to get your ship fixed after the battle. To me it is not worth whatever you get for winning the battle.
As you level up there will be other items you can get to protect your ship and items to help you in battle. You can also visit others through the Game Center. Again I have not really been interested in the battles so this does not interest me but if you like that sort of thing, check it out.
Game Currency: Generally the game uses Coins, Rubies, Pearls and a few other gems. The Coins are the main currency, and used to buy most things. Your buildings will all pay in coins over time. The higher the level and grade the more they pay. Pearls are used to upgrade your merchants and Ships. Upgraded Ships and Merchants pay more loot. Remember though that Upgraded Ships also are more costly to send out for a voyage. There are other items you will get as you proceed further into the game
Energy: You have an energy meter in yellow on the top of the screen. Actions like cutting trees and getting fish will run your energy down. If your energy runs down you can fill it up with rubies…or shut the game off for awhile and come back later when your energy is refreshed.
Quests: There is an icon on the left of your screen that will contain your quests. If you complete the tasks you will get special rewards. I have been trying to keep up with most of the quests except the ones that require me to use rubies because I am trying to avoid spending real dollars on the game.
Catching Dolphin: As you level up you will start to see dolphins swimming in the sea. Tap them to get coins and pearls and even a gem here or there. Larger dolphin will give more coins and other goodies. It is possible that as you level up that there are different creatures that I have yet to see.
Buildings: Some buildings are just houses and others are merchants. They all pay coins but merchants can be upgraded to earn more coins where houses can not.
Upgrading Merchants and Ships: If you want to get more coins then use your pearls to upgrade your merchants and your ships. Upgrading merchants will give you much higher payouts. You need to upgrade your ships to get more pearls when you go on a voyage. You will need the pearls to upgrade your merchants and get more coins to build more stuff….are you seeing the pattern of addiction here?
Mermaid: You will see a Mermaid Swimming about. If you tap her she will give you a free spin. After that you need to pay for spins. There are three wheels you can spin and some pay you in rubies others pay in coins or pearls. Generally this is a losing proposition although sometimes you can come out a little head or break even.
Main Menu: If you tap the hammer at the bottom right you will get a main menu. Within this you can Build Merchants, Houses, Ships, Add Decorations, See an inventory of everything you have, Check out Maps, Buy game currency with real money and access settings.
Settings: Settings Include turning sound or music on or off, and “about” section, A connection to Game Center, and Connection to Face book. I connected to face book and I think I get a few extra coins here or there from doing that. I can see a connect to Face book but I can not figure out how to disconnect.
Final thoughts and Rating
Tap Paradise Cove gets 4 stars from me for being a fun game that is free to play. It is a little addictive but that is the sign of a good game!
