19 Jun, 2011
Title: Kitty’s Tattoo
Platform: iPad/iPhone
Developer: Frima
Publisher: PAN Vision Group
TL;DR: No longevity or real excitement, but okay to waste time
Family Friendly?: Click here to skip the detail and see if this game is right for your family!
Right, first things first. The name? It’s misleading. Yes, it’s about a lass called Kitty and yes, it concerns tattoos but … Kitty’s Tattoo? Hmm. Kitty’s Tattoo Parlour perhaps. Kitty’s Tattoo Emporium, maybe. But just Kitty’s Tattoo? Nope. It’s a misnomer. We don’t get to see much of her tattoos. At all.
Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way – yes, I’m aware that I am pedantic – shall we press on? Kitty’s Tattoo is an interesting take on your ten-a-penny management game that sees you step into the cartoon shoes of the rather glamorous Kitty, an up-and-coming tattoo star determined to make her mark on the industry – er, literally – and hit the big time in LA.
Played sim games before? If so, then you’re probably well aware of what it entails. Hit this, switch that, and ensure – with a bit of timing – that all is running well and everyone’s happy. Mis-time something, balls up a design or simply fail to make the right adjustment, and you’ll have a line of very aggravated – not to mention vocal – customers. To do this successfully isn’t rocket science. Monitor your queue, eject the troublemakers, be careful with your design commissions, and that’s pretty much all there is to it.
The issue here are the clients themselves. Whilst obviously caricatures not intended to feel or play too realistically, their ticks and tricks get old really quickly. Whilst it’s great to see a line of tattoo-enthusiasts not bound by stereotypes, and as amusing as it is to see, for example, Granny get inked for the first time, every time thereafter is exactly the same. With very little variation on those repetitious mutters and moans, the temptation to drop the SFX and yank up the music – which can be taken from your own iPod/Pad playlists should you wish – is overwhelming.
What’s more enjoyable is the tattooing itself. Positioned as a mini-game within the management structure, you’re required to trace the ink onto the customer and – pending upon your selected difficulty – sometimes colour it, too. How complex the tattoo is depends upon the difficulty you select, and your success is dependent upon how quickly – and accurately – you can ink your client. Rush the job or fail to take proper care and they’ll storm off … taking their reputation points (essentially your currency) with them. Whilst not exactly arduous – think of a mix of two favourite school pastimes, tracing and colour-by-numbers, and you’re somewhere near – it’s surprising how much skill is required. On some occasions I found it tricky to hit the time limit on the easy designs, let alone the difficult ones.
Who’d have thought a tattooist’s career was so complicated, eh?
The more skilled you become, the more clients you see, and the more clients you see, the faster your reputation spreads. Build up your reputation and soon enough, you’ll be able to open new parlours in new cities. Be warned though; with your newfound fame comes higher client expectation – which means less rep and, more crucially, less time in which to do it in.
To be frank, I found the tattooing aspect considering more involving that the management portion of the game, which actually didn’t always work out best for me; distracted by the inking and those pretty colours, I sometimes failed to keep an eye on those pesky customers. This was further compounded by the fact that, initially, I didn’t really understand what was required of me. Whilst the inking section of the game is reasonably straightforward, the management of the parlour itself takes a little getting used to, and only by trial and error did I learn that I needed to poke or boot clients. Sure, it sounds simple enough – but miss it, and you’ll be surprised at how quickly your rep points deplete.
Does it have longevity? I guess it depends upon what aspects of the game you enjoy. You can unlock most of the tattoos within only a few hours, and managing your clients is the same ten hours in as it is two. That said, tattooing is curiously addictive, particularly given the many different options (over 75!) and colours that you can utilise.
Essentially, I didn’t really care about Kitty, her clients, or her journey to tattoo fame. But as a neat little timewaster, Kitty’s Tattoo is undeniably fun.
Good times!
- Tattoo mini-game is both fun and entertaining
- Slip one of your own iPod playlists in as your background music
- Game Center achievements
Bad times :(
- Client management becomes tedious sooner rather than later …
- … as do your customers’ quips and one-liners
Family Focus
Parental Perspective: Vikki is the mother of a seven-year-old who spends much of her life juggling home, work, parenthood and a love of gaming – although not always in that order. She is constantly searching for the perfect family game that she and her son can play together and both completely enjoy.
Whilst the mixing of kids with tattoos isn’t always advisable, there’s little here to offend. With no bad language, no blood and a simple learning curve, Kitty’s Tattoo instantly achievable for even the smallest gamer.
Kid Kritique: Sammy is the aforementioned seven-year-old with a burgeoning love of video games, particularly sports and action games and titles based on his favourite costume-wearing superheroes. He loves SpongeBob, Doctor Who and Tottenham Hotspur Football Team.
Although Sam has had some help typing and formatting his contribution, the words and thoughts below are entirely his own and have been transcribed without interference.
Kitty’s Tattoo is a very good game and I like the video at the start because it’s funny, especially watching what the nerd and punk do and say and they all say something different. I like doing the tattoos because they are good pictures. The tattoos are sometimes easy and sometimes hard but I do have fun. Putting your own songs on when you’re doing tattoos is cool. The game’s music is a bit boring.
This game is awesome. Kitty’s Tattoo is very fun and it has good tattoos to put on the people, but it I have one question – why is a Granny having a tattoo?
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