In this game you pick to own a bagel cart, a newspaper stand, or a coffee cart. The gameplay feels like a time-wasting Facebook game full of repetitive clicking and "Good job!" pop-ups. Wait don't the back button yet. I didn't tell you about the fact that you get to do this day in and day out through the game. Who doesn't want to type "Fold the paper neatly." perfectly or else lose said paper? ...Have I lost all readers yet?
Okay, so the gameplay sounds horrible. But dare I say that is in fact the point? How fun is it to sell newspapers all day in a grimy, dirty city? It's not. At all.
Cart Life almost goes out of its way to mock these Something-story/life/saga/etc. games by saying "look we're doing this too and it's awful!" Repeating the same processes every day makes the world seem awful grey. Go ahead and take a guess how wide the color pallet is in this game, I left it open with an awful pun.
The difference between this game and yet another Facebook time sink is the addition of a story, which speaks to the reality of these kinds of jobs. With the previously mentioned carts comes a character alongside it. You chose from a young guy who can't keep one job for too long, a single mother going through custody battles for her daughter, or an Eastern European man with nothing to his name but his cat buddy.
Have you ever worked as a cashier? Do you hate when the correct amount of change doesn't show up on the cash register? Sure you're not bad at math, but it's still a pain right? Andrus hates it too, but he can't afford one of those fancy new-age cash registers. Have you ever run your own business? You have to have people skills in order to attract customers. If you have any, go take your children to school before the sun comes up, walk to work and maintain a smile all day long. Don't forget to feed yourself and worry about rent too! Hey, how much does a coffee cost? Not sure? Well, how much would you pay for one? What about if you're the one looking to make the profit, can you make it off of what you just assumed?
These are all issues that Cart Life addresses in its own way. It's more of a life lesson than a game. Maybe you'll think twice before rolling your eyes at the grumpy lady selling coffee in the park, she's probably exhausted. The gameplay is actually pretty fun despite the description. That's something I can't explain, even with a degree in journalism. If you spend $4.99 on this game and still don't understand it, you still get a pretty sweet 16-bit sounding soundtrack that's worth the price.
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