Kim Kardashian: Hollywood Review: Girl Power to the Max

All should be excited for the red carpet events, appearances in cities from L.A. to Miami and glamorous celebrity inspired apparel. A virtual adventure awaits the next star that aspires to rise to the top of the “A-list” just from the tip of your fingers.

Glu Games’ “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood” is a simple, straight-ahead adventure that is a great on the go, especially when you have nothing to do.

“Temple Run” and “Angry Birds” step aside, your phone just got Kim K-ed.

With a myriad of customization options, it’s easy to see your virtual self come to life on your phone. Choose from different skin tones, facial features, style from head to toe in glamorous gowns, pointed heels, v-neck tees paired with fitted jeans for guys, and top it off with a name to compliment your avatar.

The fun begins once you’re past the customization and you’re ready to hit the streets of Hollywood. Once you start, you’ll get to make celebrity appearances, own luxury homes, visit upscale restaurants or the hottest clubs, interact with other celebrities, loyal fans, paparazzi and befriend Kim Kardashian herself.

Since you’re new to the Hollywood scene, you’ll begin at the level of a low-scale boutique. Be greeted by featured individuals and Kim Kardashian with clever phrases and short story lines. After Kim Kardashian stops by for a fashion emergency that you help fix, it’s your first step on the road to stardom. She wants to put you under her wing, and invites you to join her on your first celebrity appearance in Beverly Hills, CA.

Interactions and game play is based on finger taps. Conversations are displayed in word bubbles, along with tasks, achievements, notifications, and game progress. This feature makes it easy and convenient for players to keep track of their progress. Notifications pop up on the screen and disappear after a few seconds, but task related notifications are either identified with exclamation points or won’t disappear on your screen until you tap to continue.

What’s unique about this game, is that with every task or project completed there is much to earn. Tasks require energy and after each use, it takes time to reload. You can choose to either wait five minutes for one energy point, or turn to your real life, and after three hours your energy is fully restored and ready for you to finish where you left off.

Money, experience points, “K” stars, dedicated fans, and with more fans, comes more recognition. The more recognized you are, the higher you climb from the “E-list”, and make your way up. Be aware, the higher you are on the ladder, the harder it is for you to complete projects, and you’ll notice that it requires more energy to completes tasks and projects. As you get to higher levels in the game energy is used more frequently than they come.

Earnings vary based on your progress on a task, achievement, and experience level reached. On very crucial point of this game is the time sensitivity of tasks. The time given to complete the tasks vary from minutes, to hours. The object is to complete a project in the allotted time as you aim to achieve a rating of five stars being the best. The higher your ratings on each project, the happier you make your virtual public, and the more fans means the closer you get to being on top of the list.

One of the most interactive features of this game is the ability to invite players you meet, featured celebrities and even your own Facebook friends into your virtual world. You can go out on dates with a friend, or even have them join you as you rip the runway and earn more points. Unfortunately, the points don’t count towards the progress our your fellow celebrity. This feature would be more enjoyable if both parties could benefit from it.

“More money, more problems” is never the case in this virtual game. Once the money and shiny “K” stars begin to roll in, you’ll never want them to stop. Whether you use what you gain to buy new accessories, hairstyles, furniture accents for your home, go on a romantic date, or take flights to places like Italy. The continuous addition of new features such as a special gift every time you log into the game, more levels, and you can fly your own private jet for free, makes it hard for you tear yourself away.