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| Introduction to winter 2017 goals |
As was the case with the last couple of quests, the goals for January have arrived on the second Wednesday of the month. But there's a significant twist - we only have eight days to complete them. This is unprecedented in Restaurant Story, and obviously leaves a number of unanswered questions.
But we can use Bakery Story as a guide as to what may be going on here. In the sister game there were two sets of goals lasting just a week in December, with these released on successive Wednesdays. Then on the third Wednesday a standard quest was provided.
But what is the purpose of this different format? In truth I have no idea - I'm just pleased to see some variation. I'd already grown tired of the repetitive style the gamemakers had adapted to the monthly goal with the same requirements every time, so it's nice to see something a little different. However I realise that we could be seeing a return to those full length challenges soon enough.
Based on those one week Bakery Story goals and the fact that there is only one new appliance in this update, this quest is likely to be much easier to complete than what we're used to. I'm tempted to say that getting through all of the steps within the eight day time limit won't be an issue, but with Storm8 you can never be sure!
So let's get into the details of the content which has been introduced. Hat, scarf and gloves at the ready people, it's a cold list!
Tables:
- Ice Table - 2 gems
- Ice Chair - 11,000 coins
- Snowflake Mirror - 11,000 coins
- Ice Penguin - 18,000 coins
- Ice Unicorn - locked by goal
- Ice Wolves - locked by goal
- Ice Bar - locked by goal
- Ice Brick Wall - 7,000 coins
- Frozen-Over Tile - 5,000 coins
- Igloo Oven - 30,000 coins
- Ice Counter - 13,000 coins
Whatever you think of a shortened set of goals, you can't whinge about the pricing. The Ice Table is the only gem buy, with everything else available for coins. Why the table in a goals update continues to come with a gem price tag is baffling, but at least in this case there are an ample selection of alternatives tables have appeared in the game.
Before we go any further, here's the image containing all the additions which was posted over on the Storm8 Blog yesterday:
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| Items from update as shown on Storm8 Blog |
The centrepiece is the final goal prize, the Ice Bar. With only one fresh appliance I had understandably assumed that this was a regular update, and thus had inferred that the Ice Bar would be one of those heftily priced floor decorations. Consequently I'm now really excited to get hold of this major piece for nothing (except any goal-related expenditure of course!)
I'll offer further thoughts on the Ice Bar and the other three floor item goal prizes in a goals content report at a later date. Interestingly there is a fourth floor decoration which can be purchased freely, namely the Ice Penguin. A diminutive 1x1 sized item, this is well designed and all the better for the cheery wave of the left flipper. If you opened the Winter Animals crate last week and thought you were unlucky to get the baby penguin you may be changing your mind now - an epic combination in the making!
The Ice Brick Wall is also a winner with its convincing use of light blue tones. The dark shade between the bricks helps ensure a harshness which may otherwise have been missing. There's no doubt about it - this wallpaper is the latest entry on my list of decor which is fairly simple in design but yet hugely effective.
The Frozen-Over Tile doesn't score quite as highly with me. Yes, the jagged sheets of ice do a good job of conveying the brutal side of winter, but I think the overall pattern is too obvious when you place tiles adjacent to one another. It must be said that the game's developers tend to do an excellent job these days of making floor tiles merge seamlessly, but although this one does to some extent, you can certainly making out each row of the pattern.
Next up are the Ice Table, Ice Chair and Ice Counter. All three leave me with a distinct sense of déjà vu. It was only a few weeks ago that similar furnishings were added, and even then I commented on the similarity to past decor. It just feels like snowy and icy tables, chairs and counters have been exhausted now - Storm8 need to think up some new and innovative styles to include in winter themed updates.
Having said all that, the Ice Table and Ice Chair do have an attractive transparent quality to them. Some excellent colour choice and reflection effects have allowed this, since neither is genuinely transparent - now that would be great! Sadly the Ice Counter does not follow suit, and is instead just an uninspiring box. I feel like I very rarely get pumped up about new counters these days, and that's probably down to the lack of innovation in the overall shape of them.
There's just one more addition which can be bought straight away in the market, with that being the Snowflake Mirror. A wall decoration, this is surely the odd one out in this update. Everything else revolves around ice, whereas this is very much a snow-centric piece. I get the funny feeling that this was rendered with the aforementioned winter update from a little while back in mind, but with the Quilled Snowflake introduced then, it was decided to hold it back. Whatever the case, it's a decent enough decoration without really standing out as a must have.
As I alluded to earlier, the Igloo Oven and its recipes along with the locked floor decor will be broken down in the goals content report. For now head on over to my dedicated post all about the various steps of the goals.
You'll be back in the warmth before long, but first there's a limited time offer up for grabs.
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| Notification for Pinecone Fountain limited time offer |
For the next seven days the Pinecone Fountain is discounted by 20% with it available for 32 gems instead of 40. Originally released in an Autumn based update in 2014, this does feel like an odd choice for an LTO. With plenty of thirst for Valentine's Day content surely something related to this would have been the obvious choice? At least it's a sizeable item, even if it is a little plain in appearance.
And so that covers this week's update. I know that some players would prefer to go straight from Christmas stuff to Valentine's, but with a few weeks to go yet I'm always happy to see a couple of wintry weeks which fall outside of the festive period. In truth the items in this update do seem a bit hit and miss, but that's made up for with a new take on the goals.
Now go and get a hot cocoa brewing!
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