Following in the footsteps of Cooking Mama for the Wii, publisher Majesco follows its nose towards yet another food-simulation. This particular one, Cake Mania, actually isn’t as new a game as one might think it is. It’s actually an immensely popular PC game that’s been downloaded thousands of times on the internet. With this in mind, it was inevitable that the dual-screen make-over on DS was a necessity for those looking for a quick fix of their favorite PC game. Thankfully for fans, plenty of the gameplay flow is intact, and just as challenging as the original. But other than its portability and challenging situations, there’s still not enough variety to warrant a required purchase.

Cake Mania is all about keeping up with the demand of your customers, each with different needs and specifications. Each stage begins with the quota demand that needs to be met for level completion. Basically, you’re a store owner selling different types of cakes, so you’ll constantly be forced to make different types of cakes to each customer’s likings. With this in mind, it’s important to make these cakes in as little time as possible, as customers will come and go as they please if they aren’t served immediately. Other elements come into play as well, such as receiving tips for good service.

Variances in challenge occur usually when new customers enter the bakery. Requiring a menu, these customers will customize their order from shape, frosting, and decorations. If the cake isn’t perfect, the customer leaves and you’ll have to throw the cake away – a costly nuisance that makes the stage’s quota even more difficult to reach. When it comes down to it, Cake Mania has plenty of old-school game roots that require serving several customers at once. Anybody remember Root Beer Tapper?

The DS modifications on the game are extremely simple, but they do make the game much easier to get through. Instead of constantly clicking around (and hurting your fingers), the touch-screen controls of the DS allows for some crazy cake making in the later levels. With so many things being queued up at one time (customer, cake, frosting, decoration), you’ll give your mind quite a workout as more and more customers enter the door.

The game design is extremely simple and easy to learn. And although the visuals may turn off some of the more hardcore DS owners, the cutesy style is very fitting for a food-simulation that girls will most likely go ga-ga for. But when it comes down to it, there’s not that much to do at the end of it all. The levels do get harder as customers come in more often with more complex designs, but there really isn’t a game feature that screams innovation. There’s an option to buy upgraded to improve your cake designs, but these little modifications are simple agents to allow for the multiplicity of orders later on.

In the end, Cake Mania for the DS was created more-so for its fans than anyone else. Its portability allows people to play the game on the go whenever they need their quick PC gaming fix, and the touch-screen controls prevent any sort of hand-aches. Still, for a budget price of $20 (compared to the PC version being $15), it’s certainly a welcome option for those willing to invest the time in this quirky title. Unfortunately, shallow gameplay options and incredibly simple tweaks make this port a no-no for casual gamers thirsting for the next addictive simulation.