by Angie Pollock

Created on: October 27, 2008   Last Updated: November 03, 2008

Fishco gives players an inside view of the virtual world of owning a fish store. This downloadable game by Fugazo, Inc. has 40 levels for players to breed, raise and sell 20 different species of unique aquatic fish. Tracy and you are the proud owners of your very own fish store fittingly named "Fishco" and together, you will need to meet daily goals in order to make your store a splashing success.

The day of your grand opening, players learn the basics of running a fish store. The tanks will need to be cleaned of algae while fish also need to be purchased and sold. The fish are ordered as eggs and they will need to be fed and raised into adulthood before they can be put on the market. With the different species of fish come different feeding requirements. Food options include fish flakes, brine shrimp, blood worms and pellets. The fish will let you know they are ready for feeding by a caption above them that shows which food they require. Depending upon the type of fish, it can take several feedings to get your egg to adulthood.

During the raising process, algae can grow in the tank and cause problems for your fish. Your tank status has tools to keep your fish tank in pearly condition including a sponge to wipe away any growing algae. Plants are important in keeping your fish happy and a happy fish means a bigger price tag to the customer. Different species of plants are purchased during the game play to keep your fish contently swimming until purchased. Each plant has different happiness values and moss is also available to help keep the tank clean. If your tank becomes too dirty, the fish can get sick and even die. Wiping down the algae, cleaning the water and supplying medicine will keep your fish in top form.

Each day begins with new goals. These goals include purchasing different types of fish, selling fish, purchasing plants, breeding fish and meeting your daily monetary goal. Purchasing, breeding and raising your fish will require a little knowledge that Tracy will provide you with at the beginning of each level. When the cichlids are introduced to your store, Tracy informs you that this species will eat smaller fish and will require to be kept separate from their smaller counterparts.

The creativity of the game has gone beyond just buying and selling of fish. Breeding requires an adult male and adult female fish and have to be kept separate in the breeding "Mermaid" tank. After breeding, your adult fish will produce eggs which turn into more beautiful aquatic creatures. However, the fish in the Mermaid tank cannot be sold and will need transferred to another tank before they can go on the market. Before the game is finished, there will be five different tanks offered. It's up to you to keep the fish in all of your tanks happy and healthy so they can reach maturity to go into loving homes with new owners.

The first realization when starting the game is the graphics are not typical. The 3-D graphic pictures along with the motion of the fish are amazing and are top-quality for a downloadable game. The stunning features and vibrancy of the colors make the game attractive and more realistic. Even the background music has a matching simplistic tune with not many other sounds that I noticed during game play. This innovative game is not your typical time-management game that players usually find with other downloadable games on the market. I have rated Fishco a 3/5. I found the graphics and features superb however; I did find the game redundant and boring at times, to the point that I couldn't justify purchasing the full version.

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