Hotel Transylvania Dash Deluxe Review

Hotel Transylvania looks like an adorable film. I got to see a preview at San Diego Comic Con and poor Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler) looks like he's got his hands full between his 'teenaged' daughter, her new beau and keeping his otherworldly guests happy. In the new game Hotel Transylvania Dash Deluxe, he's even more stressed out. Let this be a lesson to you, kids. Never get into hotel management. Especially when swamp monsters are involved.

The game has a very simple premise. It's similar to Diner Dash in that way. Keep your guests happy. Some creepy blue flies are in for the weekend? Drag them to the correctly sized room. Then you tap what they need for their room and Drac will bring it up. Icky guests want their luggage? Bring it up. They want room service? (And lets not dwell too long on what flies would like for a midnight snack.) Tap the tray and their lovely host will deliver it. And after they check out, you have to burn their laundry. A nice touch, by the way.

As it gets more complicated and as different sorts of guests check in, you'll have other things to bring them, like towels for the swamp monsters and worm cakes for your VIP guests. Sound easy? Well, once word gets out about how awesome you are at your job, all sorts of monsters will be vacationing at your lovely hotel.

That means more time management skills. You'll have to see that Frankenstein doesn't sleepwalk and take care of the flying vases that Murray the Mummy bumps into. (He's kind of clumsy, you see.) If you don't live up to your reputation for first class service, your guests will walk out on you, without paying the check. Do well and you'll get a tip. If your guests start getting antsy, drug them up with a lovely cocktail. More hotels should adopt this. Just saying.

In addition to juggling demanding monsters on their days off, you'll need to use your hard earned cash to purchase blood dollars to fix up your VIP suites. You can also purchase upgrades to help you. A giant rolling coffin helps you carry more items up the elevator at a time and the elevator itself can get a bit of fixing so it goes faster.

The game is actually a blast. The monsters all have unique attributes and once you know them, you'll be able to anticipate what you need to do to keep them happy. And surprise, surprise, this is a movie tie-in game that actually has something to do with the film! How often can you say that? My only issue with the game is that the items are very tiny and close together, so it's difficult to hit the right button at times. Once you start an action, there is no way to stop it. For instance, bring luggage to the wrong room and you have to sit and watch Mr. Fly getting angrier and angrier and you know there is nothing you can do. That said, it's a blast. I assume the movie will be too. At least in an animated film, Adam Sandler can be as weird as he wants to without subjecting us to his 'goofy face.'

Store Link: Hotel Transylvania Dash Deluxe for iPhone & iPad | By PlayFirst, Inc. | Price: $2.99 | Version: 1.0 | 28.1 MB | Rating 4+