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Real Estate Empire

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Developer: Rusty Axe Games
Publisher: Rusty Axe Games
Genre: Simulation > General
Released: Feb 04, 2007
Players: 1

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- Real E$tate Empire Review

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What would you do if you were able to make millions in buying and selling real estate? If you have ever wondered this question then you will like "Real Estate Empire"! Rusty Axe�"s "Real Estate Empire" lets you test your abilities of buying low and selling high to make a fortune. In order to maximize your dollar, start off buying the simplest of mobile homes, fix it up, and sell it before the market shifts. With good skill and time, you later will be able to afford the high end commercial lots, fix them up, and then sell them for a profit as well. Your mission is to make as much money as possible and to beat out the other real estate investors.

"Real Estate Empire" is designed to give you, the home flipper, an opportunity to earn money selling real estate. Focus in on the real estate that will turn you the greatest profit. A great feature to this game is that it is real time in the sense that homes come on the market and sell constantly to you and your competition. Time is critical: if another offer comes in before you make one, you will lose the home to someone else.

In "Real Estate Empire" you have the selection of 5 different professions; Realtor, Handyman, Interior Decorator, MBA, or General Contractor. Each start off with advantages and disadvantages. Do you have good credit, good cash flow, lots of savings, or better discounts on repairs and services? With better credit you can get a lower interest rate. Being a handyman or contractor will give you better rates when doing repairs. Or do you start off with your home as the MBA? The game play changes depending on your profession. Do you start off with a home? How much do you have in your wallet?

Another part of the setup options is the image you would like to use for your character. This has no effect in the game other than which image will be displayed. One thing here I would have liked to see is a larger selection; however what they have is sufficient to give some variety.

After you have selected your specific profession (and your image) it is time to start buying, fixing, and selling! The game starts with a view of your small section of the city. There are residential and commercial districts. Though not used in the game, there is also an industrial area on the south end of town. Next to this area are the low-end mobile homes. This area is most likely where you will make your first purchase and sale (or Flip as referred to in real estate today). Other areas of town are more expensive. As you earn more money you will eventually be able to afford even properties in the commercial district.

There are two ways to make money: buy low and sell high, or buy a fixer and fix up the items that would net you the most money. You always have the option to either repair or replace which both have obvious cost differences as well as greatly affect the value of the home. Part of the challenge is figuring out which of these items you should fix and which ones just won�"t net you what you would spend. It should be noted also that you should make some repairs before others. For example if you install carpet and then repair the flooring, it may cost you more versus if you fix the floors first and then install the carpets.

Once the home is fixed up, you then turn around and sell the home for more then you put into it. When you do sell, you also have the option of selling with an agent, newspaper, or FSBO. All can turn a profit but your chances of selling seem to increase when you list with an agent and for more money, I might add. (Likely the way this would be in real life.) Timing, market conditions, and simple supply and demand affect how much you will get when you go to sell. In other words, you may have to hold onto your property for a while before you can turn a profit.

This brings up one disappointment. In real estate today, investors will often hold onto a piece of real estate to rent it out while the market improves. Rental options really are something that should be included with this game. I would like to see this addition to the game in a future release. Having the ability to rent would make this game a much more realistic comparison to real life. That being said, however, the purchase, fixing up, and sale of real estate is well done and not difficult to follow.

One last area of concern with "Real Estate Empire" is its options menu. The ability to turn on and off sound and music are available but that is the extent of the menu. Having the ability to restart, quit, save, load, etc would all be beneficial. Currently when you are done playing you must close the window to quit. A pause button would add some freedom to the game as well. However, anytime you have a popup screen it does have the same effect.

Overall I would definitely recommend any gamer who has an interest in strategy games to give "Real Estate Empire" a try. It is entertaining and fun to play. Even if you are tight on time, just close out of the game and when you come back to it you will have the option to continue where you left off.

Here is the shake down…

Graphics:
Real Estate Empire has visual graphics that are easy to follow and use. The text is easy to understand and everything is well organized. No real cons to the graphics at all; runs very well.

Sound:
I found the music to be peaceful and not too bothersome. If I ever were to need to I could always turn it all the way down and just have the sounds. The effect sounds also add a good touch to the game, accenting Solds and Price Reductions.

Gameplay:

This game was simple to learn and very straightforward. Point and click interface is well done and easy to understand. Great job, Rusty Axe!

Concept:
It lives up to the expectation of what you would expect from a real estate game. The concept is straightforward and easy to grasp. Buy the home, fix it up, and sell it for some profit. Then go out and get the next one. At the end, you hopefully have come out on top.

Value:
At $19.99 the game would be well worth it for those who find interest in strategy and commerce type of gaming. I would encourage the curious to check this one out.

Overall:
I have a biased opinion seeing that I work in real estate in my full time job. I enjoyed the game and believe that it is well worth taking a good hard look at. Some will love it while others will just move on.

By: Bryan Lovell
Posted: Friday January 04, 2008