All games on Facebook.com seem to come in pairs (at least), and fish games are no exception. There are two new beta games where the player can buy, feed and sell fish: Fish World and Happy Aquarium. Which one, if any, is worth playing?
Gift Giving is Standard on Facebook Games
Both games involve gift giving. These gifts are varying tank decorations, but Happy Aquarium gives the players the option to gift food. This is good since one shake of food doesn’t even feed one fish, so the player can easily go through 50 shakes in one feeding.
Luckily, more food can be purchased for a small amount of coins. When feeding fish on Fish World, one pinch feeds all the hungry fish for a day. Another similarity is that visiting neighbors’ fish and cleaning their tanks will earn the player experience points and coins.
Who Wants to Deal with Dead Fish?
The games differ in how they handle dead fish. If visiting a neighbor on Fish World, dead fish can be revived for points and coins. Treats can also be given to hungry fish. On Happy Aquarium nothing can be done to help a hungry fish except for contacting the owner of the tank. This is a bit disconcerting, as is the guilt when visiting and seeing a dead fish. It isn’t real, but it can still make someone feel uneasy, as they must “flush” his or her dead fish, who was given a name when bought.
How long before fish die on each game? It only takes about two days without feeding before the fish die on Fish World. If a player wants them revived, they must post a notice and ask a friend to help. It takes at least two weeks for adult fish (less than a week for baby fish) to die of hunger on Happy Aquarium, and the player is given plenty of notice. First, the fish will appear a bit listless and swim slower. A few days before they die, the fish turn green and stars circle their heads. So it’s not hard to miss if the player has forgotten to feed them.
Only One is an Actual Fish Tank
Happy Aquarium looks like an actual tank, while Fish World looks like the bottom of the ocean. Limited fish can be purchases on Happy Aquarium, so bigger sizes must be bought to increase that limit. There doesn’t seem to be a limit on how many fish can be purchased at one time on Fish World.
Happy Aquarium does attempt to add a game aspect by letting the player "train" the fish by running one at a time through a course where he/she must avoid obstacles like a cat's paw, fish hook and bombs to name a few. This adds a bit of fun to an otherwise limited game.
Don't Dangle the Carrot too Far out of Reach
Both stores offer similar items, including numerous fish, decorations and backgrounds, though Happy Aquarium requires cash to buy their backgrounds, among other items. Fish World has the irritating aspect of requiring very high levels to access some of their better items, and most players might give up on the relatively boring game before reaching that high.
Of the two Happy Aquarium seems to be the better game. It’s more like owning a real aquarium, where food is limited, and the fish can get sick and must be healed (too much algae in the water makes them sick, so clean tank often). That also means when they die, they stay dead. Fish World has the very irritating aspect of flashing messages across the screen every time anything is done, including but not limited to cleaning the tank, buying new items, and helping a neighbor. The player is also constantly asked if more friends want to be invited, and if comments can be published without prompting. This becomes very tedious after a few days of playing.
Who Should Play?
Either of these games is only recommended for those individuals who have always wanted to own a fish tank but don’t want to deal with the mess. Neither is exciting, since the main aspect is merely buying, feeding and selling the fish to increase coins. These coins can only buy more decorations, which end up crowding the limited space of either tank.
Even though the size of the tank can be increased on Happy Aquarium, it’s barely three-dimensional. So any items placed behind others cannot be seen well from the front. At least on Fish World, where the tanks are a bit more three-dimensional, more tanks can be bought and decorated, but they are all the same finite size.
In summary instead of wasting time with fish games, take a look at some of the other fun games on Facebook.com, such as Farm Town and Restaurant City.
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