Make that another pre-order
When the various candidates for this review spot were being considered, one that got an immediate thumbs up was this: The Playboy Mansion [US PS2 version]. “That means we can put boobs on the front page” said our erstwhile editor. And now you’re reading this. Which makes the first important point about The Playboy Mansion: sex sells, and Playboy is synonymous with sex.
Not real bunnies
Therefore it’s only reasonable to expect there has been a certain amount of complacency in terms of content, as it could feasibly rest entirely on its 36C laurels. But The Playboy Mansion is actually a full video game and rather surprisingly, or disappointingly, it’s more than just a glorified slideshow. Far from it in fact, because it’s cartoon visuals keep it from looking too ‘porny’ and its gameplay is actually quite cerebral (at least superficially). But read on anyway… you only read it for the articles, after all.
Real bunnies
The main demographic for video games is the 20-something male and for the most part, you can see that reflected in the average crop of game releases. However, there still seems to be a tendency for developers to play to boyish tastes with the usual start point being: ‘an heroic adventure involving guns and/or vehicles’. There are clearly other avenues to pursue, and the ‘being Hugh Heffner’ premise is a startlingly good one [especially as the man‘s been recreated according to his pre-viagra persona]. The player’s principal objective is to do the whole editorial thing whilst ensuring the smooth running of the Playboy Mansion. Simple: take photos of girlies, commission articles, schmooze celebs for interviews and entertain ladies on the sofa, all in the comfort of a red velvet smoking jacket.
A fake girl, wearing clothes. Boo!
On glossy paper that’s an immediately good idea. It’s totally original and, at least to its target audience, it’s offering a little taste of an all time top-ten daydream. But as you might imagine, all these fine ingredients might well be a recipe for an earth-moving anti-climax. Whilst some combinations spell perfect harmony, others just don’t work. And, as will be explained, The Playboy Mansion unfortunately leans more towards the apple juice/toothpaste combo than it does the cheese/pickle optimum.
