Bartenders get all the good stories. People often go to bars simply to talk — we need a drink sometimes, to get away from it all, and we hope to find a bartender who will listen long enough to let us get it off our chest.
The Bar Oasis series has long understood that while it’s fun to mix drinks, it’s even more fun to mix drinks while listening to a story. Bar Oasis 2 continues that tradition in fine form.
The games are ostensibly drink-mixing games, where you combine mixers and liquor, use the iPhone’s gyroscope to pour the perfect amount, shake up martinis, spoon in salt, and stir drinks to get them just right. On those merits alone, Bar Oasis 2 would be a fun game — it’s highly informative, contains accurate drink recipes, and it’s just a lot of fun to mix the drinks.
But it’s the story that makes this game special. The silly, soapy, and often saucy narrative concerns the patrons and staff of a watering hole called Bar Oasis (including the female protagonist of the free game that bridged this game and its predecessor) as they fall in and out of love and deal with the repercussions of romance. It’s an often crass, adult tale — this one’s not really for the kids. I would call it a somewhat more R-rated Melrose Place, if felt like dating myself.
The light Phoenix Wright-ish artwork is charming, and the soundtrack is a real standout — these are the smoothest of smooth jams, loaded with kicky little melodies that will make you smile. Bar Oasis 2 is a winner, flat-out. Not only will it make you bop your head and laugh at the silly one-liners, It’ll let you practice mixing a Sex on the Beach… on the bus.
Bar Oasis 2 [$2.99, App Store]
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