Dreamtopia

Everybody has a dream. Some of us want to become rich and famous more than anything else in the world, while others yearn for simpler things, such as good health, happiness, and reciprocated affection.

In the world of Dreamtopia, it's your job to make sure these longings are fulfilled. You're placed in charge of a whimsical land where dreams can be created and desires satisfied.

Some of the characters you meet will have humble aims - to attend a decent school or to be loved, for example.

Others will hold somewhat grander objectives - to become a famous actor or deadly ninja being just two examples.

The way in which you make these things possible is by building structures and generating emotions, the combination of which will allow your wide-eyed populace to get exactly what they want.

Dreamtopia follows in the footsteps of Mobage's other empire-building sim, We Rule. Although you're in the business of granting people their wishes rather than controlling a mediaeval realm, the gameplay is very much the same: your screen soon becomes awash with buildings, trees, and pavements, and your contented citizens stroll around with their heads very much in the clouds.

Most activities in Dreamtopia require cash, and this commodity also serves as a reward for successfully completing tasks. You also earn experience points which allow you to boost your player level. The higher the level, the more things you can build. You can even expand your map, offering up more space for new structures.

There's also a social element to Dreamtopia that allows you to jump into the worlds of other players and help them out.

It's not the most involved multiplayer system you'll ever find - in fact, all you can do is perform a task in someone else's world by tapping a building - but it's a nice touch all the same. Getting to see how other people's lands are growing provides you with incentive to make your own just as impressive.

Being a freemium title, it's perhaps not surprising that Dreamtopia has a sharp focus on in-app purchases. Some activities in the game literally take hours to complete, but you can purchase magical Stardust items to conveniently skip the wait. These are limited in supply and cost MobaCoins to re-strock - and MobaCoins cost actual money.

One solution to this issue is to simply come back to the game in a couple of hours, and this certainly helps the long-term prospects of Dreamtopia. However, if you're the kind of player who likes mammoth gaming sessions, this stop-start gameplay may prove infuriating.

If games like Tiny Tower and We Rule leave you feeling cold, then there's little point in even considering Dreamtopia - it offers little that is innovative or different. To those who savour action titles and instant gratification, the deliberately plodding nature of the gameplay may seem incredibly dull.

Still, the fact is that Dreamtopia hasn't been made with that type of player in mind. It's aimed at those who like to drop in and out of their mobile games throughout the day, watching their worlds expand and grow as they do so.

If you play by Dreamtopia's rules then you could still be enjoying this fantasy world several weeks from now - just don't expect an experience that will bowl you over immediately.