As the title of the game implies, you are the owner of your very own beach resort, and there are only two weeks left before the inevitable rush of hormone-crazed college students invade your establishment for their spring break. Unfortunately for you, the resort is not exactly up to standards, so it's up to you to fix it up before the rush hits.

Each scenario you're faced with will give you a different challenge as you build up your many resorts in the area, as well as set goals to meet, such as maintaining a certain level of visitors or having them participate in an activity. This can be quite the task, as every visitor to your island can be very picky about what you choose to build in your resort. However, that's not your only concern when running your little island paradise. You'll also have to contend with paying your staff as well as keeping your island clean (your visitors can be quite messy). On top of that, you need to make sure that you have enough power generators to ensure that all of your buildings keep running. For those who don't like being rushed, there's also a freeplay mode called Sandbox which allows you to create your own resort at your leisure, which can be great if you want to make your island paradise the best in the world.

The great thing about Virtual Resort is that it's a fairly easy game to get into. The documentation that accompanies the game isn't exactly helpful, but the interface is a breeze to understand, and that helps a lot when learning what your actions impact in the game. Overall what you are able to do in the game is real fun. Sell alcohol on the beach alongside a barbeque stand, get your customers sloshed beyond their wildest dreams, organize wet t-shirt contests, and much more. Unlike other sim games where most of your organizing will be in the day, the real money comes flowing in at night, when everyone is bustling around having a great time while filling your wallet with their money.

While the graphics are pretty standard, there is some great animation if you look closely. You'll see guys making passes at random women (which is responded by with a slap to the face . . . or a kick to the jewels), people literally vomiting because of too much alcohol, and even people doing the Nasty right on the beach. What's even better is the ability to replace the game's hokey music with mp3s from your own collection.

Unfortunately, Virtual Resort does suffer from lots of downtime when it's morning, although this is alleviated by simply pressing the fast forward button on the interface. But like other sim games, it can also become very slow if you're low on funds, or worse, you don't have too many visitors on your island. On top of that, there are only 12 scenarios for you to complete in the game, all of which go by far too fast.

While it plays very much like other sim games on the market, Virtual Resort is a cute little game that should keep you occupied for a while. Because of its resort theme, the game doesn't feel as tedious as other games such as The Sims or Railroad Tycoon, and hey, it makes for great entertainment when you're keeping your eye on those little buggers frolicking on your island.

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· · · Reno