E3: Fashion Icon, the best game of the show hands down

You can find gold in the most unlikeliest of places. That’s never been more true than at E3, and this year’s show is no exception.

I was scoping the Gameloft booth, not expecting much, checking out the licensed The Amazing Spider-Man and Men in Black 3 mobile conversions. I was getting ready to head off to my next appointment when I spotted Fashion Icon in the top row of apps.

Guys, I hit the motherload. You are not prepared for this. Seriously.

I want to say that Gameloft’s modus operandi can be summed up as “variations on a theme.” Quite a few of the titles on hand today had the same basic skeleton but were dressed up just differently enough. There’s Space Colony, a strategy simulation game that combines elements of StarCraft and Sim City. Kingdoms & Lords is similar city-building game with a medieval theme, only it’s peppered with three-on-three, turn-based knight battles.

Then there’s Fashion Icon.

On paper, Fashion Icon sounds like your typical girl game. You are a fashion blogger who wants to make a name for herself in Paris. You clothe yourself in the latest designs, check out shops, visit parties, so on and so forth. Very girlie.

Now, when you go to these parties, you might bump into another girl who fancies herself more fashionable than you. Here’s where the game becomes amazing. You have to dress up in the best outfit you can to boost your style points, then you engage in an RPG-like battle with this girl. You “attack” by posing for the camera better than her or messing up her concentration by hurling insults. After you win, you can then trash talk her on your blog.

WUT.

It gets better! You can scour the city for boys to flirt with. Finding and initiating a conversation with a guy will also trigger an RPG battle, in which you try to find common interests. After you “defeat” him, he becomes your boyfriend.

This game is cutthroat, and I am so happy that someone, somewhere thought this would be a good idea for young girls. Maybe you’ll be daring enough to give it a try on Android and iOS devices.