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| | Publisher: PlayFirst  Genre: Action | | | Min OS X: 10.4 CPU: G4 @ 800 MHz RAM: 128 MB Hard Disk: 34 MB Graphics: 800x600 |
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When any game series starts dropping edition numbers in favor of sobriquets, it's evidence that it has proved a hit and is now cashing in. Such is the case with Diner Dash. The original game was followed by Diner Dash 2: Restaurant Rescue; then came the third in the series, which was the first to drop its number: Flo on the Go. And now we have number four: Hometown Hero. But is it really number four? One must not forget the spin-off Spongebob Squarepants Diner Dash, which was the same game with different characters.Whichever way you look at it, it has to be said that there are now plenty of versions of Diner Dash out there. Each new edition has added something more to the original, but it's usually not a great deal more, so on the one hand it means that Diner Dash is a good, popular game, but on the other hand it means that PC World is now bursting with food outlets. It is thus my role to play restaurant critic on the latest incarnation of the game. Setting the table On the off-chance that you're one of the few people who hasn't yet played one of the game's ever-multiplying incarnations, here's what it's basically about.You're Flo. Yep, you're a girl, and you even get to do girly things like choosing outfits from a wardrobe. Try not to be put off by this; it's hard, I know (no offense intended to female or effeminate readers), and it must be admitted that Flo is no Lara Croft. Anyway, you (as Flo) are in charge of a series of restaurants, and you have to serve food to customers to keep them well-fed and happy. Serving customers repeatedly eventually enables you to save the universe. (Slight exaggeration; perhaps that'll be in the next edition.) Customers come in different shapes, sizes, colors, sexes, appetites and levels of patience. They'll queue up at the entrance to your restaurant until you seat them, then, once at a table, peruse the menu and eventually order. As well as the main meal, they may also order side-dishes and desserts if they're available. Your job is to seat them appropriately, serve them one or more courses, clear up their plates after they've finished, and keep doing that until the restaurant closes. The challenge comes in terms of the types of customer. Some are more patient than others, some are more irritating than others (and hence are liable to upset other guests), and the different colors of customers can have a big role to play. Customers with mobile phones or children annoy diners on adjacent tables and cause their happiness levels to decrease because of the noise. Food critics and yuppies have to be given especially good, swift service. Take too long and your customers will get exasperated and leave, causing you to lose valuable points. There are various subtleties, but that's basically it: you just have to serve the customers with whatever they order before their patience runs out, and score enough points along the way to proceed to the next level. Gameplay: a dish-dash To the heady mix of elements in the previous games, Hometown Hero brings a few new ones. You can now put flowers on empty tables before taking customers to sit at them, which makes customers feel a bit happier. You can now push adjacent tables together, for example to combine a two-seater and a four-seater to accommodate a party of six. Some tables can be reserved, and therefore need to be treated with care. There are new types of customer, too. The fat men are rotund rumblers who always have two courses and take ages to eat them. More useful, though less patient, are the celebrities: although you have to serve them quickly to prevent them from storming off, they're great for wowing guests on nearby tables and raising morale. The patient old ladies are also new to this game, but appear to be just a sex-change of the patient old men from the last one. Teenagers talk a lot on the phone and are thus similar to the irritating businessmen from the previous games, who are still evident in this one.
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