Author: yetweallfalldown

It’s been a recent trend of late to re-release HD versions of previous games. Hudson Entertainment previously did this with Military Madness: Nectaris and have done it again with the release of Diner Dash for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. Did this 2003 casual classic hit it big with the re-release? Diner Dash does add some new elements; however, the overall gameplay hasn’t changed much.

Story

Stop me if this sounds familiar. Diner Dash follows the story of Flo, a stock broker who is struggling with the day-to-day work life. From filing reports to creating excel spreadsheets (not one hundred percent sure if she actually does that second part, but I would assume so), Flo is sick and tired of it. Thus, she decides to quit and open up her own diner, which she then dashes around (pun intended) serving all kinds of customers.

Now this is the dilemma that I feel exists with games like these. The story does little to add to the value of the game, besides actually setting it up. Of course Flo progresses through her career by opening up several other restaurants, but that’s pretty much as far as it goes. It’s the nature of an arcade style game, where developers are more focused on delivering good gameplay rather than a story. So, my question is, is it even necessary to put one in? Diner Dash feels like it would be okay saying, “your name is Flo, you own a restaurant, go.”

Gameplay

Diner Dash still holds that addicting, casual gameplay that many have loved from the original. As you progress in levels, you serve more and a larger variety of customers. Players must be strategic on who they choose to sit at certain tables as matching colors of seats and individuals will earn you more bonus points.

The game spans four restaurants with each spanning ten levels. Difficulty in the game progress as gamers work their way through the restaurants. Obstacles like old people and more tables make the game much more fast paced and create more hectic situations in the latter stages. Although this game is casual, it still requires a lot of concentration from the player as hints that customers are ready to order or finished their meal are subtle at times. It definitely is a game that falls under the simple to play, but difficult to master category.

The controls are very simple. All you really need to know is that the left stick controls Flo and the X button (or corresponding button on another controller) accepts whatever task you are attempting to take on. There are times when you will be standing in front of an objective mashing the X button on to notice that you need to move slightly towards the item to grab it. This can be frustrating in the latter end of the game because time is a large factor to the game.

Graphics

Diner Dash doesn’t do much on the visuals department. There is a boost in the graphics displaying Flo, her restaurants, and customers in HD. However, the graphics are very bland with the restaurants being most comprised of empty space. Once more tables are thrown into the picture the screen becomes semi-cluttered with the amount of people occupying the restaurant. I feel that they could have been spaced out more evenly, which would also help get rid some of the blank space.

The characters tend to be stale. All the customers look alike in their specific variety (i.e. all the regular customers look the same, all the old people look the same, etc.). The only thing that changes is the color of their clothing. Again, this may be due to the fact that the developer was more focused on creating good gameplay rather than visuals.

Audio

Much like the graphics, audio really isn’t a big thing in Diner Dash either. The music becomes stale very quickly. The general sounds of the restaurant are much what you would anticipate in a game about restaurants. The developers of Diner Dash did one thing very right with the audio. They decided to include CUSTOM SOUNDTRACKS. Thank the heavens that they decided to use this feature. Diner Dash is so much easier to play at the pace and leisure of listening to your own music.

Multiplayer

There are various methods of multiplayer present in Diner Dash. Online gamers can join up in the competitive restaurant business by playing each other in Tip Wars and Time Wars. The game also has a competitive Team Dash mode, which allows eight players to form team of two and take on the other four teams. Diner Dash allows two players to sign in and play only, which is nice if you are looking for a quick 10 to 15 minute gaming session with a friend.

Unfortunately, there are not that many players online for Diner Dash. While playing for this review, it took me a good 10 minutes to find a match and the player quit after, so I was left waiting again.

Local co-op is offered as well giving gamers a chance to play with their friend in the Endless mode to reach the highest score.

Summary

Diner Dash is a decent strategy/action game, if you want to call it that. It delivers on gameplay for giving gamers a title that they can pick up and play for those short gaming sessions. However, it really doesn’t have much for it after that. With Diner Dash being available elsewhere for free, I would suggest that you hold off unless you really enjoyed the previous iterations. Then again, those looking for that instant gratification may want to drop the 10 bucks on this one.