Diner Dash 2 adds new features and refines the gameplay that made the original as charming and addictive as it was.
This time, our eponymous hero Flo has been called to action to help her friends from running out of business, and keep the appropriately titled Mr. Big from pushing them out. Flo just can't let that happen, and so again she dons the waitress apron and a smile, and helps her friends out.
For those unfamiliar with Diner Dash, it's at its most basic a test of your multitasking skills. As Flo, you are required to seat customers, take orders, serve meals and more. Moving quickly from table to table, with Lunch only giving you limited time, you must capitalise on chaining up moves in order to get bonus points. Each action gives you points in the form of Tips, and doing the same action again in a row results in higher tips. And then there are all the other factors that count.
This can include the different customer types. You may get a family of 3 or 4, and might need to bring them a highchair. Or you might get a whole table of cell phone addicts who annoy all other customer types with their constant noise and impatience. The businesswoman will tip well but abhors mess and tardiness. The sole bookworm will hang around longer than necessary, and is patient, though is annoyed easily by noise. The placing of customers is crucial to their happiness, and in turn, your Tips. But then there are even more factors that count...
This includes the colour co-ordination. Customers wear different coloured outfits to designate their category. By seating same coloured customer at the same coloured seats, you get bonus points. Continuously do this (you can get multiple colours per table, and multiple colours in groups), and the bonuses really start paying off. It's another layer of strategy that has to be worked out, along with your different customers preferences and patience.
Along the way of your adventure through the four various Restaurants, you earn items that add further to gameplay. More tables to work with, a Podium for you to talk to customers that are waiting, Coffee to temporarily perk up customers, and window dressings such as planter boxes, new paintwork and awnings. There are many more things as well, though this comes at the case of much harder work.
The sequencing required to get past later and harder difficulties becomes a bit much, and some levels are cause to great frustration. Eventually, you do learn customer habits, and customers always act in the same manner for each level, they even arrive in the same manner for each level. Learning how each customer will act in a given situation is key to getting past the later stages, which unfortunately comes a little early in Diner Dash 2.
Being a small download, one would think this is a small game, and in most respects, this is true. Passing the game will not take the average gamer more than a few hours, but completing everything, and getting the High Scores to unlock the best items does take some effort. The difficulty level that ramps up gradually through normal play becomes one that ramps up suddenly when trying to get those elusive high scores. You will require patience, but your efforts will be well rewarded.
Endless Shift mode is just that, an endless shift. Making it to pre-set scores nets you those items you previously had to work hard for, and keeping customers continuously happy becomes increasingly hard. But for your efforts, you can upload scores online and gloat to all your friends about how awesome you are. Scores are uploaded daily, and some people have filmed their action. It's pretty cool to download the high scores and get some pointers, though the tutorial is very good and will get you going easily.
Sound is an important factor to Diner Dash 2, as it is required to understand your various customers needs. You do get a visual cue of different customers annoyance and arrogance depending on whats happening on screen, but it's good to hear whats happening. It can make a difference to hear a baby cry and hear a woman groan out loud. Paying attention to the visual cues and listening to your customers needs is simple, though each can grate on ocassion. The annoying looping music theme is enjoyable at first. But its constant play without change can really get under your skin, as well as the constant repeating of levels to get those elusive best scores, really add up to a bad gaming experience.
It is even recommended by the developer PlayFirst! that this is a leisure title that is to be played in short bursts. While one could finish this in an afternoon, the game was not designed to be played at length. This is a title made for fun between bigger game sessions, or for the casual among us.
Diner Dash 2 is a great investment of your gaming time. Its simple look and charm hide a game that is addictively frustrating. Many times you'll turn away in disgust, perhaps even walk away from your computer, but you'll be just as enticed to come back and try again. Diner Dash 2 isn't trying to blow your mind with hefty visuals and a cool soundtrack. It's trying to create a fun title that can be played in short bursts or long runs without letting the player feel unrewarded. And it succeeds in this excellently.