Diner Dash

Years ago, there was a trend that was pretty big on handheld consoles. This was the era of the Nintendo DS and the Play Station Portable. Even though it seems like a thing of the past, mostly present now on mobile devices like Android and iPhones. But when the PSP and the Nintendo DS were around, the era of smartphones was not here yet, it was about to start if anything. But there are plenty of casual games in those consoles that now we only see fit in free-to-play mobile games. Today, the game we're going to be talking about is Diner Dash, developed by GameLab y published by Eidos Interactive. So, what's this game all about? Well, that's what we are here to talk about, especially focusing on the DS version!

About the game

Diner Dash offers the same story as all its predecessors. Flo is an executive overwhelmed by stress and decides to start her own chain of restaurants. From then on, she will begin to serve customers and improve and expand her premises. The tutorial explains the basic actions -and in fact, it could be said that the only ones- to perform so that all customers eat and leave a good tip. Or in other words: To do our job properly.

The story is as simple as that and the game system is even simpler. Basically, people enter the restaurant, we put them at a table, wait for them to decide to serve, and pick them up. Obviously, there are interesting variations, such as color matching, table organization depending on the number of diners, and so on and so forth. As the phases go by, new kinds of clients start to come to our services. From businessmen to scholars to revelers, drunks, and even elderly ladies who like to eat alone.

Customers have the option of reserving tables in advance or bringing their newborn child among other options that alter the seating arrangement. Babies, as mentioned above, require a specific lectern without which they will disturb the bar, thus disturbing the other customers.

Is it really an excellent service?

Diner Dash is a good mix between a good idea and a poor process of adaptation to reality. Within the Arcade genre, there are hundreds of examples in which a basic and simple action manages to keep us glued to the TV for hours and hours, Crazy Taxy or Virtua Tennis are cases in which they have managed to combine elements that guarantee success. The sales are there to prove it.

In one way or another, the game that we analyze today enjoys and at the same time suffers from the kind of fun it promises; play a few games and record without any concern, without sticking to any kind of story, without any other obstacle except our reflexes and speed to complete the only objective that interests us in the game; properly serve all customers.

Pros:

• A great mix between simplicity and addiction
• It keeps you hooked for a while

Cons:

• There's no real challenge
• Only serves as a distraction