Diner Dash 2

Don't think for a second that just because you may already have Glu Mobile's hit game Diner Dash that you can pass on Diner Dash 2.

Heart-pumping, addictive, instinctive, challenging, and entertaining are just a few ways of describing the qualities of Diner Dash 2. You're a waitress, Flo who is kind enough to help her friends pay the rent for their various restaurants. In order to help pay the rent you must spill some sweat, tears, and an occasional cramping of the thumb.

Each level has a point goal that you must reach in order to pass on to the next level. To earn points you must seat customers, serve food, bus tables, and keep customers happy, all in a timely manner. You can earn extra points and possibly an expert score by strategically seating customers and chaining tasks. For example, if there are three tables waiting to receive their check, more points will be given if you give the check to all three tables in a row. Chaining tasks correctly requires some nerve because it may end up forcing you to ignore other customers while waiting for the perfect expert-score combination.

Other challenges include the presence of several different customer types and seating arrangements. Choosing where you place your customers and next to whom are crucial decisions that add to the chaotic atmosphere of Flo's waitressing shifts.

Comparing Diner Dash 2 to the PC version, Diner Dash 2: Restaurant Rescue, the two are remarkably similar for how different the platforms are. The PC version worked well because the player simply used their mouse to click on areas of the restaurant layout. The use of the mouse allowed for quick moving and sequencing abilities. With a mobile game one is without the use of a mouse, obviously. At first I was skeptical about how easily Flo would maneuver the restaurant using a keypad.

My skepticism quickly faded when I saw how logically and brilliantly the number pad was utilized. Key numbers 4-9 correspond to six different tables on the restaurant floor. Each number key is matched to a table depending on where it is in the restaurant. The number 4 on a keypad is mostly on the top and on the left. Therefore, it corresponds to the table that is in the top left of the screen. It is simple, yet genius, and it just works. It only takes a couple trial runs to get your thumb breezing across the number pad without hesitation.

If you are a gamer that needs more practice to get used to controls, no worries because the first level is dedicatedly a slow-paced tutorial. If the tutorial is not enough practice, then the whole first restaurant (10 levels) has a slow learning curve to let you catch up to speed before too many challenges are thrown your way.

It would be difficult to duplicate the PC version of Diner Dash 2 into a mobile form without changing some qualities. As mentioned before the problem of controlling Flo was dealt with flawlessly. The one aspect that is not as good in the mobile version is the sound quality. It is obvious that a cell phone cannot have the sound quality that a PC does. In the PC version if your eyes were busy on one part of the restaurant, you could rely on the sound effects to inform you that an order is up or that a baby is unhappy. The sounds in the mobile version are a little bit more difficult to distinguish, and crying baby does in fact sound like a robotic cat. One must rely more on visual cues as opposed to auditory ones. No problem though, it is not necessary to even have the sound on during gameplay.

Another aspect that is missing in the mobile version is the ability to customize the appearance of the restaurant. In the PC version, with each successful completion of a level you got to pick between two different new decor items. With an expert score a third option was unlocked, providing more motivation to earn more points.

Like the PC version, the mobile version also has two play modes: story mode and endless mode. Story mode allows you to play by levels and earn points for each level. Endless mode there are no levels, you just race against yourself to see how much money you can earn in one shift.

Glu Mobile's Diner Dash 2 is in great condition so far - it was already addicting even in its unfinished state, and will be available in later this fall.