Diner Dash 2: Restaurant Rescue Preview

The latest heroine who rocked the computer gaming world wasn’t Lara Croft or any such half-dressed, gun-toting adventurer.

It was Flo.

With a menu in one hand and washcloth in another, this feisty restaurateur served up one of the most talked-about games of 2005: Diner Dash from PlayFirst.

And guess what – she’s back – and she’s on a mission to help some friends.

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The latest heroine who rocked the computer gaming world wasn’t Lara Croft or any such half-dressed, gun-toting adventurer.

It was Flo.

With a menu in one hand and washcloth in another, this feisty restaurateur served up one of the most talked-about games of 2005: Diner Dash from PlayFirst.

And guess what – she’s back – and she’s on a mission to help some friends.

Gamezebo is extremely proud to introduce Diner Dash 2: Restaurant Rescue. This time around, our personable protagonist learns Mr. Big Corp. is planning to tear down four local mom-and-pop restaurants in order to put up an enormous “Mega Multiplex” food plaza (sounds big, doesn’t it?). So, Flo decides to fight the wrecking ball by helping these local businesses grow their customer base, expand their operations and make enough money to pay off debts and face the greedy Mr. Big.

Diner Dash 2 is bigger, better and bolder than Diner Dash, but gamers need not know anything about the original title to enjoy this sequel.

But in case you’ve never clicked through Diner Dash, the game challenges players to run a restaurant by seating customers, giving them menus, taking their orders (and dropping it off to the cook), delivering food to the tables in a timely manner, handing them a bill when they’re done, and finally, busing the tables to make room for new customers.

If this sounds like a daunting task, it is. And you’ll have a newfound respect for overworked waitresses and waiters.

New challenges are introduced over time such as different kinds of customers (elderly customers take longer to order and eat or food critics who require extra attention), while bonus points are awarded for matching the colors of the customers’ outfits with the chairs, such as red, blue, yellow, green and purple.

Diner Dash 2: Restaurant Rescue lets you take control over five unique restaurants: an outdoor café, Italian pizzeria, Mexican food joint, Japanese sushi grill and a surprise fifth restaurant…but we wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise for you.

The food, décor and customers will vary depending on the restaurant. For example, complete an outdoor café level with enough points and you can choose upgrades such as a garden bed or kitchen tile for your chef. New items are then introduced, such as a latte machine to hold over hungry customers, mops to clean spilled water and highchairs for screaming babies. The Italian restaurant, however, has red checkered tables and bottled sodas, plus annoying cell phone talkers that upset customers around them unless you can serve them fast so they leave. You get the idea.

As an added bonus, gamers who achieve an expert score after each level will have more customization options to dress up the joint.

Diner Dash 2 also offers new power-ups in case Flo needs some help, such as a hostess, busser, entertainer and drink server – but it’ll cost you money, of course.

Finally, as with the original Diner Dash, this sequel offers two game modes: the main Story mode, where gamers play through 10 levels per restaurant by making enough money to unlock the following level, or the Endless Shift mode, where players can choose a restaurant (ones they’ve unlocked in Story mode) and can see how long they can survive against a never-ending stream of demanding customers.

From what we’ve seen so far, Diner Dash 2: Restaurant Rescue looks to be just as fun, fresh and addictive as its predecessor – if not more so. Let’s hope Flo enjoys both critical and commercial success once again so we can see what adventures lie ahead for this engaging entrepreneur.