Diner Dash Hands-on

April 26th, 2007, 23:24 Posted By: wraggster

Converting web games to the handheld systems seem like an extremely popular (and profitable) thing to do. Games like Elf Bowling and Cake Mania have already hit the Nintendo DS system, and other casual web browser blockbusters, like Line Rider, are on their way. Diner Dash, one of the internet's "biggie" games, is on its way to the Nintendo DS as well as the PlayStation Portable, and we got a chance to tinker around with the versions made for on-the-go gaming.

Diner Dash is a fast-paced game that's along the lines of the Cake Mania design, which is, admittedly, a design derived from classic games from yesteryear like Rootbeer Tapper and Pressure Cooker. The idea in Diner Dash is to keep customers who wander into your restaurant happy by getting them in and out as quickly and as satisfied as possible. Customers waiting in line must be seated, served, and billed, as quickly as your hands can move...otherwise they'll get upset and leave without paying.

The original game was developed with mouse control in mind, since you're clicking and dragging customers to their tables, as well as clicking Flo from table to kitchen and back again to cater to your customers' every need. On the DS, you control using the stylus on the touchscreen, tapping and dragging customers and Flo all over the game field. On the PlayStation Portable version, the controls have been modified due to the system's lack of direct clicking ability -- all action's handled via the L and R button as well as the X button, maneuvering Flo from hotspot to hotspot by cycling her using the shoulder buttons. Both versions have their own pros and cons -- the PSP clearly has more screen real estate to work with so, like the PC version, all of the action takes place on-screen. On the DS, however, the camera has to scroll to follow the action due to the system's smaller display.

Even though Diner Dash shares a lot in common with Cake Mania, Diner Dash is a lot more rapid-fire and has a lot more injected into its design to make the action a lot more "maniacal". Players will have to keep track of elements like how many people are in a party, if they have a child who needs a booster seat, what color shirt each person's wearing (putting them in the same colored seat nets a big bonus). Diner Dash also has a two player competition mode, something that Cake Mania doesn't have.

Diner Dash will be released in just a few weeks time on both handheld systems.

via ign

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