The newest Diner Dash on the menu is now available for PC (check it out at PlayFirst’s Web site). But what does the “Boom” stand for? Well, in the game, a mysterious troublemaker erases the Fat-Free Breakfast sign so it just reads “Free Breakfast” over Flo’s restaurant. A crowd of hungry early-birds bum-rushes the restaurant and causes it to collapse into rubble. BOOM! The evil contractor, Mr. Big, wants to take over the newly vacant lot, but Flo is determined to bring her food to the people. Luckily, Handyman Hal is willing to rebuild Flo’s restaurant, but in the meantime, Flo gets creative as she serves her customers outside in the big city!

There’s a reason why Diner Dash is so popular: it’s easy to understand. Often imitated, Diner Dash is a multitasking action game where you play the part of Flo the waitress. All you do is seat customers, then take their order, place the order on the turntable, bring them their food when it’s ready, then pick up their check and dishes when they’re done. Wash, rinse, repeat. The game becomes a serious challenge in multitasking when you’re waiting on multiple tables!

Your customers have a bar with hearts nearby that serves as their ‘patience meter.’ If they run out of hearts while waiting for you to serve them, they’ll leave. If this happens enough times, it’s Game Over. Different kinds of customers have varying levels of patience. For instance, senior citizens are very patient, but they don’t tip as well. You can score bonus points by serving or cleaning up after two tables at once. Or boost your score by serving customers whose colors match the seats on the tables. Play control is easy as you just click on the mouse to do duties.

Diner Dash 5 has a few new features to add to the hectic challenge. Since your restaurant is outside now, you have to deal with the elements. So when it rains, make sure to open the umbrellas for your customers or straighten out their tablecloths in the wind. Drag Handyman Hal to leaky fire hydrants before your patrons get mad. Make townspeople join your waiting customers for an even bigger score. Earn tip money to upgrade your tables and kitchen so you can serve your guests faster and more efficiently. Pretty up the town along the way with plants and painted sidewalks.

While you’re serving your customers outside, Handyman Hal and his workers are busy building your new restaurant. Every so often, you’ll be able to customize your new place with different styles and colors. Right now I’ve got my restaurant a nice sickly green, my favorite color! Connect to Facebook and you can let your friends know how you’re doing in Diner Dash 5, as well as send them special power-up gifts from the game via Facebook.

Diner Dash 5’s only main problem is that there is no endless shift mode, so the replay value is a bit more bite-sized this time. Plus, the game is really just more of the same. But for fans of the series, Diner Dash 5: Boom is made to order!

Kid Factor:

Diner Dash 5 is easy enough to understand that just about any age can play it, but the later levels do get pretty challenging. Reading skill is helpful for the text instructions, but there are also picture cues to help you know what to do. As with any game that can connect online, adult supervision is recommended. Diner Dash 5 is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews