==Price and Availability==

I'm a big fan of simulation games and always try to tend to try them out online and Diner Dash is one of my particular favourites. When I saw there was a version on DS I bought it new from play.com for about £17, it is available new on Amazon for just under £12 now. It's also available second hand from CeX for £6 which is a great price as you can often find a nearly new version.



==Idea of the Game==

The player is in the role of Flo, a waitress/ restaurant owner who is trying to build up her restaurant. The idea of the game is that you start with a basic American diner and you have to seat and serve customers and make sure they stay happy to advance to the next level. The restaurant is very basic to begin with; just a few tables, shabby decoration and basic counter, over the course of the game as you earn more money you upgrade the restaurant with more tables, drinks machines and new decoration.
As you work your way through the game there are 6 different restaurants to unlock. To unlock a new restaurant you work through 10 different levels which get harder as you go along. For each level there's a target and an expert target, if you achieve expert status on every level the 6th restaurant is unlocked and 20 bonus levels.



==Playing the Game==

I found Diner Dash really easy to play from the start, even if you've never played before. I found the game a little bit slow and boring over the first couple of levels, but it is for anyone age 3+ so I can understand this, and there's a very simple to follow tutorial which makes it very easy for players to get used to the game. There are two options available when playing, Endless Shift or Career Mode, my favourite by far being Career Mode as this is when you work yourself up through the levels onto different restaurants. Endless Shift is, in my opinion much more difficult as you don't have a set target to work towards you just keep playing until customers walk out because they're tired of waiting. Endless shift does become extremely fast paced and if frustrating, and I much prefer the progressive Career option. If you finish a level as an Expert you can choose one of three upgrades at the end of each level so there's loads of choices to get the restaurant how you want it which I think is a really good idea, there are also different outfits for Flo to wear which again gives the opportunity for lots of different choices. The game is really cartoony and easy to follow, although I don't think a three year old would quite get the grasp of the game I think they'd definitely be able to follow it. My partner's sister is six and she gets really into the game and is progressing really well on it. As the game progresses though it does get harder which also makes it great for adults to play.



==Overall==

This game is a really good buy, it keeps me amused for hours and the fast pace and working towards targets really requires concentration at times. Although it's a bit sad there's a great feeling when gaining an expert badge after a particularly difficult level. It's great for all ages and is a game which can be played over and over again as I should imagine it will take me a long time to reach the last level. It doesn't get boring because there's so many different options, upgrades, outfits and customers as well as working your way through the different restaurants. Overall, a great game.