I’m a big fan of tycoon games but only a so-so fan of the Diner Dash game series. Although DinerTown Tycoon is not a brand new game, I had sort of avoided playing it for some reason. Finally, though, I caved and played the 1 hour free trial.
This game is just like all those other tycoon games! No surprise I guess. It reminded me a lot of Fairy Godmother Tycoon and that classic game from so long ago, Lemonade Tycoon. There are a couple of cool differences that I appreciated, though. For example, Diner Dash is known to put emphasis on different types of customers. It was nice to see that came through; different types of people preferred different types of ingredients, which in turn means you should “unlock” and sell different recipes. I liked the larger variety of unlockables available. However, it wasn’t clear to me whether you pretty much had to unlock everything in each level in order to meet the business goal.
Unlike Lemonade Tycoon, in DinerTown Tycoon, you are competing against a rival business. Exactly like Fairy Godmother Tycoon, actually. I guess it’s supposed to make for an interesting storyline, but I wasn’t that intrigued by it. Probably because in my mind, the story seems rather straightforward. Take all the customers from your rival! You win! Hooray! Doesn’t appear to have any room for plot twists.
I played the trial for the full 60 minutes but haven’t decided to purchase the game. Right now, I’m leaning towards 70% not buying it, unless someone who really loves it convinces me to give it another go.
