I’ve enjoyed my fair share of Diner Dash entertainment, and Diner Dash: Flo on the Go has all the elements that made the original so popular. Waitressing is never this enjoyable in real life, but Flo has the power to turn a crap job into a captivating activity. That said, I’m not a fan of the “Let’s see how far we can stretch a brand until it loses its selling power” school of thought, and I’m wondering how many adventures Flo and her copy-written image have left.
The game begins with Flo and her friend Darla boarding a nice, relaxing cruise. Halfway onto the boat, Flo drops the luggage overboard. Nice. If that’s not bad enough, the galley staff just quit. Conversing with the captain, Flo and Darla agree to run the dining room in exchange for new clothes and a free trip. This fashion feature attempts to add more depth to the flimsy storyline, but the closet fills up with aesthetically unappealing outfits, and I skip the closet for the next round almost every time.
The stylus is my sixth finger, making it easy for me to tear through the levels of the cruise ship at top speed, and soon Darla and Flo were dragging their expanded wardrobe to another location only to lose it, again. Flo dumps the clothes a staggering five times as she visits some of the worst vacation spots I’ve ever heard of. Seriously, who spends their holiday on a bullet train, blimp or submarine? By the time Flo and Darla hit the spaceship, the comic-strip story panels have lost their humor and interrupt what makes Flo so popular: the gameplay. Flo’s clothes are irrelevant; let’s just get to the action already. I want that expert score.
To obtain that expert score, Flo must move like information through a fiber-optic cable to keep the gathering eaters happy. There are a number of different customers to handle and Flo on the Go features nine needy personalities, including businesspersons, old people, crying babies and readers. It’s Flo’s job to first seat the hungry horde at the correct table and then help them satisfy their cravings.
There are two- and four-person tables as well as barstool seating that doubles the occupancy, and it can be tricky trying to please everyone. When things get crowded, stylus control is critical. Customers at an inner table tend to get lost behind other guests, requiring dedicated and deliberate selections — a real-time sucker in such high-speed play.
Between rounds, upgrade screens allow Flo to improve the look of the dining room. Such items as columns, flowers, shelves, clocks and art make the environment look nicer but do not assist Flo in any way. Helpful objects, including a podium, dessert rack, mop, beverage station and phone, show up in different stages as the difficulty increases. However, the game determines the availability, leaving you to hope it shows up.
The mop, though useful, is my least favorite “helper.” It’s understandable that there should be obstacles facing Flo as she hustles from table to dish tub to pass. I’m willing to clean, take orders and even grab a highchair or two, but reacting to 18 million spills every five seconds during the bumpier levels really gets under my skin.
If you’re looking for something besides the Story mode, there are other modes of play to enjoy. Endless mode is one long shift requiring you to keep up with the customers or go down trying. Multiplayer options allow you and a friend to compete against each other in three types of play: Survival, First to Serve and Highest Score. Each mode is enjoyable but do not offer much beyond the features found in the story. Additionally, you can only play with a friend if they also have the game.
Flo and Darla are experts at offering some of the best and most enjoyable action in the service industry. However, as cute and efficient as they are, it might be time to let Flo retire with some pride. I’ll always enjoy the Diner Dash action, but I don’t think it’s necessary to run out and purchase each chapter of the series to appreciate Flo in all her glory. The basic qualities that make the titles so popular are all in Flo on the Go, so if you already own a version of the franchise, you might want to save the money for a real vacation.
