Diner Dash: Grilling Green Review: A Satisfying Sequel

Play First returns to their most lucrative creation for their iPad launch release, Diner Dash: Grilling Green. Rather than being just a straight port of their original hit, Grilling Green is a sequel game that incorporates many new features that take advantage of the iPad’s abilities. In doing so, Play First creates a solid and entertaining game.

The premise of Grilling Green is this: the intrepid Flo, independent-minded restauranteur and star of a series of Diner Dash games, is faced with a new challenge. In order to meet tough new regulations, Flo must make her establishment eco-friendly. If she fails, the state will have no choice but to close her down. What will she do? Get serving, of course, in hopes to raise enough money to “go green.” It’s a cute enough premise, and an excuse to revisit the Diner Dash series one more time.

The first time I encountered Diner Dash was on the iPhone; you can read my review here. Go ahead; I’ll wait. In fact, if you go and read it now, it will save me having to repeat myself, because a lot of the good things that I had to say about Diner Dash apply equally well to Grilling Green. The core play experience in Grilling Green is much the same as its predecessor in all the right ways.

If anything, the larger iPad screen improves on the already solid experience of Diner Dash. The large screen also lets the excellent visuals live in bigger, more vibrant color. The game looks good and plays well. The iPad really allows the best parts of Diner Dash to shine. In fact, part of me wishes that Grilling Green was a straight-up Diner Dash port. PlayFirst, however, chose to enhance the game for iPad beyond sharpening up its visuals, turning it into it’s own unique sequel.

There are little changes, but the one worth noting is the big one: cooking. Taking a cue from their Diner Dash sequel, Cooking Dash, Grilling Green introduces a an element to the game where, in addition to running the diner, you must also help cook the orders. This is done via a sidebar element where you press, chop, stir, and flick various foods. You don’t have to do this step; the food will cook automatically, albeit at a much slower pace, and beyond the first few levels it becomes practically necessary to proceed.

This really changes the play experience. In introducing the cooking element, Grilling Green more or less forces you to play the game with two hands. It’s nearly impossible to do everything one touch at a time, like you did on the iPhone. This takes some getting used to. It also makes it impossible to play while holding your iPad. Grilling Green is officially a lap game. The game itself becomes more complicated too–the multitasking is more taxing and the whole game becomes less casual than it was on the iPhone. Cooking is not overly difficult, but it is not the most entertaining element of the game, either.

Ultimately, is Diner Dash: Grilling Green better than the original? No. Is it as good as the original? Maybe. It’s close enough to the original to assure that it’s a darn fine game, but its extra levels of complexity mean that it’s a less effortless experience than its iPhone predecessor. Part of  Diner Dash’s appeal was the simplicity of its premise. If you liked Diner Dash, you’re sure to enjoy this spin on the game, and it’s certainly a solid and worthwhile addition to any iPad, even if it does suffer from a bit of overcomplexity.

Our score: 4 out of 5.

Diner Dash: Grilling Green is available for $4.99 in the App Store. (App Store)