Nimble Fingers

It had been quite awhile since I initially picked up Cook, Serve, Delicious 2, but I decided to delve back into the world of madcap button mashing.  The follow up to the zany and hectic restaurant sim offers even more delicious food and panic inducing rush hours.  I've been cursing my clumsy fingers as I doggedly pursue gold medals on cook-for-hire levels (you should only do this if you're truly some kind of masochist--I keep telling myself to stop, but then I find myself playing the same level over and over...it's compulsive).

Pros:

A quick peek at a small portion of the catalog.

--Food design is beautiful.  The food in CSD2 looks extremely delicious and it's obvious that a ton of effort went into making it look that way.  You will probably find yourself getting hungry just from playing.

--Tons of food choice.  As you play and earn money you can either unlock new foods or purchase them.  There is a wide array of entrees, side dishes, drinks, and desserts to choose from.  Picking a menu is a much more daunting task than in the first game.

--Different game modes.  Players can either choose to run their own restaurant (similar to the first game--you pick your menu each day, earn buzz or detractors, purchase upgrades) or they can choose to play the "cook for hire" levels.  Cook for hire offers challenges in a large number of themed restaurant.  Each shift in cook for hire is different and players can earn money and medal rankings for their performance--bronze--8 or fewer average or bad orders; silver--5 or fewer; and gold--no average or bad orders.  As players earn medals, they can unlock various food and restaurant design items.

If you choose to run your own restaurant, you can choose from several different game modes.  There's the classic mode where you earn buzz each day; standard mode which doesn't include daily buzz; zen mode which is absent of the frantic rush hours; and stress mode which is designed to make you crazy--it's basically non-stop rush hour.

Dining with cats.  My cat themed restaurant.

--Restaurant design tool.  As you unlock more items, you can choose exactly how you want your restaurant to look.  There are a wide variety of floors, bars, tables, chairs, objects, windows, paint/wall patterns, dividers, plants, and so much more!  You can create a themed restaurant or just throw together whatever whacky items that you like.  My current theme is cats.

--Holding stations and strategizing.  Part of figuring out each cook for hire level is trying to plan how you will utilize your holding stations.  Some foods require a holding station, it's optional for some others, and it's generally a good idea to have some side dishes on hand to increase customer patience.  Managing your regular prep stations and the holding stations can be completely crazy, but it adds in an element of strategy.

--Continued development of features.  There have been several updates since the game was released and more content has been added.  It's very obvious that Chubigans listens to feedback and works to give players the fixes and new content that they want to see.

Cons:

"All the Sports Grill" is one of the many "cook for hire" levels.

--There's very little reason to play in your own restaurant and it's obvious that much more work went into designing the cook for hire levels.  I really loved the first game for the feeling of creating a barebones restaurant and then working your way up.  The feeling is completely absent and it's part of the reason why I walked away from the game for so long.  Cook for hire is fun and challenging, but it's just not the same.  Plus, if you want to earn golds, you will be beating your head against the wall playing the same levels over and over.  It can get repetitive.

--Complicated foods.  The food is beautiful, but now it's also extremely complicated.  If you want to create a pizza you first have to choose a type of dough and sauce, then hit space to change to the next page of ingredients, then choose from meats and cheeses, then hit space again, then choose veggie/fruit options.  There are many foods that require multiple steps and so many ingredients that trying to keep them all memorized is a huge challenge.  (I think this is one aspect of the game that some might love and some might hate--I lean toward the dislike side)

I would recommend CSD2.  It doesn't quite have the same story-like feeling that the first game has, but the variety of player-based choices offers much more personalization.  The cook for hire levels are fun and there's a ton of freedom to choose exactly how you want to play.