Restaurant Empire
Wednesday, September 03, 2003
Carrots, Eggs, Spices...
Restaurant Empire Review
Gameplay: 7/10
Graphics: 7/10
Sound: 8/10
Repalyablity: 7/10
Opinion: 7/10
Overall: 6.8/10 (Mediocre)
"Is that mushroom soup or some yellow pixels on the screen?" --Common thought when playing Restaurant Empire.
Gameplay: 7
Start off as a buding chef and manager of a restaurant, and expand to 3 cities, from USA, Italy and France. Cook 'delicious' meals for your customers whom all have a strange taste for something, and try to win. Somewhat like 'Transport Tycoon', only with 3D graphics, food instead of trains and trucks, plus extremely rude staff.
The game allows you to customise the appearance of your restaurant, name, menu and food served. You are also able to arrange the tables for the patrons to sit at, pictures to decorate and the toliets for the customers to do their daily business. I'm wondering, how can a game about food can be fun? The game is fun, for a while until another game absorbs your attention.
You ( the chef ) is able to cook everything dumped at you, from Chinese Noodles to some Fish Wellingtons or some food you never heard ( or even edible ) before. I think there is over 150 dishes to choose from, from American, Italian and French cuisines. You are also able to join 'Iron Chef' cooking battles when you cook up a storm. You can help your cook earn skill by playing minigames while waiting for the chefs to complete their cooking. The minigames aren't fun, your food still taste like crap to the judges and your alter-ego ( the chef ) still look like a bald person with long noodles hanging from the back of your head.
But flaws start to appear early. The 'Campaign' mode makes you this rather ugly chef, trying to run a restaurant. You get limited money, an old shit to teach you the tips of the trade, soon you get so called submission when it is just people trying to take your money. The game shifts difficulty when you have to earn enough money to fulfill the quest, when you have yourself to cook for so many.
The game also won't capture your attention for long. Lousy camera controls, almost useless tooltip windows and the 75 dishes selectable for each country limits what can you actually do.
Graphics: 7
It is ok, not to shabby. Textures are this blurry state, the food looks belieavable until they are served and the strange texture swapping system are a common thing to look at. But the things in the game look so blurry that I thought it was my eyes and the monitor until my mother complained that the game is too blurry.
The game is presented well, with this chef sitting at a table with wine served. But can your chef actually do that? Can you see thw wine glasses neatly arranged? No. So don't expect too much of a classy restaurant. The restaurant always to me look like some 3 star restaurant that can be found shoved between buildings or shops. Your staff don't look too good either.
Sound: 6
Boring music, repeated clangs of dishes, some muffled "ow-owww-oww-woow-wo" sound from your customers is everything the game have to offer. More variety of music please! The clanging of dishes is putting me to sleep!
Replayablity: 7
The sandbox mode is rather good but if you are beginning to play the game, it will be very confusing. Sandbox mode is just the same with campaign mode, only without goals and the knowledge that the whole thing is still the same. No special events, a bunch of dishes and same customisation options. Yawn.
Reviewer's Opinion: 6
Lack of nice music, blurry graphics and limited customisation makes this game barely fun. The common complaints of your waiter is rude is just too much. I invested $5,000 on training and you still dare to complain that he's rude. And why are you demanding $18,000 just to tell me to add garlic into the food just to suit your taste!? That is superlame. Fun for a while, but won't absorb you.
Note: It is suppose to be an 7, but with patching troubles, minus one point.
Restaurant Empire Review
Gameplay: 7/10
Graphics: 7/10
Sound: 8/10
Repalyablity: 7/10
Opinion: 7/10
Overall: 6.8/10 (Mediocre)
"Is that mushroom soup or some yellow pixels on the screen?" --Common thought when playing Restaurant Empire.
Gameplay: 7
Start off as a buding chef and manager of a restaurant, and expand to 3 cities, from USA, Italy and France. Cook 'delicious' meals for your customers whom all have a strange taste for something, and try to win. Somewhat like 'Transport Tycoon', only with 3D graphics, food instead of trains and trucks, plus extremely rude staff.
The game allows you to customise the appearance of your restaurant, name, menu and food served. You are also able to arrange the tables for the patrons to sit at, pictures to decorate and the toliets for the customers to do their daily business. I'm wondering, how can a game about food can be fun? The game is fun, for a while until another game absorbs your attention.
You ( the chef ) is able to cook everything dumped at you, from Chinese Noodles to some Fish Wellingtons or some food you never heard ( or even edible ) before. I think there is over 150 dishes to choose from, from American, Italian and French cuisines. You are also able to join 'Iron Chef' cooking battles when you cook up a storm. You can help your cook earn skill by playing minigames while waiting for the chefs to complete their cooking. The minigames aren't fun, your food still taste like crap to the judges and your alter-ego ( the chef ) still look like a bald person with long noodles hanging from the back of your head.
But flaws start to appear early. The 'Campaign' mode makes you this rather ugly chef, trying to run a restaurant. You get limited money, an old shit to teach you the tips of the trade, soon you get so called submission when it is just people trying to take your money. The game shifts difficulty when you have to earn enough money to fulfill the quest, when you have yourself to cook for so many.
The game also won't capture your attention for long. Lousy camera controls, almost useless tooltip windows and the 75 dishes selectable for each country limits what can you actually do.
Graphics: 7
It is ok, not to shabby. Textures are this blurry state, the food looks belieavable until they are served and the strange texture swapping system are a common thing to look at. But the things in the game look so blurry that I thought it was my eyes and the monitor until my mother complained that the game is too blurry.
The game is presented well, with this chef sitting at a table with wine served. But can your chef actually do that? Can you see thw wine glasses neatly arranged? No. So don't expect too much of a classy restaurant. The restaurant always to me look like some 3 star restaurant that can be found shoved between buildings or shops. Your staff don't look too good either.
Sound: 6
Boring music, repeated clangs of dishes, some muffled "ow-owww-oww-woow-wo" sound from your customers is everything the game have to offer. More variety of music please! The clanging of dishes is putting me to sleep!
Replayablity: 7
The sandbox mode is rather good but if you are beginning to play the game, it will be very confusing. Sandbox mode is just the same with campaign mode, only without goals and the knowledge that the whole thing is still the same. No special events, a bunch of dishes and same customisation options. Yawn.
Reviewer's Opinion: 6
Lack of nice music, blurry graphics and limited customisation makes this game barely fun. The common complaints of your waiter is rude is just too much. I invested $5,000 on training and you still dare to complain that he's rude. And why are you demanding $18,000 just to tell me to add garlic into the food just to suit your taste!? That is superlame. Fun for a while, but won't absorb you.
Note: It is suppose to be an 7, but with patching troubles, minus one point.
