Fast Food Panic

Preview from Yug and Yug - Monday, 25 May 2009 @ 7:31am

I’m addicted to Masterchef Australia.

I don’t know how it happened, as I usually have absolutely no interest in reality TV shows. Once moment I was flicking through channels and was confused as to why Australian Idol contestants had resorted to cooking in their auditions, the next moment I found myself glued to the TV whenever it was on.

Consequently, I’m going for either Sam or Chris to win it.

One thing that seems to be a common thread within cooking shows or games is pressure. Serving, cooking, preparing ... it’s a nonstop ride, and something that Fast Food Panic certainly manages to capture.

Spin that pizza wheel

It might look all kid friendly, but behind the cute anime aesthetic lies a series of Wii based mini games that require a huge amount of precision and time management. The level I played progressed as such ...

Greet the first customer as they walk in the door (shake the Wii mote to wave hello), take their order (let’s say in this case a pizza), select their order, roll the pizza dough out to a large circle, place the toppings individually on the base in the correct order, place the pizza in the oven, wait until it’s cooked, take it out of the oven, slice it evenly into 8 slices, serve.

Sounds easy enough right? Well, during the part where I’m rolling the pizza dough, another customer walks through the door. So I turn my attention away and wave hello, take their order (Burgers), and put 4 meat patties on the grill. Each one has a time limit where they need to be flipped, so while I’m waiting for them to cook, I flick back to the Pizza order and put the ingredients on.

Then another customer enters, wave the Wii mote, take their order, they want a pasta dish. I take their order but go back to the pizza, finishing off the toppings and putting it in the oven. I go back to the pasta dish and put the spaghetti in the pot to boil.

Flip them ... HURRY!!

Shit! The meat patties have burnt! Quickly flick to them and try and salvage the ones not burnt while I put more of them on, taking them off the tray and getting the other burger ingredients ready ... but not before the pasta starts over cooking ... and the pizza is buzzing to be taken out of the oven ... and two more customers walk in as the original guy who ordered the pizza stormed off. No wonder Gordon Ramsey constantly swears! SHIT! I have to clean up the rubbish outside my restaurant too?!

"No wonder Gordon Ramsey constantly swears!"


So while it might sound like alot to constantly manage, it is satisfying when you do manage to micro manage everything well – I suppose that’s the core appeal of the fun simulation games after all. It also takes full advantage of the Wii mote, enhancing and providing an experience that I couldn’t imagine on any other platform (except the DS, of which this game is available on as well).

The game pretty much does exactly as the title suggests, whether that’s enough to sustain it for extended periods of play remains to be seen.