S&S Indie Review: Dead Hungry Diner

Title: Dead Hungry Diner Format: PC Release Date: April 23, 2012 Publisher: Black Market Games Developer: Black Market Games Price: $8.99 ESRB Rating: E We've had the chance at playing many indie games over the past month, from developers all over the globe.  Dead Hungry Diner comes from Black Market Games, a studio centered in Ireland, and they have a gem on their hands. Presentation and Story: In Dead Hungry Diner, you'll be controlling Gabe and Gabby, two orphan twins living in a mysterious town named Ravenwood.  The town had a secret though, when the sun had set, zombies would rise and terrorize the town.  The town had a hero, Vanda Helsing, but one night she stayed asleep, and didn't stop the zombies from entering the orphanage.  Thats when the story rounds out and you figure out the premise of the game.  The fruit so cleverly named, Brainberry, could satiate the zombies appetites.  The story is simple but unique in its own right.  The art in the game is great, offering some gorgeous character models that resemble the cartoony style of Plants vs Zombies.  The clean sprites are animated beautifully as you rapidly click away.  There isn't really much voice acting in the game besides a few grunts from angry zombies and hungry vampires.  The music is fantastic, it had me completely engulfed in the atmosphere.  There are lots of spooky sound effects that compliment the soundtrack as well.   Core Gameplay: The gameplay in DHD is similar to many other games, including Diner Dash, but that doesn't mean it lacks it's own originality.  If you've never played a diner style kind of game, the goal is to please all of your customers, by seating them, taking their orders, giving them their food, and taking their money.  DHD is similar to that, but instead of serving humans, you'll be serving savage zombies and pretentious vampires.  As you progress through the story mode, you'll be given access to a number of spells that can aid you when you your customers become rowdy.  Spells add more level of strategy so if one table is unhappy, you can use your "happy" spell to boost their happiness meter.  There are three modes in the game, you have your Story mode, Quick Play, and an All-You-Can-Eat mode.  In order to partake in the All-You-Can-Eat mode, you'll have to play through the Story mode.  There are 50 levels in the Story mode and 5 levels in the A-Y-C-E mode. Final Thoughts: Dead Hungry Diner is a good game, and it has a lot of content to warrant your 9 dollars.  The 50 levels and pages of amusing storytelling to keep you interested long enough to finish it.  The game is a blast when the speed picks up and you're on your toes trying to find the best way to service your dead customers. Final Rating: 7.5/10 Email: sameo452009@gmail.com Twitter: @iSamKulii Apps: S&S Reviews on Apple and Android Stores