Title: Top Chef
Publisher: Big Fish Games
Type: Casual/Time Management
Players: 1
Rated E for Everyone
The casual gaming market has been steadily growing over the past few years and one of the companies that has taken advantage of this trend is Big Fish Games. With hits like Dinner Dash, Farm Frenzy, Cooking Dash and Cake Mania among others, they have established themselves as one of the premier publishers in the PC casual gaming market. Enter Top Chef, based on the popular cooking show of the same name (that airs on Bravo) which combines good memorization skill and time management to provide an addictive experience.
The premise is simple: you are a rookie straight out of culinary school and you enter the prestigious Top Chef competition. Across 17 episodes, each with 3 challenges, you will compete with other chefs to create the most delicious meals man could eat. After each challenge you will be judged according to the taste of your dish and how well you adhered to the challenge’s theme. In reality, the game gives you a star rating (from 2-5, haven’t seen a one star dish yet) based on your score.
The challenges are time based and have several steps. One dish usually involves a salad, dressing and main course. These steps appear in the left side of the screen and you have to move them into the “active tray” in order to be able to work on them. The various challenges have different themes, like color-based (dishes with lots of red ingredients), nationality-based (Mexican dish, Italian dish and so on), aroma-based (the use of aromatic ingredients) and much more. Every ingredient has one or more qualities that affect how well it combines with the other ingredients. They can be attached to a specific nationality (or more than one in some cases) such as the Jalapeno being a trademark Mexican ingredient or Pork being a trademark German ingredient. But, Pork also falls into white and red meats and is also a savory ingredient. Garlic is a trademark of Italian cuisine, but also is a white ingredient, an aromatic ingredient and a savory ingredient. See the pattern? That’s how it works in the game. For example, let’s say you have to make a 4 step salad. You begin with the dressing, but according to the step it has to be a German & Sweet ingredient. So you can select Apple or Raspberry. Then you need a Green Fresh ingredient such as Lettuce then a Light (low calorie or low fat) Red ingredient such as Tomato and finally a Green Aromatic ingredient such as Mint.
Ingredients are divided on three trays: Vegetables (Tomato, Lettuce, Celery, Potatoes and more) Meats (Pork, Beef, Sausage, Shrimp and more) and Flavoring Choices (different spices, bacon, caviar, onions, jalapeno, chili, etc.) On certain challenges you get power-ups to change the ingredients on the trays, but they are limited. Add the fact that ingredients are randomized and the challenge is ramped up. I mean, everyone knows you can make great salsas with tomato, garlic and red pepper….but sometimes you don’t have these things at hand and end up with cinnamon, raspberry and caviar.
Before each episode you are given a rundown of what to do and some helpful tips on what ingredients are from what country or what ingredients work well with others. It is important to read this tips, because it’s the only way to learn the game. Like I said, challenges are time-based and you need a quick memory and a quick finger to get past them. Improvisation is also important. Who knows? Maybe that Strawberry and Garlic dressing tastes good with your Blue Cabbage and Peas salad.
The graphics are all hand-drawn and 2D, but they serve the game well. Sound is limited to background music (which most of the time you are too distracted to pay attention to) and a few spoken bits of dialogue, such as “You really paid attention at culinary school” or “I cant’ wait to taste that dish”. Sound effects are sparse, but are typical kitchen sounds such as the stove or the “ding!” sound of the microwave. However, the few spoken phrases repeat themselves too often and you will want to punch out the monitor when you hear "You really paid attention at culinary school" for the 10,000th time.
The problem with this game (which is the same with all casual games) is that it lasts just a few hours. I beat every challenge in about three hours. However, it is incredibly addictive and will have you coming back for more when you are bored.
The 411:
Top Chef proves that the casual gaming market is ripe with good ideas and fun games. It spins the time management formula in a new direction and delivers a short, but sweet ride.
Graphics
8.0
Good hand-drawn spirtes give this game visual appeal.
Gameplay
8.5
Simple and easy to learn formula. The challenges start easy enough to help you understand the game and then turn quite challenging.
Sound
6.0
Background music is annoying, but most of the time you are too distracted to take notice. Typical kitchen sounds and sparse spoken dialogue add atmosphere, but is way too repetitive.
Lasting Appeal
5.0
The game is short, lasting about 3 hours. There is incentive to return and try to get Top Chef rating on each challenge.
Fun Factor
9.5
Top Chef is fun and addictive. Although short, I bet you will be hooked for as long as it lasts and will come back to it whenever you are bored.
