Order Up! Review
A Review - By Gaetano Prestia
Order Up!, developed by SuperVillian, could easily be mistaken for a Cooking Mama rip-off. While the game does borrow some of the core gaming aspects from that somewhat average series of games, Order Up! is a charming and surprisingly enjoyable title with its own flair and unique style that help distinguish it as the better franchise in the cooking-game genre.
If you’re familiar with the Cooking Mama series, you’ll notice a few similarities in the cooking segments between that series and Order Up! The gameplay mechanics are relatively the same when it comes to the cooking part, but one thing Order Up! has that Cooking Mama doesn’t is depth. With Order Up!, instead of just creating and cooking a whole bunch of different dishes, you’re also in charge of a busy restaurant, filled with staff, customers and a working cash machine. The quirky Diner Dash also has its similarities, but this title is far more accessible and enjoyable than that quirky and basic budget title.
Order Up! has you running a number of restaurants before it’s time to retire and move to the countryside. The main objective is to create food, cook the food efficiently and effectively and work up the star ratings of your restaurants to work up a name for yourself and eventually be the head restaurant mogul of Port Abello. The more stars your restaurants have, the better you are as a chef and restaurateur. If you want to be running a 5-star restaurant, serving only hamburgers and hot dogs won’t help you achieve that rating.
The game attempts to recreate the workings of a real-life kitchen by introducing sous chefs and kitchen staff into the equation. As you progress and people start coming to your restaurants, orders will start coming in and you’ll have to delegate what part of the meal needs to be made by which staff member. Of course you’ll have to do a bulk of the work, but using your staff to the best advantage and delegating work around the kitchen is integral to your success in Order Up! This implementation of kitchen staff and work delegation is a great one as it adds a bit of challenge and suspense to the gameplay. Instead of simply cooking order after order yourself, you can get other members to do particular areas while you focus on the more important parts. As the head chef, that’s how it should be, so it could be said that the recreation of work in a real-life kitchen has been implemented somewhat perfectly into this title.
As with most tycoon-type games, things start off easy and slowly as you build up your repetition and skills. Being able to adapt to the cooking techniques using the Wii-mote and nunchuck is important to creating fast and great food, as the quicker you get the food out, the more money you’ll make. If you continue to make loads of cash, you’ll be able to hire more staff, therefore making the kitchen run more efficiently and effectively. Once a restaurant is pulling in enough money, you can open up another restaurant, which will in turn open up new recipes, which furthermore expand your business. The game runs like clockwork once you get into the flow of things and it’s very engaging and enjoyable.
However, the game isn’t simply creating meals and delegating jobs to kitchen staff. The star rating system and your own ratings are determined by a levelling up system based around goals. These goals are generally pretty simple, from hiring particular staff or simply earning a certain amount of money. They get more challenging as the game progresses, so don’t expect to be levelling up so easily once you start running busier and more prestigious restaurants.
The game also has a unique method of getting you to do side chores around the restaurants. Instead of delegating jobs to staff, you can take part in mini-games to clean the restaurant or deal with problems that may arise. They’re not totally necessary when it comes to your progression, but they offer something else to the gameplay.
The Final Verdict
Order Up! is a great cooking title for the Wii. The gameplay using the Wiimote is accessible and fun and there’s plenty of depth and enjoyment in this title to keep it in your Wii for a while. The graphics are bright and cartoony and compliment the direction and tone of the game. The voice-acting is surprisingly good, although the soundtrack is quite generic. Check this out if you’re looking for a tycoon-esque title with plenty of depth and fun gameplay.
Gameplay
7.7/10
The Wiimote allows for some enjoyable cooking gameplay and the depth in this title is quite impressive. You can manage a number of restaurants at any one time, and the game gets more challenging as you progress.
Graphics
7.0/10
Nothing revolutionary, although it’s inviting and bright.
Sound
6.5/10
The voice-acting is good, although the soundtrack is generic and rather uninspiring.
Value
8.0/10
With the good gameplay, incredible depth and length, Order Up! offers plenty of value. If you’re looking for a new game to test your cooking skills, look no further than Order Up! There’s plenty here to keep you entertained for a while.
Overall
7.8/10