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Cooking Dash: DinerTown Studios

user987 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:46:36 +0000

The Cooking Dash: DinerTown Studios game is the star struck time management sequel involved with celebrity characters and the moviemaking industry. Once again, Flo’s cooking and serving skills are needed to help improve the badly run food establishments in the area. Is this game worth checking out?

Cooking Dash: DinerTown Studios – Game Play

Consistent with the last Cooking Dash title, game play is time managment in style and includes the Story and Endless Modes. In both modes, customers arrive at the restaurant and Flo seats them at a counter. When the order is taken, Flo then prepares the food at the grill and frying pan stations. Grandma helps out at a preparation table where she can make dishes like salads and cannelloni. Other items you will get to use include a juicer, ice cream machine and meat grinder. When orders are completed, Flo delivers food to the customer and then collects the money when they are finished.

Scoring in the game stays the same. Bonuses are earned when tasks are completed in chain actions or if customers are placed in color matching seats. You also have to watch out for events that affect your customer’s mood and level of happiness (such as making sure their food is not overcooked or they are not waiting too long for their order). All customer characters in the game have varying levels of patience. This is part of the game’s strategy, since mistakes can result in points being docked (or worse having the customer’s leave), so if you have to abuse a customer, pick a patient one.

After each level upgrades can be purchased. You can get items to improve Flo and grandma’s performance, spruce up the look and feel of the restaurant and increase the efficiency of other items in DinerTown Studios

Cooking Dash: DinerTown Studios – Graphics

The graphics in Cooking Dash: DinerTown Studios will not win any awards, but it is colorful enough to keep your attention. The only problem is that certain food items can be a little difficult to distinguish. A few of them have similar color and shape. This can cause you problems when you are serving a high volume of customers.

What’s New in Cooking Dash: DinerTown Studios?

The first notable feature are the new characters. You will encounter a Celebrity, Director and Starlet. Like other characters in the game, you will need to be aware of the personalities when you play.

Other features are the “Cookie Meter” and “Celebrity” power-ups. As a certain number of customers are served during a level, the “Cookie Meter” is filled and you will be able to call him for assistance. Cookie will then temporarily do the food prep work for you. This allows you to focus your time management skills on delivering food, clearing dishes and improving the happiness of your customers.

The “Celebrity “power-ups temporarily increase Flo’s walking speed, give customers a mood boost, or cause them to finish their food faster. You can get these power ups every time you clear a celebrity’s dish.

Should you buy Cooking Dash: DinerTown Studios?

If you are familiar with the original Cooking Dash game, this title will not be too original. However, the added new characters, “Cookie Meter” and “Celebrity” power-ups add a new dimension to its game play. Some time management gamers may find the title to be slightly easier than its previous version, but it still offers enough action to keep you engaged with its five restaurants and 50 levels.

Review by srobinson
Bright Hub

Avenue Flo

user987 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:12:24 +0000

Graphics & Sound: Avenue Flo is a surprisingly great attempt at an adventure game designed by developers who know their audience. Instead of putting together a solid, hard-core point-and-click adventure with a Diner Dash skin to it, the end result is a casual-game that just happens to fit in the adventure genre, something I haven’t really seen before. Fitting with the Diner Dash setting, the game looks like it could have been developed in flash. Flo, Quinn (from the Wedding Dash spin-off series) and even lovable Cookie all play prominent parts in this game and they look exactly like the series’ followers would expect. The various streets around the town fit the style established in the other games, and in the game’s cut-scenes (which we get close-up views of the characters), the backgrounds look as if they were hand-drawn and colored in with crayons, an interesting style indeed. Sound-wise, Avenue Flo gets the job done. The characters are voiced appropriately, and while the dialogue is a bit over-the-top at times, it’s not in an offensive way. The background music is okay, but ultimately unnoticeable and forgetful in the grand scheme of things.

Gameplay: Avenue Flo game has everyone’s favorite dashing diner owner stepping outside of her restaurant in order to help her friend and roommate, Quinn, in a crisis for the biggest wedding the town has ever seen… the wedding of Ms. Big, actually. It seems that several disasters have happened and if the lady is to get hitched without a hitch, Flo will have to not only collect the 99 butterflies that have escaped, but also help the baker make the cake, get the wedding dress repaired, find Ms. Big’s poodle and even do some flower arranging. The biggest problem Flo faces is finding out who is trying to ruin the wedding and who stole the wedding rings.Avenue Flo is split up into three neighborhoods, and each one has a set of shops and people involved in the wedding. Once Flo completes all of the tasks in a particular area, she takes the subway to the next one and starts off on a new set of puzzles to solve. What is interesting is that the game’s puzzles aren’t all inventory-based. Instead, there are quite a few mini-game styled puzzles that block Flo’s path, and it is these mini-games that add a lot of value (including replay value) to the overall product. One of the puzzles has Flo working a beading machine for Ms. Big’s dress. The beads are fed into the machine in a specific order and you need to find the right path along the pattern to lay those beads. Another puzzle has you arranging pet supply products in boxes so that everything fits together nicely, while another has you rearranging clothes on a rack so that no two of the same type or color are next to each other (e.g. pants are not next to pants and a red clothing is not next to another piece of red clothing). There are quite a few of these puzzles, and while I found them all enjoyable, there were a couple that got a little annoying before I was able to finish them off (most notably, the aerobic rhythm game). Unfortunately, only six of these games become available to play outside of Avenue Flo’s Adventure Mode. These six include Bead Machine, Clothing Display, Pet Supply Puzzle, as well as one where you have to find the right chicken (based on colors and shape) in a flock, one where you have to perform a Simon-styled sequence by clicking on the found chickens in the order that they cluck. This last unlockable activity, Dough Ball Rolling, has Flo having to guide a giant pizza dough ball around the cruise ship the wedding is taking place on. In Activity Mode (where these unlocked activities can be found), not only are more levels available than what were played in the game’s story, but there is an increased pressure of time that determines your final score.

Difficulty: Avenue Flo’s difficulty is dead on. The game doesn’t pose any challenging puzzles that cannot be overcome by the average casual gamer who would be drawn in by Flo and her friends’ presence. Instead, the more difficult activities come in the form of its frequent mini-game activities like using the bead machine or rolling the dough ball around the deck of the cruise ship. While all of these activities rely heavily on logic and fit nicely into an adventure game, they aren’t so difficult as to put off anyone who might find the game interesting. Of course, more experienced gamers who break out of the casual mold will find the game less challenging, but still fun.

Game Mechanics: Avenue Flo’s various activities really are the core of this game. While it is an adventure game at heart, the various mini-games/puzzles that the player has to complete in order to help Quinn and Flo save the Big wedding is one of the aspects that will appeal to the game’s target audience. Most of the activities would make okay, but short-lived games on their own, but by putting them all together in this manner, the developers have not only posed a series of interesting and various problems for the player wanting to advance the story to have to get past, but also provided a solid setting for the seemingly unconnected and random mini-games (at least that’s how they would feel if it weren’t for the game’s story). While the other elements of Avenue Flo (like standard inventory-based problems) definitely set the game squarely in the adventure genre, the overall product ends up being a fairly good blend.While adventure gamers will definitely find Avenue Flo a strong title that will have plenty of intriguing logic puzzles, the short gameplay time and $20.00 price tag might not be all that appealing to that particular audience. On the other hand, those most familiar with Flo’s other games should not only find this game right up their alley, but the breaking away from some of the more standard casual-game genres (e.g. puzzle or time management) should make this game even more appealing and can possibly whet their appetite for other adventure games. For those players, the fact that they can go into Activity Mode and replay any of the unlocked games there in the hopes of getting a better score means that the short story doesn’t matter as much, and so the price tag isn’t as steep as it might seem. Review by Chris Meyer

Perfume stores

user987 — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:51:52 +0000

Most perfume and cologne is purchased at big name department stores. Like all products sold in these stores, a healthy premium is added to all the perfumes sold in order to offset the costs of operating such a large store. Outside of the expensive mark-up you also have to deal with the driving, parking lots, lines and the lack of help that exists in department stores today. Instead, many savvy shoppers have discovered an alternative to traditional high priced, inconvenient perfume shopping – via the internet. As an alternative, many people have started to buy their perfume and cologne from online perfume stores. These stores allow you to purchase your favorite perfume or cologne, in the convenience of your home and at a discounted price. Depending on the state you reside you will probably be able to avoid sales tax. Many stores even offer free shipping, depending on the amount of your total purchase. When looking for an online perfume store you’ll want to consider a few factors before making a purchase. Some of these include:

• Selection. Does the company offer a wide selection of perfume and cologne?

• Shipping. Does the company charge a reasonable fee for sending you your purchase?

• Return Policy. What if you’re not satisfied with your purchase once it arrives? Can you return it for a full refund?

PlayFirst Unveils Innovative Game Lineup

user987 — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:54:40 +0000

PlayFirst, Inc., the award-winning
entertainment company, today announced a selection of three brand new titles
to debut later this year. The titles feature fresh new angles on traditional
casual gaming genres and underscore PlayFirst's commitment to bring fresh and
innovative content to the growing casual gaming market.  

Passport to Perfume(TM) introduces players to the luxurious and adventurous
world of perfume making. This title allows players to coordinate every part of
the process from sourcing exotic olfactory ingredients from different corners
of the globe to designing custom perfumes. A unique mash up of three different
game genres: time management, economic simulation and hidden object, the game
also introduces players to a striking new central character yet to be revealed
who is part adventurer and part sophisticated designer.

Gemini Lost(TM) finds a misplaced community unwillingly transported to an
untamed world with limited resources. The overriding mission in the game is to
develop a nurturing and constructive environment that will enable your
community to expand and strive and eventually uncover the key to enable a safe
return home. This life simulation title adds a clever layer to the genre by
positioning astrological signs as key elements that reflect different
character traits and desires and effect gameplay. With enhanced resource
management, a rich storyline, and challenging puzzles, Gemini Lost adds a
fresh new twist to the growing life sim genre.

Avenue Flo(TM) features Flo, the beloved heroine of the Diner Dash(R) series,
and positions her in a more active adventure game where she must traverse the
length and breadth of DinerTown(TM) on her latest quest. The game also marks
the first speaking role for Flo and her cohorts adding a vibrant and more
interactive feel to the game.  Fans and newcomers will face Flo's nail biting
goal of saving DinerTown from the worst wedding disaster it's ever faced - a
potential catastrophe that touches almost every character and business in
town! 

"This line up continues the momentum we've built this year with Wandering
Willows(TM) and Emerald City Confidential(TM), focusing on fresh innovative
content that takes creative risks and delights our fans," said Kenny Shea
Dinkin, vice president and creative director, PlayFirst. "Passport to Perfume
is an elegant dip into decades past, Gemini Lost offers casual game fans a
community sim game with gorgeous graphics and a compelling and mysterious
story and Avenue Flo presents the first fully-fledged adventure game set in
DinerTown and starring Flo, everybody's favorite gutsy cartoon entrepreneur."

DinerTown Tycoon

user987 — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:44:34 +0000

DinerTown Tycoon: Introducing a whole new way to have fun with Flo and all your favorite DinerTown friends! Oust the evil fast-food chain Grub Burger using your restaurant savvy and business smarts to stock your restaurant, set menu prices, and purchase new décor in this all-new economic strategy game. From Squid Row to Champagne Falls, help DinerTown bring back wholesome food and local eateries, then finally give Grub Burger the boot once and for all!

5 different neighborhoods
25+ beloved characters from the award-winning Diner Dash series
Over 90 recipes to add to restaurant menus

Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child

user987 — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 09:28:08 +0000

Unlock the secrets of the mysterious fairy realm in the third installment of the award-winning Dream Chronicles series, Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child. Discover hidden clues and challenging puzzles as you join Faye on her quest to save her daughter from the clutches of Lilith and reveal the secret prophecy of The Chosen Child in this all-new hidden object adventure with unexpected twists.

Enchanting Art-Nouveau style backgrounds in higher resolution with 60% more detail
New multi-scene puzzles that will have you searching throughout the Dream Realm via the Nexus
Spectacular new dream jewels to create, collect and use

Wandering Willows

user987 — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:26:17 +0000

Ready for a new adventure? Welcome to Wandering Willows, a whimsical world full of wondrous wildlife and engaging quests. With over 40 enchanting pets for you to befriend and train, you’re sure to find just the right help completing quests for the land’s amusing inhabitants, who range from gruff pirates to rocket ship commanders. Garden, bake, and create clothing and bouquets with the treasures your pet fetches for you. You might even find a new pet egg to hatch! Spend some time in Wandering Willows today!

* Over 40 different adorable pets to collect and train
* Over 150 quests to complete and 200 food recipes to collect
* Customize your avatar with over 150 pieces of clothing that you make in game

How to convert pdf to e-book

user987 — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:26:22 +0000

How to convert pdf to e-book? See the list of converters pdf2ebook.

PDF (Portable Document Format) is the file format created by Adobe Systems for document exchange. PDF is used to represent 2-dimensional documents in a device-independent and display resolution-independent fixed-layout document format. Each PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a 2D document which includes the text, images, fonts, and 2D vector graphics composing the document.
PDF combines sub-set of the PostScript page description programming language, structured storage system, and font embedding/replacement system. PDF format can include tags, captions, text equivalents, audio descriptions, etc.

E-books (or ecobooks) are the digital media for reading on PC, or on special hardware devices (e-book readers).
An ebook is a specialized kind of e-text.

How to convert avi to 3gp

user987 — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 21:43:47 +0000

How to convert avi to 3gp? See the list of converters avi23gp.

Audio Video Interleave, known by its acronym AVI, is a multimedia container format introduced by Microsoft in November 1992 as part of its Video for Windows technology. AVI files can contain both audio and video data in a standard container that allows synchronous audio-with-video playback. Like DVDs, AVI files support multiple streaming audio and video, although these features are seldom used.

3GP is a multimedia container format defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) for use on 3G mobile phones.
3GP is a simplified version of the MPEG-4 Part 14 (MP4) container format, designed to decrease storage and bandwidth requirements in order to accommodate mobile phones. It stores video streams as MPEG-4 or H.263 or H.264, and audio streams as AMR-NB or AAC-LC. A 3GP file is always big-endian, storing and transferring the most significant bytes first. It also contains descriptions of image sizes and bitrate.

How to convert mkv to avi

user987 — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:08:55 +0000

How to convert mkv to avi? Please see the list of converters mkv2avi

.mkv is a file extension for Matroska – an open source cross-platform multimedia container format similar to QT, MP4 or ASF.
The Matroska format allows streaming across the Internet and fast seeking within a file and DVD-like menus.