Customer Reviews

Order Up!

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As I've mentioned in other reviews, the Wii is not my console of choice. I bought it for my wife to keep her busy while I logged hours in front of the Xbox 360.

I bought Order Up for my wife as a birthday gift. I feel bad that three days later, she's logged about 45 minutes at the controls, and I've beaten the game at 5 hours, 59 minutes in.

The game is simply that addictive. From the first burger you make until the last visit from the food critic at "Chez Haute" restaurant, you will not want to put this game down.

Your first reaction might be to think that at 6 hours, this game is very short. This isn't untrue, but this is a game that better rewards the casual player. In my course through the game, I served less than 10 "non-perfect" dishes. I refused to serve "good" food, and instead would throw food away multiple times until earning a "perfect" score. Also, by mastering the art of spicing (which is clearly defined within the game) I was able to generate upwards of $200 per table served, and would end a "work day" with over $800 in the bank. Because of this I was easily able to keep my spices stocked, hire the best employees, and upgrade my kitchen very quickly. As a result I made money very fast, and progressed through the game with lightning speed. My wife on the other hand is not nearly as perfectionist, and is satisfied with serving Good or OK dishes. This can end up making for a longer play through the game. I say this as a good thing though - this game will entertain her much longer than it did myself.

Many reviews from gaming sites gave less than satisfactory remarks on the controls, saying that everything except folding burritos or omelettes worked well. This is simply not true. Every motion with the Wii control can be easily learned and skillfully mastered. From flipping steaks to cutting swordfish to tearing lettuce to folding crepes - I could earn perfect every time. Speed is the key, and some careful precision "aiming" with the remote helps. Also, note that in the instruction manual it states that the "nunchuk" attachment is not needed, but adds some redundant controls to ease gameplay. THIS IS VERY TRUE!! The control stick on the nunchuck offers quicker ability to scroll through your cooking stations instead of having to leave the 'A' button on the remote and reaching the D-pad. With the nunchuk connected, I drastically reduced my meal prep times. I could serve a four-guest table in less than 2 minutes.

What makes this game so much more fun is that you are responsible for running a business. At the start of every day it's up to you on how to spend the wares of the previous day. You may want to unlock some new dishes, hire a new assistant cook (you have a limit of two,) purchase the recipe for exclusive "chef's specials," or - and this was always important - stock up on spices. You could also upgrade various aspects of your kitchen, making appliances work quicker, making grills and stoves cook faster, or even make you knives sharper. In some regards this made the game more challenging because it's harder to juggle three cooking stations when they all cook faster! In the end, you spent nearly as much time outside of the restaurant as you did inside, and both areas were equally entertaining.

I will agree with others that the game could have used more depth and length. Another restaurant or two would have been nice. A two-player mode would have been fantastic. I personally would have liked to see more "mature" patrons at the nicer resturants - I got tired of the guy wearing a soup-can hat and farting on my surf-and-turf dinner... The only real dissapointing part I felt was the "delivery guy" who could bring you super fresh meat or seafood, or fresh, "organic" vegetables. The downside was you had to pay $1 to call the delivery guy, then when he showed up, had to pay upwards of $10 to pull a slot-machine handle built into his delivery truck, only to not win anything at all for your troubles!! After this happened 5 times in a row, I never called the guy again. There should have been a better reward system implemented to make this work. But obviously it wasn't needed to enjoy or complete the game. Lastly, I could not earn a perfect score on my pizza because the game wanted you to place pepperoni in some perfect pattern without any clear explanation. That, as a perfectionist, simply drove me crazy. Luckily I cooked all of 4 or 5 pizzas through the entire game.

Order Up was a very enjoyable experience that I look forward to continue playing even after I have beaten the game. I think that in itself says all that needs to be said. Serve me up another!

This game was a great and new approach to added cooking genre of games. Although fun, I feel it was somehow rushed as well.

Story in a nutshell:
You start the game working at a basic restaurant,and as you get more stars you get to upgrade to the next level restaurant to become the ultimate cook in the end.

Pros:
Different variety of restaurants to own

Many different recipes that pertain to the restaurant (Italian,
Mexican,etc.)

Cook with spices

Ability to buy items (Spices, Upgrade you equipment, etc)

Hire help each with different abilities

Great and wonderful design style

Little mini-games (Health Inspector,flicking rats, etc.)

A little shopping place to buy your spices or special recipes

Meet the needs of certain customers by putting in spices they like

Has a humor aspect

Cons:
WAY TOO SHORT! Took me only 7 hours to beat, but I played the game on easy and still did not unlock the other special recipes so you could possibly be looking at 10-12 hours of game play. Still it would have been nice to have two more restaurants to at least fill the void possibly a Japanese, Chinese or Indian restaurant.

Repetitive at times, although there were many recipes it seemed you always did the same things with the Wii remote, nothing new or inventive many times when preparing the food.

The market only had two places to explore. It would have been nice to have a variety of markets each with it's own type of spices (Italian, Asian, etc.). It also would have been nice to walk around the market square or explore the island

Not able to improve your hired help or have them level up to become better chefs. It was a pain liking the characters personality, but having to fire them due to just getting "good" many times and not "perfect"

I don't appreciate having to see that little boy ride his bike every time and throw the paper, it would be nice to skip over that scene, the same with the customers walking in.

It would have been nice to see many more characters in the game, and they change their spice recommendations or the ingredient they like.

Better mini-games, I would have like to see different games to do. Like with the Health Inspector and the rats.

NO TWO-PLAYER MODE! That really would have added to the potential of the game. It would make it's replay value double. It's no fun having a friend just watch me play this game and not be able to play as well, or have them come in a help me when I'm in the main game.

The characters seem to be repetitive in what they say. Also, it kind of erks me that the waiters seem to be as well. Like in the Mexican restaurant we have the waiter referring to only one customer as, "Senors and Senoritas".

Overall:
I based my review towards other cooking games, and since there's only a few I know of I believe this one to be the better of them. It was fun, different ( about time we get games other then just the usual) and I did enjoy it in the little time it lasted, still you can not help to see that this game was rushed. There's many things in the game play that prove just that. This game could have had so much more potential if released a little later and those things worked out.

ZOO your in the right direction, this game has a lot of potential, just keep at it! I'm hoping to see a 2nd one sooner or later.

I am fairly new to wii, and I am a casual gamer. I enjoyed this game quite a bit. I did try Cooking Mama, and I liked this game more. You had more things to do than just to cook. You could control your chefs, earn new upgrades, and you had some control in the restaurant itself, and I liked these challenges.

For me the learning curve on this game hasn't been too much, I can see that if you are a more serious gamer or if you are looking for a lot of game play out of this game, it may be lacking, as the story line doesn't last too long. The graphics are decent, but the limited vocals can get a little annoying, but many are very clever.

All in all I think this is a good game. I liked that it wasn't too hard, I don't play everday. If you are a serious gamer this may not be your best option or you may want to wait until the price on this game goes down. I am definately hopeful they will make a 2nd edition, because I will definately be picking it up.

This game is tons of fun! It is a great cooking title, and will keep you busy and entertained for hours. You will have so much fun creating and cooking a huge variety of dishes, and also ordering your staff to do certain cooking tasks! It will excite you to earn money and buy new ingredients, spices, cooking tools, and restaurants. Great game all-around. With loads of fun minigames, you'll never get bored. I compare this (favorably) to Cooking Mama, because you don't just cook, you get to manage an entire restaurant!

This is a great, somewhat addicting game with a very humorous overtone to what happens during the game. I'd give the game five stars!

However, the controls for the wii are terrible! It's like the creators really tried to work in the functionality of the wii remote (moving it, turning it, etc.) but did a poor job as such. I find myself quitting the game out of frustration of not being able to perform the simplest of tasks.

For example, soon into the game you have to buy spices, and visit the spice man at the farmers market. He eventually tests you, which you have to move your controller in a specific pattern in order to be accepted to buy his spices. Try as I might, I could only get 2 out of 10 correct. Mind you I'm an avid gamer, and not at all uncomfortable with handling the wii remote, or winning, what not.

Another frustration is peeling lettuce, yes sounds simple doesn't it! You have to get the wii cursor just right, and keep your hand orientated, or else you'll fail and get "poor". It doesn't feel like natural motions whatsoever.

Lastly something as simple as flipping a burger isn't easy. You must perform the full flipping action, then the game "accepts" what you do, and you see an on-screen result. There is a split second where you don't even know if you did it correct, and you start to try again. Same goes with flipping pancakes, or omelets, etc.

I find to get the best control in the game, I have to be right in front of my tv (not off to one side or the other on the sofa), and very much concentrating on the task at hand.

Good luck with the game, but know the controls need a little work to be on par with some of the nicer wii games out there.

*** Update ***

I still give this game 3-stars for terrible controls, but if you have enough patience, you can figure out strategies that work with foods. For example, Lettuce is easy now, you click, HOLD, and just move your control rapidly left/right. I still have the most trouble with carving, and haven't found a good reliable way to do this quickly.

As for the spice chop game, you have to be directly in front of your tv, then imagine a 2foot x 2foot square in front of you. When you go to chop chop, look at this area (not the screen), and perform the movement watching your wii remote. I can usually get 10/10 with this

I didn't know what to expect with this game. It was pretty cheap and I wondered if it wouldn't be much fun. Boy was I wrong!! My husband and I have had a really good time playing this one. It is addictive and very fun. The way you have to use the Wii to cook different items is really ingenious!! I recommend this one to everyone.

"Order Up!" is great for grownups and kids, novices and hard-core gamers. All you need is a Wii remote; no special attachments. It's for one player only, but it's just as fun to watch as to play.
There are employees for hire with unique abilities, and customers with unique tastes [for a good tip, you might have to put brown sugar on the French fries]! There are major mishaps [rats, fire] and minor ones [worker asleep]. There's a health inspector and a restaurant critic. The black market guy seems like a blend of Peter Lorre and Quasimodo. There is a spice supplier that you'll visit often [lots of flavors to unlock].
You will slice, dice, flip, and fry, and grate your way to culinary domination. Don't forget the seasoning!

We just got this game this morning and we weren't expecting much because the other cooking games were kinda lame. My wife is highly critical and there aren't too many games she likes but she's liking this one. (playing it as I write this.) The cartoony characters, set design and music really create the perfect atmosphere for working in a greasy spoon joint. (You have to start somewhere!) The use of the Wiimote is well done complete with chopping, stirring, flipping and ringing the bell to get the orders out. This is a nice game for the Wii. We're glad we bought it! It's better than we expected with a few surprises that will have you grinning.

Between flipping burgers, folding burritos, sprinkling spices, killing mice, and menacing the paper boy, this game has it all! Beginning with a quick tutorial, you are immediately given a dive and expected to turn it into a profitable business. Take orders, prepare the food, hire assistants (although the first is free!), and try to perfect each step of the process. The better and faster you work, the more money you will receive. These can be used to buy new recipes, upgrade your equipment, hire more experienced staff, or even get a new store!

But beware the Health Inspector. When he randomly arrives, you will have to show him that you know how to keep a clean kitchen.

Here are a few hints:
- As the paper boy rides, by, flick him to open up a mini-game.
- Spices are never a bad thing, even if they aren't specifically requested.
- Speed counts, but so does perfection.
- Food doesn't start cooling off until it's put in the window, so time your plating appropriately.
- Different assistant chefs have different strengths, so be careful to whom you assign what task.

What a blast. After the let down of Cooking Mama for the wii I was a bit hesitant to get another similar game. I sure am glad I went ahead and got it. By far one of my favorite games on the wii. Excellent use of the wii controls. It is extremely accurate. You start out as a fry cook in a fast food joint and work the way up the "food chain" so to speak. I played this game for about 2 hours a day for a week laughing all the way. Lots of fun surprises await like oh I dunno....burning the place down. (I will let you enjoy that little gem of excitement for yourself). You can run help wanted adds and upgrade equipment as well. This game is great fun my entire family enjoyed it from the husband to the six year old. Definitely in my top 10 for family games. Looks like the price is low now also, why are you still reading this...go ahead and click add to cart. =) Trust me.