Game update: 04/12/13

It's update time again, and the countdown to Christmas is on!

Notification for Christmas update

With the first update of December, we've got our opening Christmas update. There aren't any goals yet, but there is a selection of festive content. Here's a list of it all:

Tables:

• Holiday Lights Table - 34,000 coins

Chairs:

• Holiday Lights Chair - 6,200 coins

Wall decorations:

• Menora Window - 25,000 coins

Floor decorations:

• Hanukkah Bush - 26 gems
• Holiday Train - 41 gems (LTO)

Wallpapers:

• Illuminated Trees - 5,500 coins

Counters:

• Holiday Lights - 6 gems

There are also two new recipes. Details on those later on.

So, unlike with the initial Halloween and Thanksgiving updates, there is no goal set, nor a wide range of new items. It's a bit disappointing to see this, as Christmas tends to be a great time in Restaurant Story, but this year we're off on a slow burner. It's entirely possible that the goals could come before the next update at any time - I seem to recall this happening for Valentine's this year.

Also bear in mind that the Thanksgiving goals don't expire until Monday, so it may simply be that the gamemakers are holding off on adding more goals until those finish.

What we do have is actually quite nice. It's great to see the Holiday Lights Table and Holiday Lights Chair both available for coins, and not only that, they look great too. Having the Christmas lights wrapped around the legs really creates that magical feel.

Unfortunately we didn't get a coin triple as the Holiday Lights counter costs 6 gems each, but it looks super too - a wreath on top acts as a festive place mat! The price alone prevents me picking any of those up though.

Another pair of items which really catch my eye are the Hannukkah Bush (which is 2x2 in size), even if it does look more like a tree, and the Illuminated Trees wallpaper, which has that holiday spark. The one thing that's missing is a floor tile. Some snow would really allow all these items to come together beautifully, so I'll be adding snow tiles to my list to Santa!

The limited time offer is a Holiday Train.

Holiday Train limited time offer

This floor decoration is 3x3 in size and among the most expensive LTOs. As it follows Black Friday I suspect there won't be many players able to pick this up, even if they do like the look of it. I'm in that bracket. It's colourful, vibrant and jolly, and would make a fantastic centrepiece to a Christmas theme.

To round off the new content, there are two new recipes on the Basic Oven:

New recipes on Basic Oven

These recipes have now been moved - they are now positioned between Mud Pudding and Fish and Chips.

Before I analyse these, I have to commend the TeamLava design team. Both these snacks look so cute - I particularly love the cupcake's incorporation of the tree shape to form the icing.

You can analyse these recipes using my recipe list located here.

So some numbers. The Holiday Tree Cupcakes may be pretty, but they're no competition for the few other 3 hour recipes. They've got very similar stats to the shortlived Devilish Eggs from Halloween, and it was a dud.  The cupcakes come in just below average for profit and portions and a touch above average for XP. But that doesn't save it from a fail grading - look at the top XP dish of 3 hour duration, the Fruit Kebabs (Vegan Stove). It offers a glorious 70 XP, so is a much better option if you're looking to level up quickly.

Now the Holiday Light Cookies. It becomes the 25th active 1 hour recipe so has plenty of rivals. And unfortunately it's another which holds little value. Its profit figure is bang on the average, its portions figure is nothing to write home about, and its XP gain ties for third worst. A poor recipe.

The 1 hour dishes do give the best results of all if you are able to serve them every hour all day. If your priority is profit then go for Portabello Mushroom (Basic Grill), if your desperate to keep your counters stocked then go for Fish and Chips (Basic Oven), and if your after XP then go for Thick Cut Bacon (Old West Oven) if you've got access to it.

That completes this week's update review. Some quality stuff, but a shame that there couldn't be more. Plus the lack of a set of Christmas goals is surprising and frustrating, but there's plenty of time yet!