Year in review 2013

As we near the close of 2013, here's a review of the goings on in Restaurant Story over the last 12 months...

We opened up with plenty of drama in January. Just as we were recovering from the New Year blues, TeamLava announced a removal of all holiday themed content from the game later that same week. There was much anger at this, with frustration both at the short notice and the lack of clarity over exactly what would be removed. My range of countdown to content removal posts in recent weeks will hopefully make the next removal less stressful!

To further anger the players, the game's developers decided to add a new set of goals which had no prizes! The winter goals were bizarre, making use of old recipes many had already mastered. A lot of people believed that it was all an attempt by TeamLava to distract from the content removal. I'll let you form your own opinions.

Things soon picked up though with the release of the Valentine's Day theme. Both iOS and Android got a shiny new app unexpectedly on a Friday, with the goal set coming on the Sunday. This, incredibly, was the last time that iOS got a seasonal edition app. The initial update included a remarkable 10 new recipes, most of which were freely available on the regular appliances.

And we were feeling the love when all of the 2012 Valentine's content was re-released shortly before Valentine's Day itself. There was a lot of stuff, however my attention was elsewhere, as it was on the same day that the Restaurant Story Adventures blog was launched!

First post on Restaurant Story Adventures blog

I've come a long way!

February closed out with two standalone updates. The first was a Swedish theme and the second a Western theme (more on the Wild West later!) Both of these included an appliance - we haven't had many freely available appliances since, with nearly every new one being unlockable through goals.

Motoring into March, the month was dominated by an Asian theme. This wasn't the first time that such a theme had been delivered, but nonetheless I found it enjoyable. The goal set was capped with the opportunity for players to get hold of a floor decoration of Action Chef Lee.

Action Chef Lee

He still looms large in my kitchen section!

April came with a fresh Spring theme, containing loads of pretty items. Then came one of the high points of 2013 - the second Spring themed update included a new box, the Picnic Surprise. And to the delight of everyone, its prizes were made available out of the box. They've been hovering in the floor decorations tab ever since. A fantastic opportunity to pick up a quality item without potentially spending hundreds of gems to obtain it.

I did exactly that, forking out for the Picnic Painting and Playful Parasol.

Picnic Painting and Picnic Parasol

Unfortunately I've yet to display them for any decent period of time, but have got all the ingredients for a garden area in storage. Watch this space!

Following from Spring were a Mexican theme and a theatre theme. The first of these was delayed by a day for unknown reasons, while the second was a really good idea. In fact both had their merits, and I'd like to see each of them added to in the future.

Next came the Gran-Gran goals. Designed as a gentle introduction to the game for newcomers, these goals were a cakewalk for the experienced, but were a good touch from TeamLava for low-level players. The goals came in two batches, with the first set still providing the most viewed page of my blog. The only thing missing was a lack of a Gran-Gran figure to place in our restaurants. Hopefully that will come in time!

Then came a backward step with the return of Spring. Included here was the Vegan Stove - it remains the last out of goals appliance to be released. Hopefully we'll see a return to the old policy next year.

June was a busy month. The Birthday Party goals provided a surprise in the opening week, and just seven days later a Cruise theme was introduced, including another set of goals!

First step of Cruise goals

And these were goals like you've never seen before. Available only to players at level 40 and above, these sucked feverishly from your coin bank. The first goal alone required a payment of 200,000 coins. I actually really enjoyed these as they were a real challenge. Hopefully there will a similar goal set sometime in 2014, as well as another easy set for beginners.

The Carnival took over in July with three updates, while August was dominated by an Under the Sea theme. Both had goals attached, with the latter including a pirates subtheme which wasn't met too positively with the players considering that Bakery Story had just had a solid month of pirates!

There was a mixed bag in September, including Airplanes and a Musical update. These were followed by our second Old West theme of the year. This time there were goals, and although some were disappointed to see this theme regurgitated again, I was actually quite pleased - it was underdeveloped last time round and the goal items on this occasion helped make for an interesting section in The Garlic Tree.

Old West section of The Garlic Tree

A couple of weeks of Autumn related stuff was quickly forgotten as Halloween muscled its way in for October. As much as I enjoy the spooky content, I do wish we got more of Autumn as it tends to provide some of the most elegant and beautiful items. But nevertheless, Halloween was another of those peaks in 2013, with the initial update bringing with it an outstanding list of new items. The goals were fun, and the updates continued to impress, including subthemes of Pumpkins, the Graveyard and Candy.

To top it all off, on the 30th TeamLava re-released nearly all of the 2012 content for a limited time. Most of it was for gems, but it was nice all the same to have the opportunity to get hold of some items which would otherwise be unattainable.

Thanksgiving rolled out at the start of November, with a goal set at the centre of the proceedings. The final goal prize was a Turkey Parade Float, which may have broken the record for the tallest item ever! Overall I really loved the Thanksgiving stuff, and combining it with things from Autumn allowed me to build a substantial fall section.

Thanksgiving section of The Garlic Tree

Plus there were 10 new recipes across the three Thanksgiving updates. That was a lot of gems to gain! But the celebrations were quickly put on hold with a third Old West update of the year. This one was the smallest of the three, and stunk of the game's developers having a blank week in the calendar so they decided to fill it with some leftover Wild West content.

Then came the event of the Restaurant Story year. Black Friday brought with it a bunch of goodies, as first prize box items were made available out of the box and limited time offers were brought back.

Black Friday 2013 sale items

In all 21 items were for sale, and all those months of toiling to save up gems paid dividends. I spent over 100 gems on special content, and was very happy with my return.

And so we arrive at December. Christmas has of course been the theme, although the goals didn't arrive until the second update. It's pretty objective, but I personally have found the Christmas content to be a tad disappointing. We haven't had too many items which have captured my imagination.

But at least some things from previous years were brought back for a limited time including the lauded Holiday Lights. It was surprising to see some of the returning content being from 2011 - a chance to grab some stuff that was thought to be lost forever. It's just a shame that there haven't been more of the old items making a magical re-appearance.

There was even an update on Christmas Day, including a limited time offer of the North Pole.

North Pole limited time offer

So that brings a close to the review of 2013. I'd like to thank TeamLava for continuing to produce a quality game that holds the interest - we may not like everything they do, but the ups and downs are part of what makes it such a fantasic experience. And I'd also like to thank everyone who has read the blog since launch back in February. It's been great fun to write!

Have a fabulous New Year everyone!