Believe it or not, the idea of playing gourmet chef has been more entertaining than I originally thought, and thanks to a string of playable hits, I don’t instantly cringe at the sight of them anymore.  This acceptance hasn't been mine alone, as the genre has literally exploded onto the scene, with any number of Diner Dash and what-have-you clones coming down the pipeline, which would naturally invite innovations to help newcomers stand out from the pack.  Fast Food Panic for the Wii generally follows the same recipe and overall flavor of its portable DS counterpart, but I couldn't help but feel like something was missing in the execution.

Like the handheld version you’ll be multitasking with customers and food preparation, with a few notable changes.  The single-player experience is split between handling both dining room and kitchen duties, with the ability to switch between them.  Kitchen duties include cycling through and preparing items like burgers and pizza, while handling the dining room entails taking orders to washing dishes.  Scores are tallied by the customers 'happiness' meters, meaning you'll need to learn to multitask and become proficient if you ever expect to run a successful restaurant.

Thanks to the expanded nature of the Wii version's gameplay, you'll make full use of both the Wii mote and Nunchuk, albeit in simplified form.  This is probably for the best as most functions require waggling to even more waggling with button presses.  They're generally accurate and functional (not always the case with games like these), and intuitive enough that  you'll be grilling burgers and baking in no time.  The visuals have also been expanded into cute, anime-inspired 3D characters and lightly interactive kitchens.  We've certainly seen better graphics on the console, but the designs here are a nice change of pace from the typical processed look that usually accompanies most casual titles.

Of course things will gradually pick up and making the meals fast and correctly is important, but tending to your customers can be a trial, as kitchen and diner duties are split between your two characters, and swapped at the press of the Z-button.  If things get hectic you can always leave one of these duties to a computer-controlled partner, but their intelligence seems to be somewhat lacking when in the kitchen; as customer service representatives they aren’t nearly as hopeless, since the most they have to do is greet those walking through the door.  Doing double-duty service must have sounded a lot more fun on paper than it is in execution, as micro-managing so many little details can often lead to utter confusion and more than a few angry customers.  After all, who likes their burgers burnt to a crisp?

The game also includes a good number of separate mini-games that are unlocked during the main event, and feature everything from tossing pizza and food eating contests.  There's plenty here for the dedicated Fast Food fan to sink their teeth into, although it would have been nice to include full multiplayer throughout the main game, instead of limiting it to 4-player (or 2-player cooperative) during these side-missions.

Of course, the option of swinging duties in the restaurant isn’t tied to cooking and greeting alone, as you'll also be tasked with several chores like cleaning dishes and tallying bills. These joyful distractions will occur frequently and usually during whatever rush hour traffic you’re contending with.  It won't take long to realize how mildly annoying it is to stop whatever your doing just to take out the trash and juggle the customers all at once.  And that's not all, as critics and top chefs will occasionally drop by and require the best you can serve them, often extending to globetrotting missions where you’ll have to please everyone from stubborn “New Yorkers” to snooty “French” of the like.  Their demands are high, but trial and error will eventually prevail.

Its with little irony that a game called Fast Food Panic would be so faithful to its namesake, as there's certainly a lot of panic with this restaurant-management sim.  Ask anyone who's ever worked in the service sector and they'll tell you how rigorous a job it is, and that level of work-related stress is accurately represented here.  The only question is whether the casual crowd will find the endless micro-management of food items, coupled with the parallel responsibilities of handling both kitchen and dining room duties, more enjoyable than the real thing.  Fans may want to opt for the instantly playable DS version, but others may want to return this entree back to the kitchen a while longer.