Rebecca and Robert return in Turbo Fiesta taking their high energy and crazy-paced business out of space selling Mexican food. This time management game never feels too slow, not even at the beginning. In fact, it doesn’t take long before I fail to meet the level’s goals.

I cruised — with lots of bumps along the way — in Turbo Pizza and Turbo Subs. But hit a brick wall (or space station in this case) early on with Turbo Fiesta. This is a good and bad thing. It’s good because those who complain they never feel challenged by time management games should meet their match here.

It’s bad because Turbo Fiesta goes from 0 to 100 too soon. I can’t be too bad if I finished its predecessors’ games. Novices to time management might want to skip this one unless they’re patient and ready to jump in head first.

When I say “out of space,” that’s what I mean. Location, location, location matters in the restaurant business. I suppose this game fast forwards to the future to a time when there are plenty of customers in the sky. The customers’ attitudes (their moods drop as fast as ever) remain the same despite being way up high in the atmosphere.

Robert does the cookin’ while Rebecca does the runnin’ to pass out menus, pick up orders, nuke food, and collect change. Robert has it easy since he has robot arms that help with the food. Although the game remains similar to the previous two, it adds a turbo meter that rewards combo actions. When making enough combo steps, the turbo meter cooks in and Rebecca becomes Wonder Waitress, moving as fast as a speeding bullet. I love this.

After turning on turbo mode three times in a level, you’ll reach Fiesta mode and have a ball. Unfortunately, the two times I reach Fiesta mode… it’s the end of the level so I hardly enjoy my siesta. The dark space scene brightens up with Mexican decor that comes with a piñata and Mariachi music. Ah, that’s the best part since everyone is happy and you don’t have to rush anymore. Alas, it takes work to get there.

The mini-game offers a fresh perspective of the Pipes game. Turn the pipes and parts until everything connects — except in this case, it’s to restore power. Clever way to blend the mini-game with the story as the restaurant loses power.

Plenty of upgrades await including one that lets Rebecca carry three items at once. Only a couple of games have this feature, so I keep forgetting she can carry a third item. Upgrades up the price of food items, add color to the restaurant, help Rebecca and Robert work faster, and more. The superb graphics still impress and the music lifts.

Turbo Fiesta needs to offer an easier mode even for us experienced time management players. It stinks to get stuck early in the game or else the game is no fiesta. While the latest in the Turbo series introduces only a couple of new features, it remains as hyper and colorful as ever.

Download Turbo Fiesta.

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I admit it. I have a weakness for good pizza. I can easily pass on the golden arches and red and white bucket meals, but not when it comes to the delicious flat pie. I was afraid this game would make me crave pizza all the time. Thankfully, the pizza in this game looks simple and cartoonish — not enough to make a pizza freak’s mouth water.

Rebecca and Robert start their pizza shop in an abandoned castle. While it’s an odd location for selling pizza instead of medieval times-style food, the castle scenery creates an interesting and different experience. Rebecca does all the hustling and order fulfillment while Robert bakes the pies.

The first time I played Turbo Pizza, my arm and shoulder hurt and I had to quit. The game turns turbo very early. Since I play the games on my laptop (to avoid temptation of playing them on my desktop while I am working), I was using the laptop’s built in touchpad. After that first experience, I plugged in the portable wireless mouse and the experience improved.

But the game still went super turbo after climbing a few levels. The best way to play this game is a little at a time or else you might run into mouse hand cramps. I enjoy the variety of menu items that includes soda, desserts, popcorn, ice cream and coffee. As you make a profit, you can upgrade all items and machines so they’re faster or better quality. Upgrades also include décor and training so Rebecca and Robert become more efficient at their jobs. This helps them prepare for expanding to a second store at another unique location they discover while on vacation — no spoilers here!

After completing a set number of levels, a bonus mini-game comes up where players must make pizza that looks exactly like the ones on the screen. That’s not all — players grab ingredients from a conveyor belt – think Lucy Ricardo at the chocolate factory. Just like for Lucy, it didn’t take long for the conveyor belt to trip me up.

The game almost literally goes from 0 to 60 mph in a short time rather than steadily increasing in difficulty. Surprisingly, the game only comes in one mode, but I’m not a fan of endless mode because it’s tedious. You can select the level to start the game, but I wouldn’t go above level one with the game reaching crazy fast speeds early. When I finally get my second location, it didn’t take long before I had to repeatedly play a level that I can’t beat.

The one hour free trial should be enough to figure out if it’s too much or not. While Turbo Pizza doesn’t stray much from the Diner Dash-style games, it has great graphics and a nice variety in customers, upgrades and products to keep things popping.

System Requirements: Windows

• Windows XP/Vista
• 800MHz or faster processor
• 256MB RAM
• 175MB hard drive space
• 32MB RAM or better graphics card
• DirectX 8.0

Rebecca and Robert are on a quest to build a successful restaurant franchise! In Turbo Pizza, you have full control over their pizza destiny. Decide when its right to purchase new appliances, better menu options, or put resources behind developing Rebecca and Roberts skills. Save enough money to open a second location in an even MORE unique setting. Meet your customers needs and word of mouth will bring the masses. Remember though, different customers have different needs.

* 50 challenging levels.
* Set up shop in 2 locations.
* Earn money to buy new items.

Download the game from your favorite site

• Amazon
• Big Fish Games