Review Cooking Mama Cook Off Developer: Taito Publisher: Majesco Genre: Casual Game Release Date: March 2007 Platform: Review by Chef Randy Sluganski April 30, 2007		Buy this game at Trade for this game at:

Every once in a while, we review a non-adventure game that we think our readers will enjoy as the adventure community is an eclectic mix of tastes and age groups - not to mention that we also get a kick out of the silly emails we receive after posting such a review (True story: years ago, whenever we would post a review of an action/adventure game or a non-adventure game, the owner of another adventure site would write to JA in a huff, accusing us of ‘bastardizing’ the genre, confusing our readers and making it seem to publishers as though adventure gamers did not want new adventure games!).

Just to bore you further (is it obvious that I’m trying to pad this review?), a long time ago, in what now seems to be another lifetime, I was not only a chef’s assistant but also the kitchen manager at a few restaurants. I’ve always loved to cook and actually enjoy cooking more for large groups than for just a few people - which probably explains why I get ‘stuck’ cooking for our huge family dinners every Sunday.

So, when our friends at Majesco took a look at Just Adventure and, for some reason I’m oblivious too, decided that Cooking Mama Cook Off would be perfect for us to review, who was I to turn them down?!

Now I’m not sure what type of crazy person decided that a console game in which you do nothing but cook virtual food would be fun, but darn they were right! Cooking Mama Cook Off is one of those deceptively simple, yet effective, games – like Pacman or Frogger – that is dangerously addictive.

The premise is simplistic, you are presented with different dishes and the recipes to prepare them. Once you have chosen a recipe you are then provided with instructions for each step of the recipe and also a visual representation on how to perform that action with the remote. The finished recipe is then placed before you and if you have done well, you will be awarded a gold, silver or bronze medal.

What makes Cooking Mama Cook Off so much fun is the Wii controller and the cooking competitions. As most of you know, the Wii controller is a remote control that simply need be waved towards the screen. The Wii remote serves as the ultimate cooking utensil as you will use it to chop, slice, mix, stir, grate, turn up the heat, shake the pan and do the hokey-pokey (okay, I made up that last one). If you hold the remote horizontally, it can be used as a rolling pin, hold it upright to mash potatoes, crack eggs or slice vegetables. Once you have mastered the basics of using the remote – and this can be done in Single Player mode as you can master easy recipes before moving on the more difficult ones – it is then time for the real fun to begin.

The Friends and Food of the World option allows the player to compete against either another person – with both simultaneously preparing the same recipe in a race to the finish – or against a computer controlled friend. For both options you must first choose a nationality to compete against – such as French, German, Italian, etc. – and then a dish native to that nationality. Now lest you think that Cooking Mama is a breeze to play and not worth your time, here are all the steps necessary just to make pierogies:

• Crack eggs
• Mix Ingredients for dough (flour, water, etc.)
• Knead the dough
• Shape the dough
• Stretch the dough (use rolling pin)
• Chop ingredients for filling (use knife)
• Make minced meat for filling (use grinder)
• Stir fry ingredients for filling (use pan and burner)
• Wrap (put ingredients in pierogies and seal)
• Deep Fry (use deep fryer)

Whew, all that work, yet you don’t get to eat it when you’re finished!!

The graphics are very clean and colorful. Sound effects – c’mon, chopping noises, the sound of an egg cracking – these would be worth mentioning only if they were not acceptable. It would have been a welcome addition to have some frantic music in the background during the waning moments of competitions and the voice of the young female narrator is often hard to understand, but none of this distracts from the overall experience.

Cooking Mama Cook Off is not a game that will leave you hungry for more (Ha, get it!), but it will make you hungry! It may also be that more than a few gamers can at least learn some basic cooking techniques as not only are they are well presented, but the player is actually performing the motions necessary to make the dish. As I can personally attest, it is also a great family game that gets everyone involved. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have Laura Croft coming over for a virtual candlelit dinner.

Final Grade: A
(find out more about our grading system)