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)