::: Cooking Mama Cookoff :::

Seeing that I spend my freetime watching shows such as Everyday Italian and Emeril Live I figured that only a food connoisseur like myself would truly appreciate a game called Cooking Mama. It’s this little Japanese made game with very basic graphics that allows for you to create foods from around the world. The premise is that you are being taught by “Mama” how to cook different foods. You are graded on how well you prepare each dish and scored accordingly. At the end of the challenge, you are given your final score and another recipe is unlocked. There are three different options in this game, each challenging in itself. “Let’s Cook” is the most basic of them all as this is the “level” that allows you to practice each recipe before being graded on how well it’s prepared. You are given instructions on how to chop, knead, fry, flip, flour, mince, dice and stir every type of concoction under the sun. You use your Wii remote for all these actions as the instructions tell you exactly how to move your remote in order to simulate the given motion (ex. Chopping calls for the up and down movement of your remote). “Friends and Foods of the World” allows you to practice recipes against other “chefs” of the world. You can make Lasanga against the Italian “friend” and see who makes the best and fastest lasagna. “Friends and Food” seems to be the most challenging as you are timed and paired against another player (computer or friend) and battle to see who reigns supreme Iron Chef style (for all you true Food Network fans). This “level” gives you no major instruction on what you are expected to do and how you are expected to do it as by the time you get to this level of mastery, you should know already.

I must say that my favorite is still the very basic “Let’s Cook” level because it makes you feel like you are really cooking in your own kitchen. Granted, the graphics could be better and the main character “Mama” is only limited to about three English sentences, “Good, Good”, “Getting Better” and “A little bit”. I enjoy cutting the slightly realistic green beans and making some… interesting dishes. The funny thing is that there is an American friend that you are allowed to cook against. What are the American dishes of choice you ask?”, popcorn and hotdogs. If that isn’t stereotypical I don’t know what is! Yet I take no offense, I find it entertaining that every culture on this game has at least one stereotypical dish, the Japanese have the Sushi, Italians have the Fettuccine Alfredo, Russian/Polish have Borscht and the Mexicans have Tortillas. With all stereotypes aside, it’s one of my favorite Wii games because the tasks are fairly simple to execute and it’s fun to play against the computer, with others or even alone. Overall, it’s a good, basic game that should not be overlooked but only purchased by those folks that love to take chances and venture off the beaten path.

Score: 8.6