System: Wii
Dev: OfficeCreate
Pub: Majesco
Release: March 20, 2007
Players: 1-2
Rating: Everyone
Review by Jonathan Marx

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Review Rating Legend
1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid
2.0 - 2.4 = Poor
2.5 - 2.9 = Average
3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
3.5 - 3.9 = Good
4.0 - 4.4 = Great
4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
5.0 = The Best

The controls for this game are something of a let down. They are, for the most part, well done. Unfortunately, they are a bit unpredictable. Some actions, like peeling, are fundamentally broken. It is fun to use the Wii-mote but it was better with the DS stylus. The stylus control was spot on, whereas the Wii-mote is clunky and inefficient. This is a major detracting factor for this game because the controls are what define it. This game could not be successfully ported to the other consoles for obvious reasons. Button mashing a soufflé just wouldn't work. Designers that base their games wholly around the Wii's functionality better take the time to get it right. Lamentably, the lack of attention to game control refinement seems to be a recurring theme for most Wii titles. Third party developers need to take their cues from Nintendo and develop a quality product or their games are simply not going to sell well.

The addition of multiplayer to the game is a nice feature. It is fun to play against friends to see who the best cook is. This is not a reason to buy the game however. It's simply an essential element for console gaming. There is no online component, but I don't think the game suffers because of it.

Cooking Mama: Cook Off misses the mark. It will be fun for a bit, but it won't be one of your favorite titles. I could see this title being popular with young gamers. In fact, it could be a good introduction for a youngster on how to use the Wii-mote. The cute animations and theme music are perfect for little ones. I think it is far more engaging and educational than Dora or anything else on Noggin. For the adult gamer, don't expect this to be anything more than a simple diversion for an hour or two.

By Jonathan Marx
CCC Freelance Writer

Features:

Cooking Mama: Cook Off, Digitally Served Wii Style
by James Ruffin

Widescreen TV? Check. Wireless controller? Check. Digital oven mitts and apron? Uh…check? This isn't a check list to prepare to blow up aliens. It isn't a checklist to prepare to fight on the front lines in Iraq or Iran. It isn't a check list to prepare to squash your friends on the basketball court or the football field. No, no friends; it isn't violence we prepare for or athletic competition for which our mouths are watering. We're ready to cook! Luckily Majesco, come late March of this year, will be prepared to take all our orders.

It's called Cooking Mama: Cook Off and it's the follow-up to the Nintendo DS' Cooking Mama. Majesco is stirring up the new game, announced last fall, for the new Nintendo Wii. Don't expect a straight port of the handheld DS game, though. This Wii version enjoys all the muscle its new console affords it: there are new foods, new gaming modes, and even multiplayer all wrapped around the sweet, user friendly Wii-mote center.

Designed specifically with the Wii remote in mind, Cooking Mama: Cook Off lets players slice, dice, roll, bake, press, and even filet some 300 different foods from ten nations around the world. The Iron Chef in each of us will enjoy real-time cooking effects, such as progressive browning and eventual blackening of foods left in ovens for too long, and the challenges of correctly combining a slue of ingredients in their correct proportions, with the motion specific Wii-mote, all courtesy of new realistic graphics. But the bells and whistles don't stop ringing there. Does the dish feature squid? If so, players will have to remove the squid's head, skin it, and remove the entrails - all with delicacy lest they make a careless mistake and soil all of their ingredients with the animal's ink. Seriously! And if they want to prepare fish, players will first be required to clean and gut the quarry in wonderful scale-shaving realism first. If bread will be served with that salmon steak, players must hold the Wii-mote horizontally and push it forward and backward like a rolling pin to roll their dough before baking it in the oven. But not to fret; practice modes will let players hone their skills in the kitchen, under the watchful guise of Mama, before stuffing it to the competition.

The single player Challenge mode pits players against the clock and on their own, preparing meals as quickly as possible. The better the player performs… er… cooks, the more recipes he or she will unlock. The 300 different foods can be combined in a total of 55 recipes, including desserts! Once the player has cooked them all, and is good and covered in the digital kitchen detritus, he or she can invite a friend to join in the fun.

That's right; Cooking Mama: Cook Off lets players pit their skills against each other in a true Iron Chef multiplayer mode. With each meal divided into steps, players will have to best each other progressively throughout the process of preparing their finished products, all while fighting the clock. So essentially, preparing meals feels like competing in a series of captivating mini-games.

Last but not least, Cooking Mama offers another new feature called "Friends and Foods of the World" mode, in which players can challenge computer-controlled friends from any of the ten nations represented in the game in the preparation of the foods from those friend's respective nations. Players will accomplish achievements, or unlock gifts, simply for participating in the international challenges. Win, and players will receive even better prizes.

For fans of the original Cooking Mama game on the handheld DS, Cooking Mama: Cook Off will have so much more to offer, it will feel like a brand new game all together. It is a deeper, more attractive game that's been improved in just about every way. For players new to the Cooking Mama title, Cook Off is a great way to enjoy a competitive, digital, realistic cooking experience that fully exploits the strengths of the Nintendo Wii. Education is part of the package as well, as players will be privy to information about the ingredients in, and preparation of, exotic dishes from around the world. So don the apron and light the stove tops; Cooking Mama: Cook Off is coming.

By James Ruffin
CCC Freelance Writer