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Joyswag: Cooking Mama 3 and Cake Mania 3 (DS) [update]
Update: That's it, folks -- the contest has come to a close! Keep an eye on your email's inbox to see if you won! In our latest Joyswag, we're hooking one lucky reader up with a pair of new Majesco DS titles: Cooking Mama 3 and Cake Mania 3. Keep 'em to yourself or pass 'em along as a gift this holiday season. See how you can enter to win below: Leave a comment telling us whether you prefer to bake or cook You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec) Limit 1 entry per person per day This entry period ends at 2:59PM ET on Tuesday, November 10 At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive Cooking Mama 3 for the Nintendo DS ($30 ARV) and Cake Mania 3 for the Nintendo DS ($20 ARV) For a list of complete rules, click here
Bury the Shovelware: Cake Mania
Welcome to the first edition of the new Bury the Shovelware. We're going to shake things up a bit in the interest of keeping it fresh. Instead of simply timing the games, we're going to explore the titles in five specific areas. They are: Pedigree - The background of the developer, publisher, and franchise. The Critics Said - A brief overview of what the critics said. Rap Sheet - The main glaring flaws of the game. Silver Lining - Redeemable qualities found (if any). Our Deduction - The final word on the title. We hope you enjoy this new approach. Let us know what you think in the comment section. Our first swing at this new format will take a look at Cake Mania. Pedigree Cake Mania is a restaurant simulation based around baking -- you guessed it -- cakes. The franchise is relatively new but is featured on several other systems, including the PS2 and PC. It's published by Majesco Games, a company which walks a thin line between quality titles (Nanostray, Cooking Mama) and shovelware (Nacho Libre, Fish Tycoon). Plus, we're totally angry at Majesco for canceling the remake of A Boy and His Blob. Developer Digital Embryo is relatively green in terms of games produced, as Cake Mania makes up 25% of its entire catalog. Other games developed include the shudder-inducing titled Puppy Luv Adventures.
American PC Store update for August 28th
Americans won't be fixing pipes in their PC Store update. Instead, they'll get their hands on a series of wallpapers and themes, some even cake-related! Who doesn't like cake? Cake Mania: Baker's Challenge theme PSP Wallpapers Series 1 wallpaper (x3) Hot Shots Golf Open Tee 2 wallpaper (x2) Cake Mania: Baker's Challenge wallpaper (x3)
Cooking is so fun, cooking is so fun ... yay! Video is ready!
Cake Mania 2 is roasting away in the proverbial oven of development, ready to rock our socks on the DS. The original title was a bit on the non-good side, but hopefully this latest entry can pull something magical out of the baking tray. Funnily enough, the above trailer claims that we will experience "cake-baking nirvana," reaching a higher plane of human existence localized entirely within our kitchens! If a lifetime of happiness isn't enough, CM2 features Endless Baking Mode -- for those who feel the need to get their cake on until the end of time.Ice up that mouse and click through past the break for some extra screenshots. This is simulation with sugar, people.
Majesco sharing a slice of Cake Mania with Wii owners
Sandlot Games' Cake Mania franchise is coming to the Wii for the first time via Majesco, as Cake Mania: In the Mix! The new Wii game combines the time-management-based gameplay of the first Cake Mania with the storyline of the sequel, and adds waggle to the baking and serving action in new minigames.Other new features include an unspecified "Shop Rating" feature that enables unlocks and a phone system that enables even more orders to come in.Majesco expects to release Cake Mania: In the Mix during this holiday season. It will be distributed by Codemasters in Europe for an early 2009 release. We're always interested in seeing how the PC casual games audience crosses over with the Wii casual games audence, and this is a perfect test case.
Majesco is manic for cake
Clearly we're dinosaurs. "Traditional" gamers like us are so out of touch with the tastes of the newly expanded audience that we can't seem to tell the difference between an awesome casual game and an incredibly tedious, ugly timewaster. Case in point: Cake Mania, which apparently sold "over 280,000 units worldwide." Co-publishers Majesco and Sandlot Games and developer Digital Embryo are, of course, preparing a sequel on the DS, featuring new kitchen upgrades, wacky new settings and an "endless baking" mode. There's even a branching storyline with six different endings! All of which are "cake is delicious." A Wii version is also in the works, but no details have been released yet. Expect Cake Mania, but on the Wii. We've embedded the official press release after the break.
Black Friday online bargains for the Nintendo DS
Stuck at home while every one else is out shopping, reaping the savings of Black Friday deals? Or maybe you just didn't want to deal with the crowds, afraid that you'll end up in a fist fight over the last Gold Nintendo DS Lite bundle? No need to worry -- there are a few sales you can still take advantage of online!Amazon New York Times Crosswords - $9.99 Circuit City Cake Mania - $9.99 Cooking Mama - $9.99 EB Games Konami Classics: Arcade Hits- $9.99 New York Times Crosswords - $9.99 [Via CAG]
Conjecture Countdown: One more day!
With only one more day of waiting before the debut of the diminished E3, we've decided to get serious and offer up some real predictions about what we will -- and won't -- see at the show. Check after the jump for the breakdown, by writer, of the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of our E3 hopes and fears.
DS releases for the week of April 9th
Well, unless you're just dying for a little portable Cake Mania -- and we know some of you are, you baking fiends -- then if you're in the U.S., all you can do is see what everyone else is going to be playing this week. And the you can make time for that stack of games you haven't finished yet.U.S. releases Cake Mania For the rest of the world, hit the jump.
DS releases for the week of April 2nd
What a week! At this rate, we could almost use a DS drought, just to give us time to save up some cash! But we shouldn't complain, since our counterparts in the UK and Australia aren't having much of a week as far as releases go. Isn't that always the way of it? One week, we get a ton of games and they get none, and the next week it's reversed. The only thing we can ever count on is that Japan is going to debut a veritable truckload of new titles. No matter what's going in the rest of the world, the Japanese must have their new DS games.US releases Cake Mania Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales Honeycomb Beat Konami Classics: Arcade Hits
Pirates of Emerald Islands and other Digital Embryos
Sometimes, we sure love the series of tubes through which information flows. There we were, happily slaving away in this tiny cell, listening to the shouts of our overlords, and we stumbled upon screenshots of pirates. Awesome, we thought, we can lure people into another round of pirates v. ninjas. But before we could enact this sinister plan, we headed over to the developer's site and there we found more screenshots for more games. Ain't life grand?The company, Digital Embryo, is also responsible for the upcoming port of Cake Mania for the DS, and their site profiles some of the other DS titles they've got cooking, from Intergalactic Casino (shockingly, filled with casino games) to the aforementioned Pirates of Emerald Islands. Though from these few screens, the games don't look too involved, they are characterized by a crisp and colorful style. Hit the jump to check out Pirates and a few of the others.
DS Daily: From PC to DS
We've spent a some time in our daily feature talking about games themselves, and what better topic for a Monday morning? Specifically, we want to know how you feel about flash games heading to the DS, like Cake Mania and Line Rider. These, and others, are still available to play online, so some gamers don't see much reason to bring them to the DS. Of course, portability is a plus, and some games -- particularly Line Rider -- will benefit from stylus-based controls. So how do you feel about the pros and the cons? Are these tempting titles for your DS, or will you pass?
Screens: Cake Mania adds to casual cooking commute
Cake Mania, along with a growing group of the formerly PC-centric casual games market, is finding a comfy little place on the DS. Following the girl power model of casual games like Diner Dash or Carrie the Caregiver: Jill's family owned bakery is forced to close when "Mega-Mart" moves into the neighborhood. Determined to fight back, she opens up a new bakery to prove herself and re-open her family's bakery. Of course, in the process she'll become a destructive corporate entity in her own right and learn a moral lesson -- kidding about that last part.Retailing at $19.99, with screens after the break, it's not a bad price for commuter folks who just need something to fill in the gap from point A to point B. Before getting it on the DS, you can "demo" any of these casual game ports at numerous sites on the web to see if they're for you.
Cake Mania looks good enough to eat
Luscious new shots from the flash-to-DS game Cake Mania have surfaced, along with further details on the port. Looks like the game might sell for as low as $19.99 -- and that makes this exciting. Sure, it's available all across the web, but for a bargain price on the DS, you can take it with you. So what's all this Cake Mania about, anyway? In this baking sim, young chef Jill has to -- gasp! -- bake her way to success in order to save the family business. You can even take the baking show on the road in other locations, like Hawaii, or even a casino. Who doesn't enjoy a sugar high while hitting the slots? The port features 80 bakealicious levels -- the full original game, plus the Back to the Bakery expansion.We like this idea of flash games working over to the DS -- especially at twenty bucks a go. Anything you've got a craving for?Screens after the jump from Worth Playing, complete with slight watermarking.
Have your cake and eat it too -- Cake Mania for the DS
Originally an online treasure, Cake Mania tells the tale of Jill, a recent graduate from culinary school, who returns home to find her grandparents bakery closed thanks to the new neighborhood Wal-Mart Mega-Mart. Jill, in order to save the family business, must bake up a storm of cakes and manage the store to keep customers coming. The DS version will feature the same cake baking madness along with an expansion titled Back to the Bakery. Cake Mania is scheduled to release in 2007 and sounds like it could start a new craze of bringing popular online games to the DS.
Online bakery sim heading to PC
Anyone interested in the success of online titles may do well to watch Cake Mania, a downloadable puzzle game set in a bakery. Developer eGames, Inc has partnered with Sandlot Games to bring this online game to retail outlets.Apparently spurred on by its online popularity, the boxed version will feature new levels. Lars Batista of eGames claims that Cake Mania "strikes the perfect balance" between "fun and educational" -- however, we doubt running a bakery is much like the clean-cut cartoony world of this game.
