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Cooking Mama not quite ready for Europe
Bad news for European gamers: Cooking Mama: Cook Off was originally scheduled for late March, but rumor has it that the game has been pushed back over a month to May 10th. Tragic! For now, you'll have to console yourselves with a mouth-watering video (and maybe the DS version). [Via GoNintendo]
Burger time in Cooking Mama: Cook Off
We've been keeping our eye on Cooking Mama: Cook Off for quite some time now. The game looks fun (and we're mostly hungry all the time), so Siliconera's 7 minute long video demonstrating hamburger construction got us especially excited (and our mouth watering). Everything is covered, from prepping the ingredients, right down to frying the meat. As always, the video is embedded past the post break. [Via Siliconera]
Japanese release day highlights: 02.08.07
Another Thursday in Japan, another round of lovely digital entertainment. Today is our favourite day of the week -- even more so than Sunday. We put our skates on (not literally, you understand) and got down to our local game dealer for some home cooking, mama. Here's what we picked up, the best of this fine February release day: Cooking Mama (today we've been twirling pizza dough, fiercely whisking eggs, and rolling ham around asparagus spears -- tomorrow, we're going to try some haute cuisine; Wii) Virtua Fighter 5 (yes, it's just a bit good; PS3) Out Run 2 Special Tour (back to Japan in time for its 20th anniversary, but only just, and how we've been waiting for another Passing Breeze; PS2) Jet Impulse (this game is giving us impulses already, but what have the skies done to deserve our ascent?; DS) Luminous Arc (marvelous strategy from Marvelous; DS)
Make food, not war: Cooking Mama trailer
Oh, Mama. We love you so, especially when you're starring in cheeky new trailers. This new Cooking Mama: Cook Off trailer is one of the best game adverts we've seen in a while. It's got it all: humor, gameplay, and a sense of fun that really suits the game. The only problem is that now we really, really want the game. Damn you, Mama!
Cooking Mama sizzled at CES
Seems Wired has a jones for the forthcoming Cooking Mama, as they hail it as this year's best game at the recent Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas. The cooking sim, with its Iron Chef-inspired multiplayer mode is, according to the Wired staff, a great example of innovative Wiimote application -- something that isn't always there when it comes to these early third party titles. They've not been the only ones to praise the title recently, but tagging on a 'best of show' in games is a step further head for the Majesco-published game.
Hot Cooking Mama screens from the oven
Like an Easy Bake Oven for the 21st century, Cooking Mama on the DS warmed its way into gamers' hearts with Wario Ware gameplay propelled forward by the shame of disappointing dear mother. Now Mama returns in Cooking Mama: Cook Off for the Wii. All the original fun will be there including Iron Chef competition against a friend -- "ALLEZ CUISINE!" Using the Wii-mote gamers will chop, grate, slice, stir and do all the actions of cooking without actually being able to eat anything afterward. There will be 250+ foods to create 55 dishes. No word yet on an actual release date, but find screens for the game after the jump.
Today's yummiest game video: Cooking Mama Wii 'soup'
Now you're cooking with gas. Er, the Wii. We initially joked on that there were several games you wouldn't see on the Wii, and yes cooking was one of 'em. Now we stand corrected, because Cooking Mama actually looks ... well, delicious. Fun, too. We never thought we'd be saying that about a cooking video game, but here it is. Next up, games based on cleaning and doing your homework. Check it out after the jump. You can practically smell the soup from here, and maybe we'll actually learn something while we play this one. When's Quantum Mechanics Mario hitting the shelves?
Get your hands dirty with Cooking Mama
Looks like the folks at GameSpot got their hands on a working version of Cooking Mama at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, and their preview answered a few of our recent questions about the game. It looks like the use of the Wiimote will make the game more immersive, as many more motions can be included, and it seems that they consider the Wii a step up for this game, and more along the lines of what it was meant to be. Cooking Mama: Cook Off features 300 ingredients and 55 recipes -- will that be enough? 55 recipes doesn't seem like that many, but the gameplay is very nuanced -- every little aspect can affect your outcome and your score -- so maybe that's where the replay value comes in. Good news for those looking forward to the multiplayer, too -- it looks incredible, and very Iron Chef. We anticipate many fun kitchen battles, just without all that pesky clean up. You can get a closer look at the multiplayer aspects in the video of a CES demo.
Wii Play videos
It must be video day around here. This time, it's snippets from Wii Play, courtesy of IGN, where they have a load of new movies from the successor to Wii Sports. We've included two after the jump -- the crazy cow racing and a somewhat lackuster round of table tennis. We're really dying to see a good long volley, but it looks like we may have to wait until Wii Play is nestled in our own Wii. Oh well! Until then ... videos! Check 'em out after the jump.
Best of the rest: Ross' picks
Lumines Live! (XBLA) On a big screen with surround sound, Q Entertainment's Lumines Live was easily the most-played game in my library (if you stretch the definition of library to digitally distributed titles). Although I railed against how microtransactions were implemented in this title and still think the extent to which they disclosed the dearth of features was misleading, both the Basic and Advanced Pack got more than enough play time, as did the multiplayer. It is the best Xbox Live Arcade title since Geometry Wars.
Peeking at Cooking Mama's potential
Jeux France has a beautiful image of a Japanese Cooking Mama: Cook Off ad that has our tummies rumbling. It also offers a peek at the game, via teeny-tiny screenshots tucked in at the bottom. It got us thinking -- is this a port/sequel that gets you excited? Certainly the gameplay seems well-suited to the Wiimote, but Cooking Mama DS was an easy choice due to price. It's doubtful we'll see as much of a price break for the Wii version ... so is it tasty enough for you to pick up a copy? There is, after all, additional content for the Wii in the way of the parade of international "mamas." Is it enough? We want to hear what you think about this game and its place in the burgeoning Wii pantheon of games. Will it catch on in the way that the DS title didn't quite manage? Will it offer that universal playability (it's for everyone!) that has been the Wii's best selling point so far? The Wii version does, after all, offer multiplayer functionality, and living room "cook offs" have a lot of fun potential.
Ad critic: cooking with Wii
Gaming site Jeux France has uploaded this Japanese ad for the Wii version of Cooking Mama. Since Nintendo's video commercials, which point the camera at the players themselves, would not translate effectively as a stationary print advertisement, publisher Taito has decided to rotate the camera 180 degrees and present the Wii as a cooking utensil. The logic here, of course, would be, "if you buy this game, you will chop peppers. Peppers are food. Everyone likes food; ergo, everyone will want this game" -- or something similar, we're sure. The advertisement is minimalistic -- lots of unused white space -- placing a greater emphasis and surface area on the pathos-appealing mock-up of the Wiimote being used to cook eggs and prepare meals while relegating screenshots to a tiny row on the bottom. We think it's a fair assessment that Cooking Mama is not pushing the graphical limit even for a Nintendo Wii game; in fact, it looks identical to its DS counterpart. The raison d'etre for the game is an experience that is meant to be easy and fun to play for a wide demographic. In that context, do you think the ad is effective? See also: Ad critic archive [Via bits bytes pixels & sprites]
Wii Play delay, Wiimote pack-in now due mid-Feb
Wii Play's North American debut has been unexpectedly pushed back to February 12, perhaps to give WarioWare: Smooth Moves, due on January 15, some space to dominate the minigame genre. Of course, for those of us waiting to buy additional controllers, Wii Play's release couldn't come soon enough. The minigame collection is sold exclusively as a Wiimote pack-in. See also: Wii Play minigames WRU?! [Via Wii Fanboy]
Wii Play: Nintendo's other minigame collection
Siliconera previews Wii's other minigame title Wii Play, as it's known in Europe. Also Hajimete no Wii (in Japan), the collection comes bundled with specially-marked versions of the Wii controller (for an additional cost) and includes nine casual games that familiarize players with the Wiimote's unique abilities (similar to the experience of Wii Sports): Shooting - Duck Hunt, minus the Zapper (and yes, there are ducks) Find Mii - Where's Waldo using Mii characters Table Tennis - Rockstar's Table Tennis this is not; players direct their paddles by pointing, and the ball is automatically returned (motion-controlled Pong) Pose Mii - Players mimic the Mii's pose by rotating the controller Hockey - Air Hockey with neon lights Charge - Bull racing; tilt the controller to stay balanced Fishing - Catch the specified fish using the controller as a fishing pole Tanks - multiplayer tank battle; shells can be bounced off walls Billiards - use controller like a cue stick (draw back and push forward); playable in 2D (top-down) or 3D (behind the ball) Oddly, Nintendo has not confirmed Wii Play for North America; though with the Duck Hunt clone alone many would consider this a must-buy. What gives?
Cooking Mama set to sizzle in European skillets this winter [update]
If you're a European who loves their DS, odds are you've seen videos of games released in the US and Japan and asked yourself "how many years will it take for the game to get here?" We know your pain, as you fine gaming folk often get the shortest end of an already very short stick, however you may at least take solace in knowing that Cooking Mama is releasing to your region in February of next year. Half a year is better than a whole year, right? [Update: Typo alert!]
Metareview - Cooking Mama (DS)
We lost track of Cooking Mama, assuming it would never wash up on shores outside of Japan. We were surprised when it popped up in a recent release list and picked up a copy right away. This quirky cooking simulator features Japanese-heavy dishes, with a lot of deep-frying and uncommon oceanic ingredients. Reviewers have been giving it points for originality, but docking it for longevity: Yahoo! Games (70/100) - "So while there isn't all that much on the menu, the fast-paced and simple gameplay can't fail to raise a smile, at least for the first few plays. Most will set it aside after that, but it's priced at a decidedly value-conscious $20 -- less than the cost of a good steak." GameSpot (69/100) - "You might glean a bit of info on what goes into some of these dishes, but this isn't a virtual cookbook. There are no precise recipes to be accessed anywhere in the game. There's also no multiplayer component of any kind, though the advertised four-player wireless icon on the back of the box might lead you to believe otherwise." IGN (70/100) - "The big question: is any of this fun? Though the entirety of this game is simply doing what you're told as quickly as possible, it's actually an amusing game if you're not expecting much out of it." Give Cooking Mama a shot, especially if interested in the culture of Japanese food. We don't think it would hold up without the menu of shumai wontons, octopus dumplings, and other unique treats.
A-ha! Experience screens released
I'll be honest, I haven't heard much of A-ha! Experience until I've seen these newly-released screens. It seems like the game may be the PSP's answer to the DS' Brain Training games. A-ha Experience is a collection of three types of mini-games: A-ha Change, A-ha Movie and A-ha Cut.A-ha Change challenges the player to quickly tell the difference between two pictures. A-ha Movie features what at first looks like a picture, but is actually a short video clip, and the player has to find what is moving within the video. Lastly, A-ha Cut challenges the player to watch several similar-looking video files and find what has changed.The game is supposed to challenge a player's "brain reaction where you figure out something that had eluded you in the past," according to an IGN preview. The chances of this game making to the States probably isn't very good, but because the game focuses on video and pictures, it will probably make for an excellent import title when it's released Nov. 30.[Via Gamespot/IGN]
Cooking Mama review -- too long in the oven
Nintendo is always on the path to finding a niche market and achieving the status as king of it. So far, in the area of handheld "pick up and play" games, they are king. Electroplankton, Tetris DS, Bomberman DS and many more are a few examples of their idea of games that can be played by everyone. Newly added to that list is the somewhat hard to find Cooking Mama. With all the attention the game has gotten, how does it fare in the kitchen? According to IGN, it does okay. They only gave it an even 7. The basic message is that while Cooking Mama does a great job of being a "pick up and play" title, it doesn't have much to offer other than simple task by task meals with extra recipes to unlock. If you are looking for intense, sweaty chef action -- don't look here. This game won't make you a better cook either. It's just actions like slicing, dicing and stirring in rhythm to make mama proud. Which we all want to do, right?
Wii Play to include Wiimote?
We found your second Wiimote, guys. Play.com has Wii Play (Hajimete no Wii), a collection of minigames designed to show off the Wii's capabilities, listed as including a second controller (but maybe not a nunchuk). Think Wii Sports, but without bigheads. Or, y'know, sports. And hey, instead of being included with your console, it's included with your second Wiimote! So where's our Wii Ultimate Bundle that includes all this stuff for a premium? Since we're going to buy it anyway, if only to get all old school with Duck Hunt. [Thanks, Jules!]
Cooking Mama all out of ingredients?
One of the journals over at Ars Technica recently documented some trials and tribulations in attempting to find the recently-released Cooking Mama for the DS. With a desire to prepare virtual meals, Ben Kuchera stormed many of his local brick-and-mortar retail outlets to no avail. In leaving the physical world and entering one filled with electronic webs, Ben wasn't able to procure virtual satisfaction either as all the sites he checked stated the game was on backorder. So what say you fine reader? Have you had any difficulty in snagging this at retail? Or perhaps you are the pre-ordering type? [Thanks Nushio!]
