Cooking Mama: Cook Off

""A Little More" is right mama."

If you have ever touched games such as Trauma Center or WarioWare then this is gonna be nothing new to you, but this game still has plenty of charm to drag you in. While Cooking Mama: Cook Off is pretty much the "big sister" of the DS hit. It has some great improvements but there are still somethings that keep it from being the "greatest game of all-time".

GRAPHICS: 6/10

This is really the only part where Cooking Mama gets hurt the most. While the 2D Cel Shading adds a little flare specially when you get your gifts from your friends to put in your kitchen but during game play you'll notice the texturing and overall quality is sub-standard. It looks like a super charged DS. But the 2D art work itself is quite nice with nice colors and a cutesy art style borrowed from the first but expanded on. All in all it works for the game but no where nears pushes the Wii to a threshold.

CONTROLS: 8/10

The controls in the Wii are generally hit or miss and since the controls were always in mind when they made cooking mama they don't feel as tacked on as some other titles lately. It's all done with the wii-mote alone. Stirring, chopping, slicing, etc. is done with either motion sensing or the A or B buttons tho somethings 1 or 2 are using, specially the rolling pin ones. The controls are like most wii games you have to get a feel on how to get the wii mote to emulate the motions perfect but this only takes a few trials which isn't bad cause I was still able to get a silver and a gold my first 2 dishes so the learning curve is simple and not terribly hard.

SOUND: 7/10

The soundtrack is nothing outstanding or impressive. Outside of the game you wouldn't be caught dead listening to the music, but while in game it matches perfectly. The cutesy art flows with the cutsy music so its perfect for the game, simple but works, just like the graphics.

As for sound effects, same thing simple, boiling water, chopping block, etc. can't really expect nothing fancy from that. And the voice acting features the original soundtrack. So you get the famous "Engrish" language spoken to you. Which for me I actually find quite adorable given how the mama look, it seems to fit her. Which is why I gave it that 7. But for those not used to say Anime or Japanese Culture, I'm sure it could get annoying but really doesn't damage the game at all.

REPLAYABILITY: 10/10

Two things added in here were a definite plus and improved the overall enjoyment of the game. First being the multiplayer, my friend and I had been craving the idea of the cook off and they finally presented it to us. And I will say, its exactly how you expect it, you go head to head with a friend seeing who can prepare the dish faster and better. Total scores at the end declare the winner. But also they added in the Friends Around the World Game. Where its the same as the Multiplayer idea but you challenge the PC, but when you finish you get a prize, one for losing and one for winning which then mama puts in your kitchen for you to view.

Cooking Mama: Cook Off is by means nothing extremely original nor totally bland. It's your average game with above average enjoyment. It's fun for the whole family, no doubt even for the non-gamers,which my significant other is a testament to that. So Cooking Mama is a definite buy for those who are a fan of the WarioWare/Trauma Center series of games, but for those skeptical of it, give it a rent or borrow it from a friend. But for the most part I can guarantee you'll enjoy it and it has plenty to do.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/26/07