Cooking Mama: Cook Off review

Shell a shrimp speedily or burn in the hell of mama's eyes?

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Visually very cute

  • +

    Meats and veggies are realistic

  • +

    Gameplay is fun when it works

Cons

  • -

    Gets repetitive too quickly

  • -

    Remote is usually unresponsive

  • -

    Another collection of minigames

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We can’t help thinking that Cooking Mama was best suited to the pocket-sized DS, not the full-bodied Wii. The idea is that the Wii’s functionality is perfect for the game, letting you use the remote to closely simulate chopping real peppers, cracking real eggs and stirring real soup. You know, like every real night of your life, right? Wrong.

At least on DS you had the touch screen to create some sensation of resistance while you carried out your cooking tasks; on the Wii there’s not even the occasional remote rumble to imply you’re doing anything other than waving your hand around the room at random. On top of that, the remote doesn’t even seem to do what you tell it to half the time.

More info

GenreFamily
DescriptionMama opens up shop on Wii in 2007 with revamped visuals and more cooking minigames for one or two players.
Platform"Wii"
US censor rating"Rating Pending"
UK censor rating""
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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