Cooking Mama: Cook-Off

Best For: Ages 7 and Up
ESRB Rating: E-Everyone
Genre: Simulation
Available For: Nintendo Wii and DS
Producer: Nintendo
# of Players: 2
Fun Factor: 4 out of 5

With a sparkling grin, bright eyes, and a surprisingly short temper, "Cooking Mama" is set to invade your life and unleash your inner Julia Child or Rachael Ray. As the title suggests, it's a cooking game! Use your Wii remote or Nintendo Dual Screen stylus (Note: The DS version is simply called: "Cooking Mama.") to slice, dice, fricassee, flip, simmer, and boil a wide range of recipes from a variety of cultures.

The game is timed and often relentless. For example, to make a soup you have to chop and peel each ingredient (by moving the controller or stylus as if performing each action in real life ), move them into the pot, turn on the heat, and be sure to take it off before it boils over. To make a crepe, you have to mix the batter, pour it, and flip the crepe. Each recipe is a timed mission and Mama isn't afraid to chastise you, and then do it herself (just like my own Mom).

Both games are available at a budget price and are essentially the same. The Wii version packs in more recipes, plus the split screen multiplayer is a lot of fun, but the controls are less precise, making the game a bit more frustrating.

Parents take note: "Cooking Mama" is wholesome entertainment and teaches hand-eye coordination, quick thinking, and the fundamentals of cooking. Few games are this demanding, challenging, and offbeat. There's even a shot this is the kind of game that might inspire a love for the culinary arts in your kids. Or maybe it'll just encourage a bit more respect and admiration for the unsung family cook.

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