Even though PETA hasn't been too happy with Cooking Mama: World Kitchen, everyone else has to be enjoying the game we had so much fun with back at E3, right? Well, the few reviews that have come in haven't been all that positive. So let's get to the scores.
IGN (70/100): "So what we have here is a good casual game; what last year's Cooking Mama should have been. World Kitchen is easy enough for anyone to pick up and play (despite the lack of tutorial), and Mama's charisma may even keep cynical hardcore gamers playing longer than they expected. A little depth beyond simple waggle controls and more gameplay variety would be nice, but this is a fun, breezy game for the non-discriminating player on your holiday shopping list."
Nintendo Power (65/100): "Cooking Mama World Kitchen isn't bad, but it could have been better." [Holiday 2008, p.80]
1UP (C-): "World Kitchen tries hard to spice up the already tasty Cooking Mama recipe with new characters, slapstick rescue minigames, and cheesy-in-a-bad-way voiceovers, but the results leave behind a funny aftertaste. It'll do in a pinch, but I prefer Cook Off's well-balanced helpings."
Any of you pick up Mama's latest game? Agree with the critics? Disagree?
Following up their recent Super Mario Bros.and Cooking Mama games, PETA has commented to GI.biz that they'll continue this format as a way of "engaging with the public." We guess it's been successful for them, as they say this approach to spreading their message is as "important as music, movies, and television." We can't say we agree, but different strokes for different folks, we suppose.
"Many people are unaware of the real-life violence that animals endure on factory farms and in slaughterhouses," a PETA spokesperson said. "We use games to highlight the cruelty to animals because they appeal to people who are interested but may be turned off by more direct appeals." Well, we don't understand the effectiveness of this approach, to tell you the truth, but, then again, we enjoy a burger every now and then.
Mama, lovable cook and Majesco mascot, wants us all to know that her latest game, Cooking Mama: World Kitchen, isn't all about killing animals and preparing them as tasty dishes. No, the Mama has a bunch of vegetarian recipes, as well, evidenced by the press release sent over to Go Nintendo. What kind of veggie dishes can be prepared in Cooking Mama: World Kitchen? Well, there's miso soup and rice cakes, just to name a few.
"I would never put rat in my Ratatouille," said Mama, wrist-deep in her latest recipe. "Like any accomplished cook, I create my recipes to appeal to a broad range of tastes and preferences. My only goal is to ensure you leave the table well fed." We imagine PETA's next step is a Flash game where Mama viciously murders piles and piles of Octopi for their ink so she can write out a press release.
We're so pleased to present this upbeat, non-disgusting trailer for Cooking Mama: World Kitchen. However, even this innocuous "As Seen on TV" style video is not without controversy: certain statements are made regarding your mama. Specifically, her ability to cook, contrasting with the abilities of the game's fake cartoon mama. The trailer disclaims these statements, but it's possible that by then the damage could already be done. Consider yourselves and your mamas warned.
Hopefully we can look past this shocking material and enjoy the gameplay footage and cute presentation. Because it is really cute, and it would be a shame if some kind of awful publicity marred such cuteness.
Posted Nov 17th 2008 2:35PM by JC Fletcher Filed under: News
Ready to be sick? Coinciding with the release of Cooking Mama: World Kitchen, PETA has wielded the Awesome Power of Copyright Infringement to make a Cooking Mama Flash game about the preparations involved with cooking turkey.
Combining an impressively accurate facsimile of Cooking Mama gameplay with horrifying, bloody visuals, Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals is intended as an appeal to Majesco to create a vegetarian-only version of Cooking Mama.
In Mama Kills Animals, a sadistic Cooking Mama guides you through the process of defeathering, preparing, and stuffing a turkey. Between levels, the game presents horrifying facts about the meat industry as well as videos we didn't dare watch. Apparently, at the end, Mama reforms and becomes a vegetarian.
In case you didn't get our subtle hinting, this game can be really upsetting. Keep that in mind should you decide to click.
Cooking Mama: World Kitchen is almost here, and that means the powers that be are working very hard to convince Wii owners that Mama is cute as ever, even if she's had a little work done. These latest screens do an excellent job of proving their point, with their adorable high fives and Mama poking herself in the eye. Guess those fleshed-out limbs take a little getting used to.
Check out the gallery below for new screens, and if those aren't enough to satiate your appetite for Mama, head on over to GAME Watch to see more.
While we love Cooking Mama and eagerly await the November 18th release of Cooking Mama: World Kitchen, our excitement has been tempered a bit by the decision to go all-3D. We love the hand-drawn Mama character that accompanied previous DS and Wii games, and we've found it hard to accept the new low-poly 3D models.
Well, after perusing the latest screenshots, we give up. Okay, Taito/Cooking Mama Ltd./Majesco, your new Cooking Mama game is very cute. We look forward to creating our own very cute character to interact with the cute Cooking Mama in the cute cooking game. We can see the traditional graphics in Gardening Mama, anyway!
For those of you that read our write-up of the game back at E3, you know we thoroughly enjoyed our brief time with Mama in Cooking Mama: World Kitchen. Now, the game has been dated for North America, arriving on our shores November 18th. Cooking Mama: World Kitchen boasts over 50 recipes and co-op gameplay, and will not be as punishing as the original, as one failed step in the recipe doesn't destroy the whole meal.
So, who's excited to put on their apron and get to cooking with Mama?
We've got some fresh screens for the game, as well as boxart. The boxart is, well, quite pleasing to us. We have Mama looking over the shoulder of our new wouldbe chef, smiling happily and ... wait, what is that? Mama, how could you? The first rule of the kitchen is to turn off all unused burners on the stove! Are you trying to get someone killed?!
Tsk tsk, Mama. We guess we can still love you. And play your game.
I should preface this by saying I'm not a huge Cooking Mama fan. Sure, she's great and all, but preparing fake food often held a spot in my heart next to making real food. I'm just no good at either activity. But, that isn't to say that Cooking Mama: World Kitchen isn't better by leaps and bounds than its predecessor.
Well, we heard the news not too long ago. Cooking Mama: World Kitchen is getting down to serious business, with updated 3D graphics and sophisticated moton controls. Hooray, huzzah -- too often have we wished the Wiimote to be a spatula for flipping burgers. Why enjoy the sight, smell and taste of cooking real burgers when you can do it without all those sensory annoyances?
Yes, it's always fun to laugh at "life" simulation games (even if this life is a cartoon featuring big-head Mamas and cooking scores). The real truth, though, is that Cooking Mama games are usually pretty fun, and the fresh new gallery shows a pretty decent look at the upcoming Wii installment. Bon appetit!
Posted Jun 30th 2008 7:00PM by JC Fletcher Filed under: News
According to a press release sent out by Majesco today, Cooking Mama: World Tour is going to represent a significant revamp of (formerly Office Create) Cooking Mama Limited's signature cooking game series. Mysteriously, the press release describes an "upgrade to full 3D graphics." Yes, that means that Mama has gone 3D. It also means that the game's view has flipped: instead of playing in first person, you now look directly at your avatar as he cooks.
For the first time, you'll be able to control Mama herself in spontaneous minigames, as she rushes in to fix your mistakes -- for example, she can catch mis-flipped burgers in her apron. "Additional rhythm and motion" has also been added to the main Wiimote-based gameplay. Whatever that means, at least Cooking Mama Limited is taking steps to avoid stagnation.
Back in March, Majesco quietly announced a new Wii Cooking Mama game called Cooking Mama: World Kitchen, to be released in fiscal 2008. We haven't heard or seen anything about it from Majesco since, but GameFly is providing evidence that the game is on the way, having just listed the game in their "Coming Soon" area with a release date of October 30.
The Cooking Mama series continues to make tons of money for Majesco, allowing them to fund some interesting games. In addition, it's hard to imagine something as basic as motion-based food preparation getting stale, so we say bring 'em on.
Amazon has had some odd "Deal of the Day" sales lately, and today's deal (a Wii Madcatz component cable) is no exception. If you're in need of a component cable for your Wii, though, it might be worth getting. While many of you are often hesitant to buy non-Nintendo accessories, the customer reviews for this cable are overwhelmingly positive. Also, at today's deal price of $10, the cable is almost $20 less than the Nintendo brand one.
Also of note is that Cooking Mama for the Wii is on sale at Amazon for $30. We know what you're thinking: "Wasn't Cooking Mama always $30?" The answer is no, but it should have been. The game is being sold through Target, however, which means you can't take advantage of Amazon's sweet free shipping. We're also not sure how long this deal will last, so if you're interested, we recommend jumping on it as soon as possible.
Everyone has an opinion about what makes a good game. You've got one, we've got one (or several, as there are several of us here), and the reviewers, they all have their own preferences, too. Sometimes, however, those opinions all just seem to coincide, and then we know a game is truly something special.
As part of our celebration of the first year of the Wii, we thought we would do a comparison of the best-reviewed games released for the system alongside our picks for the top games. Sometimes they overlap, but we slipped in a few extras that we feel just might be worth your time.
