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Game too picky about stylus movements to be fun

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 17
Date: April 04, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I love to watch to food network, so I thought this game would be a fun way to bring that to the ds. What I found was that although my screen was clean, and I was using an almost new stylus, the ds had a hard time registering when I would peel the carrots or potatoes. It became more frustrating as I would try to do other things (trim the fat from meat, cut lines, whatever required an exact mark,)and it acted like the stylus wasn't even being used. I had my husband try it, thinking maybe I was just the one with issues. He agreed that it was a bummer game. We finally resorted to just doing the practice sessions so that if it didn't recognize the movement we could try it over...and over...and over without Mama flaming her eyes at us. Yes, she gives you a "burning eyes" glare when you mess up. I play a lot of video games, so I'm not some novice trying out my first touch screen. Maybe other people are having better experiences, but I can only give it a single star. I sure do hope that Cake Mania will be better. It'll be a different kind of cooking game, but I'm sure it'll be a whole lot more fun.

Disappointed

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: December 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

After all the wonderful reviews, I decided to try Cooking Mama out. It didn't last long; I played it for about five minutes and proceeded to forget about it for a week before trading it it for Yoshi's Island DS.

Visually, there's really nothing "wrong" with the game; the graphics are great. The controls, though, are clunky and counterintuitive. It seems to take forever to learn how to do some of the techniques, and by the time I practiced enough to learn how to do it for real, I had lost interest and tried to move on to nothing else.

But that's the worst part of the game; there is nothing else. The minigames are as dry as the rest of the game, and there's really nothing else to scream about.

If you're huge into anime style graphics and games that make heavy use of the stylus, buy this game by all means. Just don't be surprised when it bores the life out of you.

Cute Idea...Poor Execution

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 7
Date: January 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I thought that cooking on my DS was going to be great. And it was for...the first 10 minutes. There just aren't enough variations to keep you interested for long. Chopping onion and cutting up potato is the exact same motion...Just like measuring rice and measuring water is the same. There weren't that many different dishes to make. So if you can already cook...stay in the kitchen. If you have no idea how to cook and are afraid to touch raw meat, then maybe you should try this before attempting the real thing.

Not really what i thought it would be...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is not a game you can play over and over again and not get bored. Once you know how to stir, cut, mix etc it pretty much is the same except for the steps in the actual cooking process. That applies to the cooking process too, cause it can't be different each time around for the same dish. A video clipping from amazon would have helped the decision process.
The graphics definitely is a weak point. If the game had options to create your own recipes would have been great to challenge friends. Like other games it should have had levels of difficuilty for any dish. That would make it a little more interesting. Other games also maintain your skill level and that could have very well been incorporated too(brain academy for example). All in all the creators need to put their thinking hats on to keep the gamer engaged. Thats key when you have a hand held. I would not recommend this game.

** I'm not sure how much the cooking mama II game is going to address. I'm big into cooking and hosting parties and this game was a let down, maybe i had high expectations.

Mesmerizing Monotony

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 12 / 19
Date: October 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The problem I've noticed with a lot of DS games is that they totally lack any kind of replay value. Out of the five games I've bought since I got this hand held, I've only kept two of them. The main problem I've noticed is that the games where either too repetative or the difficulty was skewed towards being too difficult or too easy. Cooking Mama embodies both of this common problems, as once the novelty of the touch screen control weares off, there is very little substance remaining.

Cooking Mama is about cooking, of course. As you complete recipes, new ones become available for a total of 76 unique dishes. After unlocking of those, you can combine two recipes for even more complex and difficult culinary challenges, and practice certain cooking skills. It may seem on paper that there is a lot to do here, but in reality there really isn't. Each recipe is broken down into a series of steps, each step representing a beat the clock mini-game. Here in lies Cooking Mama's main problem. The mini-games are really repetative. You'll see seeing a lot of the same one's over and over again, sometimes twice in the same recipe. Cut the vegetables, boil the ingredients, slice meat, dry fry the food. The recipe unique games are few and far between. And goodness help you if really hate one of the games that pop up frequently. I can't stand the game where a series of intrustions scrolls across the top screen and you must perform the action just as it passes over this little line. It's not hard or anything, just annoying and sometimes you can do it up to three times per recipe.

The DS cartridge is capable of holding ports of 3D Nintendo 64 games so there really is no excuse why Cooking Mama only seems to have about 30 mini-games total. Some of the challenges are utterly ridiculous too. One game has you imputting the number of minutes Mama tells you to onto a microwave. It's no challenge at all, and its the kind of activity that belongs on a Speak-N-Spell. In fact most of the mini-games really aren't very challenging. The only one that I ever found difficult was the game where you have to coat meat in bread crumbs because it takes forever to do it.

Cooking Mama is okay for its low price, but after a few days I imagine you will put it away and never look at it again.

Fun, but where's the beef?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: September 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Cooking Mama is esentially a series of cooking mini-games strung together to form 'recipes' for dishes. It's an enjoyable game but it lacks enough depth to be truely replayable. When enjoyed casually I think this game could last a while, but aside from these dishes there is little else to do. I found myself wanting to unlock more than recipes, to find new ways of using my cooking practice. One way this game could have easily been made a classic would have been to add some competitive play to it. How about Iron Chef matches or Wi-Fi tournaments? But there's not much to this game once the novelty wears off, which for me was about 6 hours later. I've come back to it casually but not for more than a few minutes here and there. It is, however, well worth the $20 price tag.

It's ok for a while

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: November 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

While this game is a cute concept, it's definitely not my favorite. While it is based on mini-games, I wish there was some larger goal you were working towards. After you complete the recipes, they are completed. If they do a sequel to this game, I hope there's a larger goal at stake, and it's perhaps in the form of a cooking game show or ensuring a restaurant is successful, etc. But the good thing is this game is inexpensive, and kids who are too young to cook but are wanting to try it out will probably love it!

Fun but not much to it.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 22, 2007
Author: Amazon User

My wife and I got this game a few days ago and we are enjoying it but there isn't much to it. It is a really cute little game with cute music and fun to play but all you do is unlock new recipes each time you score high enough on existing recipes. It consists of choosing a recipe to cook and then you are timed with a series of minigames to complete each part of the cooking process beginning with anything from peeling potatoes, slicing onions, coating and frying meat, and everything else on up to arranging the food on a plate. It's a neat little distraction for a quick game. If you are looking for a game with depth and longevity, look elsewhere; however, if you are looking for a cute and quick little cooking game, then this is it.

No so much, Mama.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: January 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

"Cooking Mama" is overall...OK. It's a little slow and it can ruin your touch screen if you are not careful. I would recommend getting a cover for the touchscreen before you play this game!
The music is annoying after an hour of playing but I have learned how to make a few new recipes. Some of the recipes seem a bit off from what I would make in real life but I am tempted to try some of the recipies in my own kitchen some day!

I only played the game for about 2 days and then my boyfriend has played it more than me. It's not an exciting game or something that I would recommend to everyone. I was a little disappointed by the game. Don't expect anything spectacular with Cooking Mama! It's a good game to add to your collection and gets you used to the touchscreen.

Could have done more...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Its a great use of the stylus but there could have been more to the game. They should have made it more like Trauma Center where you had to learn the steps and then memorize them and apply them to a particular situation. Instead, Cooking mama guides you through each step at a time. That would have been great for just the training mode only. It could have been so much more in depth if they laid out the ingredients and you had to remember the steps involved to prepare it.

And what about an IRON CHEF type cookoff?? Your opponent on the top screen and you on the bottom?? This game could have been so much better. Maybe in the next version!

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