Cooking Mama 3: Shop and Chop
© 2009 Majesco Entertainment
Are you hungry for more virtual cooking? This third Cooking Mama game for the DS includes new recipes, the ability to shop, dish combinations and multiplayer cooking challenges. The game gets you busy right away, and isn't too hard. There's also a nice variety of things to do and you do actually learn a little bit about cooking. The game is mostly about fine motor coordination, timing, sorting and following directions. Using your DS stylus, you will chop (using carefully timed taps on a moving knife), grate (by sliding the stylus over a grater), catch falling marshmallows (by moving a skewer left or right) and much more -- in over 200 minigames. You can create 80 new recipes including chili con carne or mushroom quiche, and the recipes progress from simple to complex, from small to large dishes. Based on the quality of your cooking, you can earn bronze, silver and gold medals from Mama, while impressing your friends with your dishes. If your friends think your food is good, you can unlock another new friend. The game features eight gameplay modes including: Cooking with Mama; Let's Cook; Let's Match; Let's Shop; Cooking Contest; Write in Diary; Let's Get Fancy; and Change Design. While there is no worrisome content, the narration consists of a stereotyped Japanese cook, that some could find offensive. This is one of the best cooking games to date. Developed by Cooking Mama Limited.
$30, Nintendo DS
Teaches: cooking, following directions, classification, fine motor coordination
CTR Rating: 96%