Cooking Mama: Cook Off (Wii)

If you think the Iron Chef TV show serves up a wacky culinary experience, wait until you get a taste of COOKING MAMA: COOK OFF, a game designed for the Nintendo Wii. Loosely based on the popular Nintendo DS title Cooking Mama, this console version lets you take command of the kitchen using the Wii's innovative motion-sensing wireless controller as your all-in-one cooking utensil. Your goal is to prepare, cook, and serve dishes from around the world within a predetermined time limit. In total, the game features 250 kinds of foods, which make up the 55 real-world dishes from 10 nations: China, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, and the United States.

While not without its flaws, Majesco Entertainment's Cooking Mama: Cook Off is a deliciously fun and silly exercise for the entire family. Four optional modes in addition to the main single-player mode add to the depth of the gaming experience, but for $49.99, this collection of Mini games doesn't offer as much gameplay and replayability as it should. The main "beef" with Cooking Mama: Cook Off, however, is sometimes the motion-sensing controller isn't as accurate or responsive compared with other Wii games.

But despite its shortcomings, Cooking Mama: Cook Off is a unique, wacky, and family-friendly game that takes advantage of the Nintendo Wii's clever control scheme -- when it works.

Available on: Nintendo Wii
Not available online
Genre: Simulation
Developer: Majesco
Released on: March 21, 2007
Price: 49.99
ESRB Rating: E for Alcohol Reference