Tuesday 15 January, 2008

Entry #2

GAMEPLAY:

By now, my time spent with Cooking Mama have left my hands raw and worn. 90% of the minigames included come with a time limit in which the task at hand must be completed. Some games I've been able to complete with a lot of time left over, which I think garners you a score bonus. Other minigames I can only complete with a fraction of a milisecond remaining. As such, each action must be done FAST with a capital "F".

For the most part, the game only requires moving the stylus side-to-side, up and down, circles, and tapping the screen. This makes the gameplay both easy to learn and easy to master, making a satisfying game expersience.

DESIGN:

Cooking Mama isn't the first game that makes the player a master cook, but it's as innovative as it gets. Many of the design choices are great, while others are just plain baffling. A few minigames require you to keep an eye on both of the DS's screens. A few, not all, require this, so you don't get used to playing that way. This makes the game challenging in a wierd and unwelcomed way.

Many of the design choices are similarly unexpected. Some minigames give you all the time in the world to do a task that only takes a second, while other ones give you very little time to complete a very complicated action.

While some of the design choices are frustrating, most everything else is an accomplishment. The look of the game is the greatest achievement because of the friendly and spritely characters. Even if you do fail a minigame, Mama will console you. "Don't worry, Mama will fix this," she'll say, which isn't too harsh, and not too lenient. You're constantly striving to earn Mama's approval, and when you do, the fruit is shaw-weet.

The main innovation that Cooking Mama brings to the video game industry is that the titualr Mama is gaming's very first MILF: Mom I'd Like to Filet with.

(Nicolas Kent - Grader)

Good work.

You could perhaps talk about why certain gestures are more common than others with a stylus...or talk more about the design choices you found frustrating. Honestly, though, you hit all the major points of the game from what I can tell.