Cooking Mama 2. (Cooking Mama 2 : Dinner With Friends (DS))

Member Name: prekrassnyi

Product:	Cooking Mama 2 : Dinner With Friends (DS)
Date:	20/08/08 (18 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Addictive, fun, multiplayer friendly.

Disadvantages: Not too much different from the first one...

Cooking Mama 2, the sequel to the surprise smash-hit DS game, heats up the kitchen with some serious upgrades. Often when a sequel comes out which is blatantly a copy of the first with some extras, it is rightly seen as a bad game, something hanging onto the reputation of it's predecessor and a lazy ploy to make money on the developers part.

This is not a bad game by any means. The variety of recipes and challenges improve on the first but it's not an essential purchase. You could get away with just owning the first game but if you missed out the first time around then start here.

The idea is that under the strict yet loving teaching of Mama, you will be able to cooking a variety of meals and deserts within a set time limit to the quality she expects. At the end of each dish (if you finish it...), it is rated and you are rewarded accordingly.

Playing and completing recipes leads to unlocking more recipes and the mini challenges are always there to help you improve your gameplay (you can also practice parts of recipes that you find particularly tricky).

The mini games are surprisingly fun for multiplayers - who knew cracking the most eggs open would bring so much accusations of 'cheating' and competitiveness? - and to complete the game overall, it takes a long time, especially if you feel the need to achieve a gold standard in everything!

Overall, it's a fun game for everyone - bright and easy to pick up, increasing in difficulty enough to challenge everyone and seriously addictive. It also might have the added benefit of increasing the horizons of your tastebuds if you decide to try some of the recipes you've 'made' in the game. Brilliantly fun and unique.

Summary: A brilliant start for those who missed out on the first game and a must for diehard fans.