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Last fall Cooking Mama sautéd her way into the hearts of bargain-minded Nintendo DS owners. Her stylus-stirring cooking simulation may not have been a smörgåsbord of game play but the cart only cost as much as a super-sized fast food dinner for three. The thin serving was forgivable, at least partially, because the quirky Japanese flavor of the affair was so tantalizing. With her new Wii game our culinary matron hasn't really changed her recipe. The broth is still a little thin. It's the transition from modest touch-screen scribbling to exaggerated Wii remote flailing that brings the Cooking Mama: Cook Off over the top.

Mama Said Knock You Out

Using the Wii controller to chop meat, stir soups and crack eggs is quite fun. If there's one proven genre on the Wii it's the  mini-game collection. Cooking Mama: Cook Off feels a lot like Wario Ware: Smooth Moves in this respect. Every step in food preparation is preceded by an brief instruction screen. But verbiage can't entirely prepare you for the nuanced motions you'll have to pull off while preparing each meal. Half the fun is trying to figure the controls out on the fly. Multiplayer cooking contests between inexperienced players make for plenty of confusion, embarrassment and laughs.

Butchering Languages

If the awkwardness of looking stupid in front of friends isn't enough, be sure to play Cooking Mama: Cook Off with the volume way up. On the DS Mama didn't speak much, but here she's got lots to say – and nearly all of it is said with an unfortunate “Engrish” accent. A new mode that lets you play against a bevy of international, computer-controlled friends, sees the localization disaster snowball. Mama quips in multiple languages almost always with embarrassing results. Mama's linguistic issues don't detract from game play. In fact, in most circumstances the game's problematic voice work is sure to add more laughs. Still intact is Mama's flaming anger at your failure. Now, if we're hearing her correctly, she disses poor performance with the line “you're not mine.” We're assuming this is Mama's way of telling us that not only are we culinary failures, but we're also adopted.

The Wine Does Go Well With the Chicken

Cooking Mama: Cook Off, like a good meal, is best shared with friends. Solo players will find some diversion in the international challenges – beating these opponents unlocks prizes that Mama proudly displays in her kitchen. As a solitary experience the game feels a lot like it did on the DS; unique, quirky and a little flimsy. Add company and suddenly the game bursts with flavor. If American Idol, YouTube and self-penned wedding vows are any indication, our culture gets off on acting the fool while in the spotlight. With games like Cooking Mama: Cook Off, the Wii seems to be the one-stop shop for gamers seeking that kind of public humiliation.

Article by: Gus Mastrapa