E308: The Jamie Oliver game is ... really cool?
by JC Fletcher 
{ Jul 17th 2008 at 8:45AM }
Yeah, I'm kind of surprised. I passed by a demo of What's Cooking? Jamie Oliver at Atari's booth and I was overcome by curiosity. How abhorrent would a licensed celebrity-chef training game be? The answer, it would seem, is "not very abhorrent." I couldn't really figure out what to do that well, but not because the interface was bad -- What's Cooking is a hardcore cooking training game. Also pictures of Jamie Oliver show up from time to time, just to remind you that it's his game. Imagine (in a non-dirty way) if Cooking Mama and Cooking Guide had a baby. What's Cooking teaches real-life recipes, and then has players simulate their preparation with touch-controlled actions. Without holding your hand, at all. I actually couldn't get past the initial steps of my first recipe, because the thing is so deep. To make a sugar paste (the first step), you have to first get a bowl out of your inventory of kitchen implements, then pour some sugar into the bowl, then mix it with a wooden spoon. To heat something up, you have to move it (via a 'stove' icon) to the stove area of the kitchen, then turn on the heat, and stir it around. The game doesn't really tell you when you're done, or even when you've failed. You just cook, like in real life. You could really learn how to cook by playing this.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Adam York @ Jul 17th 2008 10:59AM
Wow, another mundane thrill...
Let's simulate something that you're going to have to do in real-life anyway, except rather than having something nice to eat at the end you get a picture of Mr Oliver.
I can't wait for Dyson's Vacuuming Champion to be released... in that you have to clean your virtual carpet by dragging the stylus back and forth.
I know, a bit harsh, but still, if you want to learn how to cook get a book and some ingredients... if you want to learn how to save princesses from tyrant reptiles, get a DS.
aj @ Jul 17th 2008 5:43PM
I don't know, that really is all that cooking is - COOKING. But so many people seem terrified to just do it. Maybe a game like this could help some folks get over the fear of just going and cooking something.
I swear, people act like I am some kind of wizard for knowing how to cook. I always say that I learned by cooking, and after I made my 50th awful burnt hunk, the 51st thing was a fantastic meal.
Matdredalia @ Jul 18th 2008 3:30AM
Take it from someone who took three years of Home Economics, including one semester that was entirely orientated at cooking: it's not always as easy as picking up a cookbook.
I have almost burnt down a kitchen, stabbed myself, burned myself, and also caught more dishes than I care to recall on fire.
Sometimes getting a demonstration that doesn't involve cutting utensils and fire is a very very nice thing for those of us who are kitchen-ly inept.
I have actually learned more from playing Cooking Mama than I did in Home Ec.