Scouring the show floor at TGS is hungry work, but when all the eateries are full of the Dreaded Public where can you get the sustenance you require? We tried our luck at the Cooking Mama 2 booth, just in case they had some tasty swag to give away. Sadly, there was none. While we were there, however, we did get embroiled (which kind of sounds like boiled) in the game. The first thing we noticed about the game, once we'd finally worked our way through the main menu to some actual gameplay, was that the touch controls are much more responsive than in Cooking Mama 1. Whereas previously success in the game relied as much on the DS being your friend as it did on your skill, now the game plays with much less frustration.
The game itself is more of the same. More of an upgrade than a sequel, Cooking Mama 2 has extra recipes to produce as well as more diverse methods of cooking. During our play session we were challenged to scale a fish, open a sea urchin and empty an oyster. All without getting our hands covered in sea ming (that is, ming from the sea).
Cooking Mama 2 includes a new reward system with mini chefs that grade your meal. Performing well results in you obtaining pieces of clothing. We're not entirely sure what these are for, but no doubt it will be hilariously Japanese. And cute. Speaking of cute, Cooking Daughta (our name for her, not theirs) seems to be "playable". We're not entirely sure this impacts much on the gameplay, but choice is always nice, right?
The biggest new addition to the game is the multiplayer mode, which allows four people to play together with one copy of the game. This "cook off" mode will pit you against your friends in an attempt to produce the tastiest dish. Sadly there's no sign of any online mode.
Overall, it's pretty much the same game as before. If you enjoyed Cooking Mama 1 then the sequel will be as, if not more, enjoyable.
