Wannabe chefs will be itching to return to the virtual kitchen this winter to play Cooking Mama: World Kitchen. World Kitchen retains all the charm and challenge of the original Cooking Mama, but made some changes based on issues that arose with it.

Like the first game, the objective is to create a variety of dishes. I asked the Majesco rep how many dishes will be available, but he didn’t know. You no longer play as Mama but a little boy who is unnamed at press time. I asked the rep if the boy is Mama’s son but he didn’t know. He did say though, that many of the male journalists who dropped by have offered their own names for the character!

One of the biggest changes in World Kitchen is that the tasks are more action-based. For example, in the original Cooking Mama when you slice an onion, you have to first line up your cursor with a line drawn on the onion and then make a cutting motion from there. The developers found that young children found this extra step too difficult, which defeats the purpose of a family-friendly game. Now all you have to do is simply flick the Wiimote down to cut.

Another improvement in World Kitchen is the addition of meters to certain tasks, such as cracking eggs. Again, the devs found that young children had a problem with this. They apparently don’t know their own strength and would flick the Wiimote too hard, smashing the egg into smithereens. Now a meter indicates the optimal level for players to press the A button to crack the egg.

Even the camera angle has changed. Whereas in the original game everything was from your perspective and it feels like you’re really cooking, in World Kitchen you’re looking across the counter at the little boy, even though you’re playing him. It’s really weird. How can I be playing as the boy when I’m looking at him? It’s a total immersion breaker. I suppose I can pretend that there’s a mirror in front of me while I cook.