The main gameplay changes in World Kitchen are the new third person perspective and all the little “friends” that you cook for. All of the previous Mama’s were first-person experiences, while this version changes the focus to the player’s little chef. It works just fine, but Mama vets may be a bit disoriented at first.

There are two main game modes: Cooking With Mama, where it’s just you and Mama, and Cooking With Friends, in which your little friend will smile at you and occasionally bail you out Mama-style when you mess up. The main difference between the modes is that Mama scores your progress at each step in a recipe, while your friends just smile and wave, offering no barometer for your progress. It’s much easier to fail on your friends, causing your little avatar to start crying while said “friend” just smiles, waves, and says “see you later”. Heartless little jerks.

Another mode is the rather anemic Cooking Contest, in which you and a second player (single players use an AI friend) play co-operative minigames from the various recipes. It’s a bit lame, and I wish there was a full-on competitive multiplayer mode (like in the previous Wii title, Cook Off). Imagine how cool it would be if you could throw scraps at your opponent while you compete to say, make the most Mochi balls. This type of game is absolutely begging for a robust multiplayer mode – and the lack of decent competitive play is a huge drain on World Kitchen’s longevity.

In any of the main game modes, you’re unlocking new recipes and friends, and perfecting your virtual culinary skills in order to earn medals on all of the recipes. As for the faux food you’ll be making – there’s quite an incredible variety. You’ll be cooking up everything from simple burgers and club sandwiches to more haute fare like Dango Dumplings and tasty parfaits. By the end of the game, you’ll be very sad that the food isn’t real – even in their cartoony glory, all of the eats look positively delicious.

Speaking of cartoony glory, the game is gorgeous. The overall aesthetic is simple, clean, cel-shaded minimalism, with slightly more realistic-looking food items. It’s a wonderful example of simple graphics truly complementing the gameplay – since there’s so much going on, and the minigames are so fast paced, it’s a nice way to keep the focus on the action at hand. The music is forgettable, but completely inoffensive and appropriately bouncy.

The controls are mostly wonderful – I say mostly because there are occasional (and infuriating) hiccups that will cause you to lose a step in a recipe. It’s fairly rare, but incredibly annoying, especially when you’re risking early-onset arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome from shaking and twirling the Wii-mote as hard as you will be. For the most part, however, shaking, chopping, sifting, pounding, slicing, peeling and tipping works quite well, and the graphics are satisfyingly in tune with your actions, keeping the third person view relevant and easy to adjust to.

Really, the biggest issue with the game is the lame multiplayer and lack of enough game modes. While the developer can be commended for wanting to mix things up (after all, the formula’s been trotted out a few times now), there just isn’t enough content to justify paying full price. Rent it, grab a copy of last year’s Cook Off (which now runs for $18), or wait for Mama’s gardening adventures, unless you’re a huge fan of the series. The game is solid, and well worth a play through - just not a $50 one.

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