It’s slightly unnerving to wave a Nintendo DS around the fruit ‘n’ veg section in Tesco’s at ten o’clock at night. Apart from sending out a public invitation for robbery, I was shopping for dinner, courtesy of Cooking Guide: Can’t Decide What To Eat?
Determined to get you into the kitchen (and, in my case, away from KFC), Cooking Guide differs from similar sounding titles such as Cooking Mama, by actually teaching you how to cook. It boasts almost 250 recipes from around the world, which can be divided into numerous categories such as difficulty and number of calories. Once you select what recipe you want, a virtual chef will guide you through the individual cooking steps on screen and via microphone. To ask for further details, or to hop to the next step, simply tap the screen or shout a voice command such as “Continue!” Rather handy when you’re up to your elbows in maccheroni. It even throws in a cooking timer and virtual shopping list – to be used at your peril, of course.
There are hiccups. After a couple of attempts you may well find yourself turning off the microphone function, which often confuses the sizzle of a cooking pan with a voice command. The pictures accompanying the steps can also occasionally be inaccurate, though the help videos are a wonderful touch. Allowing you to adjust food portions is also a very useful addition, so singles to families can get in on the culinary action. And not forgetting, each meal successfully completed is awarded with a stamp. For what is a lifestyle game if you can’t get a stamp, right?
I’m not sure if Cooking Guide is enough to turn me into a culinary wizard, but like many games of this genre, it provides an encouraging push in the right direction. And whilst the £29.99 RRP might put off many potential shoppers – after all, good ol’ fashioned cookery books can be purchased for a fraction of the price – the number of recipes, help videos and sheer novelty value will certainly be good enough for many. Just think of it as an investment. Or in my case, two and a half Domino’s pizzas.
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