Cooking Mama 2: Dinner With Friends is the latest version of the very popular cooking game on the DS. If you liked the first one, then you will enjoy the sequel even more. It plays the same as the first one, and there are more features and improvements throughout. Cooking games like this one have become unexpectedly big hits, selling in the millions. Cooking games account for burning up many internet hours on the flash versions of cooking games. Cooking Mama 2 may be the best of them all so far. Unlike Diner Dash and Cake Mania for DS which aren't very deep or particularly long games. Cooking Mama 2 has more than enough for you to sink your teeth into. There are even more modes, flashy glitter graphics and rainbow transitions.

Gameplay

The gameplay is the same as the first version. You use the stylus to complete steps such as boiling rice, filleting fish, squid and eels, and of course chopping vegetables. There are many tasks involved. You will use a fan to keep grilled foods from burning, saute in a frying pan or just stew up some of the meals. This time there are a few too many American foods on the menu for my taste including hot dogs and pizza. There are plenty of recipes though, including some Asian classics.

When you complete a meal for one of Mama's friends and you can be rewarded with bonuses like pair of eyeglasses for Mama. You can customize the kitchen and the pots and pans. There are color choices for almost all the tools. You can get Mama to change into a cheerleading outfit or give her a monocle. There are unlockable items and wardrobe options. However there are some items that Mama can't wear, which seems to be a flaw.

Another new mode is when you make dinner for Mama's friends. When you play through the Cook With Mama mode, you'll unlock new friends. Just like Thanksgiving, everyone has their own requests for dishes, which you have to cook for them. In this mode you will have to have some experience with the recipes. Which elevates you from being a cook to a chef in my book. If you mess up and over cook something, or drop a dumpling on the ground, you'll have to start over from scratch just like in a real kitchen. It makes it more of challenge.

Enjoyment

How much you enjoy this game depends on how much cooking games are your cup of tea. This one has clearly been redesigned with lots of input from the gamers. There are many improvements. It is a fun game that isn't particularly challenging, but it is addictive. I find myself playing it when I am impatient for something to come out of the oven. It is very rewarding when you are hungry and all you can think about is food. It can stimulate your palette enough to try some new foods. But the recipes aren't designed to be followed in real life cooking, for that you will have to wing it, or look up a real recipe online. The techniques are solid and could be considered educational. Some of us were hoping that this time around that it would have some aspects that were grounded in reality, like adding on recipe cards. It's all the fun of cooking without Gordon Ramsey yelling at you.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer consists of a competition to complete a single cooking skill the fastest. For example you'll have to break a certain number of eggs. You can play with three other friends on one cartridge. There is a downloadable demo mode to give to friends wirelessly.

Conclusions

There are a few places where the stylus doesn't seem to work very well and it's too bad. Otherwise the game is well made, and lots of effort went into pleasing the fans that loved the first game. Cooking Mama 2 and the Cooking Mama franchise in general could be considered to be the premier cooking games in the genre. This one is definitely a buy. I give Cooking Mama 2: Dinner With Friends a satisfied and sated 8.5.

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