The basics of the game haven’t changed from the previous Cooking Mama games, but that’s what makes this series so good. I mean “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, right?

What makes this game the best in the series is the adding of extra challenges such as matching food types to create a new recipe (there was something similar to this in the first Cooking Mama, but it was way more generic). You don’t find out the recipe you’ve made until you’re finished which is fun too.

There is also a “shopping” challenge in which you have to run around a grocery store picking up food while avoiding over zealous employees and shoppers. If you do happen to run into them you enter a mini game. This challenge is a good distraction if you’re tired of the “cooking” aspect of the game.

Also this game has done away with some of the more “frustrating” aspects of the previous Cooking Mama games. For example, you don’t have to go through the whole trial and error process of guessing when to add certain ingredients when you stir fry food. The game will tell you when to add the various ingredients. Also there are ways to “save” yourself on certain steps if you mess up. This is good if you want a perfect score but dread having to go through the easy and boring nine other steps each time you mess up on the tenth.

All that being said, there are still some drawbacks to the game which permeate through the entire series. There are bonuses you can get, usually in the form of icons which you can add to a diary entry and sometimes clothing or designs for Mama and the kitchen respectively. I personally find the picture diary and especially the icons pointless. It’s fun for about 2 seconds to change Mama’s outfit.

Also, (unless I’m missing something) the “shopping” part of the game, while a fun distraction, is pointless in that it’s not really incorporated with other parts of the game. Shopping can get annoying too when it’s impossible to get away from employees, forcing you to play the mini-games over and over again.

Overall, this is a good buy and so far, it’s the standout product in the Cooking Mama series.
Rating: 4 / 5

The gameplay is the same play mini games to cook food but there is a twist. In the let’s shop mode you shop for items trying to avoid customers who will lead to mini games themselves. For example if you bump into the store stocker you will have to play a mini game where you have to pick up his items. This alone is worth the 27 dollar price tag just to see a ticked off store stocker yelling at you to pick up his vegetables.

There is also new recipies like candy apples, and marshmallows(perfect for a halloween play session) and creme brulee.

I love this series not only for it’s constant replay value but because it realy tends to trancend genre fans. You can be a Halo fan and still play cooking mama because you can take the same quick reflexes used for that game and apply it to a recipie in this game.

So pick it up sit down and play, Mama needs some more help and only you can do it.
Rating: 5 / 5

What is NEW about this game is the ability to shop for Mama. The Shop portion offers you five “levels,” during which you need to buy the items on Mama’s list. Each level is progressively harder than the last, and by the end, you’re just running for your life, trying to get everything Mama needs before time runs out. As you manipulate the mini Mama (those who have Cooking Mama for the Wii will know who I’m talking about) through the grocery store, watch out! You can bump into other customers and set off mini games! (The games are fun but they suck the time out of the clock.) The other section I like is the one during which you can mix and match recipes to create new dishes. I like the format they came up with for this game. The choices are limited, which means that there are a controlled number of dishes you can come up with. I don’t know how it was for other gamers, but I think too many choices are not that great since you can make too many combos (I often lost track of what I combined with what).

Majesco has made some of the more familiar tasks, such as dicing, mixing, and frying, different, so that it’s providing the gamer a bit more of a challenge the previous Mama games. The new additions of the Shop and the Mix have extended the game play nicely. It had always been a complaint of mine that I finished Cooking Mama too quickly, but I feel as if I’m getting a little more bang for my buck. And the chance to send the fruits and vegetables I’ve grown in Gardening Mama to my Cooking Mama 3 kitchen is a great way to incorporate both games.

My only complaint about this game is that the items you get from achieving bonuses (you know the ones–for when you finish a task before a certain time limit) is not very clear. It just tells you that you got a new item, but you’re not sure if it’s an item you use in the Diary or if it’s something Mama can wear. Other than that, I’m glad to see that Majesco has challenged once again with good, wholesome game-playing. Yay Mama!

Rating: 4 / 5