Review: Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked

Platform: Nintendo Wii

Developer: Red Fly Studio

Publisher: Namco Bandai

# of Players: 1-2

Rating: E

Official Site

Score: B

As someone who learned to cook as well as appreciate video games pretty early on in life, I'm always keen on checking out any title that mixes these two passions of mine. Some of the games I've played have been fun, some not so fun, but they're all really interesting in one way or another in how they approach the experience of putting together (and sometimes serving up) a tasty meal. The Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked is very well done and in some respects, feels like one of the shows you'd catch on the popular cable channel. While entertaining and educational, the scoring system can sometimes be a bit too picky about some of your efforts. Nevertheless, as a first ever console game with the FN seal of approval, it hits almost all the right notes fans will appreciate.

Don't expect to see your favorite FN stars here at all. I guess they were gunning for their own games, wanted a ton of bread for appearing (pun intended) or just not interested in the project. It's no big deal and in fact, the lack of star power keeps you focused on the gameplay (which actually makes YOU the star). You do however, get cute versions of Susie Fogelson and Mory Thomas popping up from time to time with tips and after you finish a dish, to judge your culinary creations. But this isn't some cute kid's game with a FN license slapped onto it. The game is in fact, very much a primer on how to cook that's more likely than not going to send you into the kitchen a few meals in to whip up some real pancakes and bacon or seared Ahi with vegetables.


One minor caveat to those expecting some sort of be all, end all cooking experience is the game's length. The case says you're getting 30 recipes here, but you're really only cooking up 12 actual dishes total. While this might seem like some sort of cheap marketing ploy, the fact is real-life cooking consists of combining recipes and cooking techniques into one or more dishes. If you've never cooked before, you'll probably have a few "Oh, I can do that?" moments as you start putting dishes together using a few different recipes the game teaches you. Expert gamers will blow through what's here in a weekend, but novice chefs will come back over and over and probably take notes on what they've learned from playing the game multiple times.

Controls are solid and realistic throughout as you go through the motions of prepping and preparing. Chopping veggies, oiling up a pan for sautéing and yes, even boiling water are all covered and the game keeps you almost constantly moving in real time to complete most of the tasks. That real time aspect is important and sets the game apart from others in the genre because it truly gives you an idea of just how long it takes to cook something like a burger or pasta. Before your jaw hits the rug, yes, you can speed up the clock and/or tackle other tasks while something else is cooking away. Could you imagine a cooking show where you had to wait twenty or thirty minutes while something baked in the oven? You'd be asleep and your house would burn down... but at least that cast iron fry pan would survive the inferno. Those darn things are nearly indestructible.

In fact, the game almost feels like a cooking show, as you'll be under pressure to not only cook well, but do things in a certain order and as flawlessly as can be. Of course, you're sometimes graded on silly stuff that really makes not much difference in real world cooking experiences, but as long as your ego isn't easily bruised, you'll be fine. Susie and Mory can be harsh if their food isn't hot and unburned, but the game never makes you feel like heading for the nearest window, Wii Remote in hand. If anything, buying this game will probably save you money you'd spend on takeout or driving to your favorite diner. The selection of dishes here isn't exactly 100% "international", but all the techniques here can be applied to different cuisines from whatever country you like.

Visually, the game will have you salivating over the food as you're preparing it and probably packing on a little extra weight once you take what you've learned and start applying it in your own kitchen. Other than the cartoon-like 3D Susie and Mory avatars, everything looks as real as can be, although it is pretty darn funny to see those huge plates of food show up at the judging table. Sounds and music are fine and well implemented, lending a nice FN touch to the proceedings. If anything, the game should net the Food Network a few new viewers based on the game's presentation and ease of use alone. That and the amount of things you'll pick up that can actually be used when you're whipping up your first lasagna or other formerly "impossible" dish.

There are two multiplayer modes here and while fun, the game could have benefited from a few more ideas or a bit more variety. You get a cook off where you go up against another live player as you both try to complete dishes. This can be fun if both players have a bit of Cooking Mama experience under their belts as well as a sense of humor (taunting some grumpy guy or gal who's a perfectionist only gets you a Wiimote or Nunchuck upside the head, not fun at all). The other mode has you working together with a second player to complete dishes, which is also fun unless Player Two keeps messing things up on purpose (which will have you hitting them upside the head with that Wiimote or Nunchuck). It would have been cool to see more done with multiplayer or even some sort of single player shopping mode and I'm hoping FN (along with Red Fly) will be taking feedback from reviews and fans if they decide to cook up an even better sequel.

Overall, Food Network: Cook of Be Cooked gets it mostly right, despite the slim menu. As mentioned above, I'm gathering there's going to be some sort of sequel with even more recipes and content, which would be nice for those gamers out there who want to squeeze every penny out of their gaming dollar. Granted, there's a certain segment of the FN audience who'd buy this game if it were only three recipes and had a big name FN star plastered on the cover and manual. Nevertheless, what's here is a good start that will hopefully lead to more and better follow ups in the future. You might be hungry for more a half hour after finishing the game, but at least you won't go hungry if you've got some stuff in the pantry you'd normally wouldn't touch unless you were having it cooked for you.