The most popular mother in gaming is back on the 3DS with Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop.  This time the recipes you bake are all desserts: cakes, cookies, and other sweet stuff.  Just like before, you’ll use the stylus and touch screen to perform cooking activities like chopping, sifting, cracking, and baking.  Each recipe (over 60 in all) has multiple steps for you to complete in order, and you’ll be ranked at the end on how well you do.  But this time you’ll be able to present your sugary concoctions in your very own Sweet Shop for customers to buy!

The main cooking part of the game is exactly like how it has been in previous Cooking Mama titles.  So if you are familiar with any other games in the franchise, you’ll be able to jump right into this one.  Once you are done with a recipe, you can display your creations in the Sweet Shop.  When customers come into the store, they may buy one of your desserts on display.  You can then spend your earnings to decorate your kitchen and shop.  You may even unlock other surprises along the way as well.

The only problem I can see with this game is that it’s not any different than past Cooking Mama titles.  But that’s not necessarily a bad thing since these games are clearly aimed at a younger audience, and with each new generation of kid players comes a new Cooking Mama game, so it’s all new to them.  They’ve fixed most of the other problems I’ve had with the series.  The font and instructions are easier to read, and fewer and fewer mini-games are hard to figure out.  If you crave your ‘just desserts’ you’ll definitely enjoy this game.

Kid Factor:

Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop is rated E for Everyone with an ESRB descriptor of Alcohol Reference.  You can cook with alcohol in some of the recipes, but that’s it.  Reading skill is helpful for the text instructions, but not always necessary as the mini-games have picture cues to go along with them.  If you mess up, you’re not penalized in any way other than a lower score at the end.  Mama doesn’t even have her scary fiery eyes anymore! Kids love making and eating desserts and candy, so they should enjoy this game without all of the calories!

Tags: Game Reviews