Cooking Academy Review

By , on July 20, 2010


Cooking Academy
Download on the AppStore
3 out of 5

PROS

  • Lots of recipes to master.
  • Intuitive food preparation mini-games.
  • Simple semi-realistic cartoonish style.

CONS

  • Finishing the game can be laborious due to the lengthy unlocking process.
  • Generic smattering of recipes.

VERDICT

Cooking Academy doesn't break out of the mold for the Cooking Mama style of games, but it still provides a decent selection of recipes for genre fans to enjoy.


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While it's not an immensely cloned style, the Cooking Mama school of gameplay with its mix of mini-games that aim to teach (at least in a rough sense) players how to cook has attracted its imitators. Cooking Academy by Fugazo takes a stab at improving on the formula for the App Store and takes players through a strict course of lessons to add to their culinary expertise.

To progress through Cooking Academy you'll have to complete a series of courses, along with a final exam. Each food item is broken up in a selection of mini-games to simulate the different preparation stages, with each one utilizing a variety of the iPhone's capabilities. You'll have to slice, chop, roll, fold, mix, flip and grate food via a selection of intuitive controls. One minor beef I've personally had with these games is the selection of 'cooking' phases that use a rhythm game style that feels wholly unrealistic and Cooking Academy is no different in this regard.

Visually, Cooking Academy plays for the middle-ground and uses a semi-realistic cartoonish style to depict the food. Unfortunately this does tend to work against the player in some mini-games as players have to quickly judge 'what an item is' based off a generic image.

To be fair, no one is going to learn how to be a chef through games like this, but in a way it's a celebration of food and Cooking Academy hopes to instill some rigor in to the otherwise relaxed atmosphere used in other cooking games. It's a standard effort, but this also deserves a standard final score: 'C'.

Screenshots

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