Show Your Culinary Skills

Cooking aficionados, take notice! Cooking Academy takes all the fun of cooking and leaves out all the boring waiting and the painful injuries and blends them all into a wonderful, unique, and incredibly addictive game. Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything out there on the market - with the exception of a few other cooking games - that offer the same creative game play that you'll find here. So forget everything that you know about conventional puzzlers and step on into this kitchen!

Put On Your Apron

Welcome to the not-so-creatively named Cooking Academy where you'll learn to become a top chef. You'll learn from an assortment of teachers that all specialize in different types of meals. The headmistress, Carmen Paccio, also happens to be the appetizer teacher, where you'll start your training. Luckily for you, she's pretty easygoing. As you continue, you'll experience some teachers that can be a tad bit - ahem - strict.

As you start cooking, you'll realize something really cool about this game - it teaches you about the history of food. I always love it when games find a way to incorporate education that doesn't feel completely random or shoehorned in. I've got to say that this product pulls it off beautifully. I'm not interested enough in food to actually read up on the subject, but I find myself more than amused with the various tidbits I learn. Did you know that American spinach growers actually built a Popeye statue?

The game play itself will vary as you progress and my best advice is to follow the instructions that you're given. These usually involve moving the mouse a certain way to slice vegetables or knead bread; something of that nature. The mechanics sounds simple, which they are, but there's a lot of variety.

Awards

You can earn awards for completing certain tasks. For example, when I reached 3500 recipe points, I was awarded a bronze trophy. And when I got at least a B on all of the appetizer dishes, I was awarded with a silver grater. The awards don't change anything dramatically, but they're a nice touch.

Exam Time!

After you complete all of the recipes in a class, you'll have to pass an exam to move on. When I completed all of the appetizers, Henri Fromage (who is not nearly as nice as Carmen Paccio) had me prepare some recipes as fast as I could in order to see if I was ready. I'm happy to say that I passed with flying colors!

A Real Treat

If I had to find a flaw in Cooking Academy, it would be that after about an hour of playing, I found myself incredibly hungry. The game is fun and creative, which is really saying something nowadays. If you're bored of the same old puzzler, give this delicious product a taste test and see how much you like. At the very least, if you do, I'll stop with all of the food metaphors!