DS Diva

Iron Chef America

In honor of Thanksgiving, I’ve compiled a list of cooking-related games for the Nintendo DS. Personal Trainer: Cooking is a hot item, but there’s also some buzz about the new Iron Chef America game as well as Jamie Oliver’s recent game. Read on to learn more about the features of each, and whether they have real, usable recipes.

Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine
In Iron Chef America/Supreme Cuisine, currently $10 off at Amazon, making it $19.99, “the DS stylus is your cooking tool.” Players race to complete dishes based on 15 theme ingredients. There are hundreds of dish variations, with three to six dishes prepared per battle. Face off in Kitchen Stadium against Mario Batali, Cat Cora and Masaharu Morimoto and hope to advance to the final showdown. Visit the official site at http://www.ironchefamericagame.com to learn more and download free desktop wallpaper of Cat Cora, Alton Brown, Masaharu Morimoto, Mario Batali or the Chairman.

Personal Trainer: Cooking
Personal Trainer: Cooking, currently marked down to $16.99 on Amazon, is on a lot of wish lists this holiday season. You’re actually talked through more than 245 recipes, and hands-free voice control means you won’t get food all over your DS console. The recipes hail from 30-plus countries. There’s an ingredient-tracking feature so you can take your shopping list to the store via DS. You can also search for recipes by ingredient, calorie count, cooking time and other parameters. It usually retails for $19.99.

What’s Cooking? With Jamie Oliver
What’s Cooking? With Jamie Oliver also includes real-life cooking experiences, with the Food Network chef walking home cooks through the shopping, prep and cooking process. There are than 100 Jamie Oliver recipes, with photographs, and they’re designed for the home kitchen or barbecue. You can also use the “Creative Cooking Mode” to create your own recipes and share them with friends via wifi or challenge them to a cookoff. Retails for $29.99.

Happy Cooking
Happy Cooking is set to be released Dec. 2, and includes over 50 “real dishes” from a variety of nations. Use the stylus to virtually knead, fry chop and so on. Happy Cooking is more game-like, and in story mode is appropriate for children. The kitchen can be virtually “decorated.” Mini games are included as well. Retails for $19.99.

Gourmet Chef: Cook Your Way to Fame
Gourmet Chef: Cook Your Way To Fame was released in June 2008. The game focuses on French cuisine and allows players to earn the rank of “master chef.” Virtually move through “work stations” and aim to please various customers, including a disguised food critic. All the 70-plus dishes can be recreated in real life and accessed via a recipe section. Retails for $29.99.

Hell’s Kitchen
Hell’s Kitchen for Nintendo DS features abrasive chef/TV host Gordon Ramsay, who will actually praise or yell at you as you attempt to virtually prep, cook and serve meals. As you get better, the game “unlocks” Ramsay recipes you can really cook. Move up to five-star and tackle more difficult recipes. Retails for $29.99.

Older Nintendo DS cooking-related games include the original Cooking Mama and Cooking Mama 2: Dinner With Friends. Cake Mania 2 and the original Cake Mania. For the kids, there’s Imagine: Master Chef.