Games for Lunch: Personal Trainer: Cooking
In a nutshell: It will personally train you to cook.
12/30/2008 6:42 PM | 0 Comments | Page 2 of 3
0:30 I didn't really time the shopping trip or take notes in the aisles or anything, mainly because I was shopping for other stuff too. Let's just estimate nine minutes for the actual shopping, OK? OK. Anyway, it was a little awkward using a paper sheet for the non-dinner things I was shopping for and the "DS shopping list" for dinner stuff, especially because holding a DS in a supermarket looks a bit ridiculous. I suppose I could have put my whole list in the DS using the "Notes" feature (which seems to have much-improved handwriting recognition), but it's too late now ... I was very impressed that the game recommended I pick "plump tomatoes with tight skin and a glossy sheen." I should also note that I got Swiss cheese instead of the gruyere the game recommends, to save some money. Game journalism is not as lucrative as you might expect...
0:31 Now that the shopping's done, I click "Continue." "All right, let's gets started," says Mr. Chef. "The first step is cutting the tomatoes. You'll need a cutting board and a kitchen knife." Warnings for what materials are needed are a nice touch.
0:33 We slice the tops and save them for later, as instructed. My wife says "Continue" to get the game to move on to the next selection, but it doesn't seem to register. I say "Continue," loudly and clearly, and it moves on just fine. Hmm...
0:36 The game accidentally interprets our idle chatter as an instruction to move on to next step. Worst of all, we have to wait for Mr. Chef to stop yammering before we can tell him to go back to the last step. Anyway, we've sliced off the tops and scooped out the tomatoes.
0:41 Every time the chef's knife comes down on the cutting board, the game thinks we want to "Continue." Oy.
0:45 We're afraid to talk too loud, for fear that Mr. Chef will hear us and torment us further. That said, I do like the "More Details" section, which describes exactly HOW to mince garlic.
0:49 In between steps, we've taken to looking at the Ingredients page just to escape from the voice recognition.
0:52 "That's it for preparations. You'll need to sauté the ingredients. You'll need a frying pan." That was simple, especially since Michelle did most of the chopping.
0:55 I brown the meat while Michelle sautés the veggies. We're quite a team. During a break, I go to the options and turn off the annoying voice recognition. The stylus will have to do...
