Order Up! First Look

Quick, name a famous chef. Now, who did you name? Gordon Ramsay? Bobby Flay? Anthony Bourdain? Cooking culture has become so prevalent here in the States that chefs like this have practically become household names. The same is true, albeit to a lesser extent, with video games. While the first name you might think of when someone says "cooking game" is Majesco's Cooking Mama series, it's not the only foodie game out there. Consider the upcoming Order Up! for the Nintendo Wii being developed by SuperVillain Studios, a game that will test not just your virtual cooking skills, but your talent at dealing with the restaurant business as a whole.

Set in the fictional town of Port Abello, Order Up! has you taking the reins of a single restaurant, working your way up through the ranks as you learn many different styles of cooking until you are good enough to hang with some of the finest chefs, with the ultimate goal of competing in the Fortified Chef Competition.

You'll start your career in Order Up! as the cook at the local burger joint and diner, flipping basic fare for the always-hungry customers who are on hand. During each session with the game, you'll first choose the restaurant you wish to work in. As customers begin to trickle in, you'll be able to take their orders. You'll work on orders for only one table at a time, so you'll want to get to your customers in more or less the order they arrived so they won't be waiting too long.

Once you have your orders in, it's off to the kitchen to prepare the food. You'll have a few basic stations to get food out--a griddle, frying station, oven, and cutting board. For each order, you'll have a number of steps you have to take in order to get things cooked. When cooking a hamburger, for example, you'll want to pop the meat on the griddle and let it cook--a heat meter will appear above the meat patty, indicating the temperature of the patty on either side (remember, you'll have to flip it halfway through to cook both sides). You don't want to burn your food, of course; if you do, though, you can always bin it and start again.

While the burger is cooking, you might be peeling lettuce, frying fries, or starting another order entirely. All of the cooking actions you can take in kitchen are handled with the Wii Remote. It's that balance of keeping your orders on track and maintaining a high level of quality that holds the challenge (and the fun) in Order Up!. The quicker and more skillfully you prepare a customer's order, the more money he or she will leave as a tip. Earning money in the game will allow you to upgrade your cooking utensils, buy more spices to give your food a unique flair (and meet the demands of always-demanding customers), and add restaurants to your growing culinary empire.

To help you along the way to restaurant mogul status, you'll be able to hire assistant chefs who can help you on the various stations in the kitchen. These chefs will have their individual strengths and weaknesses--some will be better on some stations than others, some will be better with the customers. Obviously, you'll be able to output more food with the help of assistants but, as the customers pile up, your organization skills will be taxed with not just your own cooking tasks but those of your assistants as well.

While you start off flipping burgers and making chili, the game promises a bunch of recipes to learn as you go--everything from traditional diner fare to regional food like Italian and Mexican, and fine gourmet meals as well. Due for release in early July, Order Up! is looking like a fun, fast-paced game for kids and food-loving adults alike, and we look forward to getting our hands dirty in the virtual kitchen to bring you more information on it in the coming months.