PAX 2008: Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine Hands-On

Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine takes Cooking Mama to a new level. Based on the popular television show Iron Chef America--which was based on the Japanese television show--this Nintendo Wii game by Black Lantern Studios allows you to participate in the madness of culinary battles. Although it is definitely not as hard as the real thing, Iron Chef does allow you to move through the phases of the challenges and re-create dishes from world-famous chefs.

The only mode we had a chance to try was a Quickplay mode where we picked our secret ingredient along with our CPU challenger. There are 15 secret ingredients to choose from, and each ingredient will pull up a unique list of dishes. You then have to pick three to six dishes from a variety of delectable items and go through the motions with the Wii Remote to chop, whisk, or mince your food. You're on a timer, so picking more dishes could affect the quality of your food. There are 300 different minigames tasks that you can perform to prepare that perfect platter. How you prepare and plate your food will determine your score, as well as how flattering the judges will be toward your outcome.

Going through the steps was not that difficult because the game provided accurate instructions as to what we needed to do. Mixing ingredients in the mixer requires you to mix slowly to prevent flour or other ingredients from spilling. Rolling the dough simply requires you to follow the arrow and flick the Wii Remote in the appropriate direction. Some steps were repeated depending on what you were creating. At the end, you get to place your concoction on a plate and hopefully please the judges.

There is a King of Iron Chefs mode where you try to cook your way to the top, taking on some big names in the culinary arts. The kitchen stadium that you see on television has also been re-created, and Alton Brown lends his voice as the announcer. You can also challenge your friends to a cook-off or play with them cooperatively.

Get ready to see whose culinary cuisine reigns supreme when Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine is released this fall for the Nintendo Wii and the DS.