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Chef of Fire:
Cooking Fighter Hao
SLPS 01832
Copyright © Nihon Ichi SoftwareBR>
Playstation, 1-2 Players
Action
Dual Shock compatible
¥ 5800
—by Jennifer Au
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Put on your aprons and sharpen your knives, CHEF OF FIRE: COOKING FIGHTER
HAO is an RPG/Action game with a strange IRON
CHEF-like twist. Can you defeat the other fighters (and the ingredients) to become
the supreme chef?
The game opens with a background of flames, over which an incredibly overly
melodramatic narration occurs. "The way of the cook is difficult," it says,
and goes on in a very grandiose manner. It is only at the end, when the
cleaver and logo appears that players have a clue that they're not in for a
typical fighting/adventure game.
This game isn't going to break any records in graphics or story play, but it
does get points in uniqueness. There are two modes of play. Story Mode and
Free Cooking. In Story Mode the player controls Hao, a cook trying to make a
name for himself. You set out in search of the greatest chef in the land,
and of course along the way you have to battle a lot of people who think
they're better than you.
Unfortunately, the dialog is rather long-winded and there is no easy way to
bypass the talk. And the game falls into the habit of reusing the same few
frames of animation over and over. But don't give up, because if you can
survive to the battle field you'll see what makes this game interesting.
Battle mode puts you and your opponent on a large field with different
ingredients running around (yes, that is correct) trying to avoid the
chopping block. Although you might look suave and/or beautiful on the other
screens, when you enter battle mode it's in Super deformed mode! Don't
worry, so is your food. Prior to each game the main ingredient is decided
upon. And in that subsequent battle it's your goal to prepare as many
different varieties of dishes out of that ingredient as possible all the
while avoiding your opponent's attempts to steal your dishes, or your
ingredients.
Game play is relatively simple; suppose the main ingredient is chicken. You
chase after your ingredients while swinging your knife/cleaver. You have to
whack the chicken until you daze it. Once it's dazed you press another
button and using the directional pad, select the cooking method you wish to
use in order to prepare the dazed chicken. The different methods of cooking
take different amounts of time, and of course, more points are awarded for
the longer cooking methods. Players have to think fast because the chicken
won't stay dazed long. And if it revives and catches you unawares, it'll
attack and you'll be left with an empty wok. If you manage to cook the
beast, you'll end up with a nice hot dish in your inventory. And you move on
to the next potential entree. Other ingredients, such as garlic or cabbage,
can be chopped up, which ensures their inclusion in the next dish you make
(along with extra points).
Now here's where it gets ugly. While you're running around crying foul on
fowl, your opponent can either choose to chase his own prey, or throw all
morals aside and turn his cleaver on you! If your life meter reaches zero
you'll be sitting on the ground counting stars while your opponent makes off
with one of your hard-earned dishes. Is there any justice in this game?
Obviously not. But the good thing is that you can't die, you just turn
around and skewer him on your roasting knife and take back your dish!
So depending upon how moralistic players choose to be, the match could go on
for some time. But the battle ends when all of the main ingredients are
cooked. Then the points are totaled and a winner is named. From there, it's
back to more dialog and eventually another opponent.
Free Cooking Battle mode is essentially the battles without the stories. A
player can play against the computer or another human player and experience
the joy of chasing pigs around with kitchen utensils.
I suggest players skip the Story Mode and go directly to the Free Cooking
Battles. Grab a friend (and if you have dual shock controllers, even better)
and enter the ring of woks! Select your main ingredient, you have a choice
of chicken, lobster, pig, horse, cattle, sea bream, sea eel, snapping
turtle, and crab. May the best crook or cook win!
This game is amusing, but there is little in the way of really challenging
game play. It's simply a button masher (but a fun one). And unless you
understand a lot of Japanese, skip the Story Mode because it's just too
dry. 
Rating: ** out of 4 |
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