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Iron Chef Game Listed, Then Pulled
Joystiq notes that a game based on the excellent Iron Chef television show on the Food Network is apparently in the works. Apparently, because the game was listed and then pulled within the last few weeks. "The game appears to be on the brink of an announcement, with a listing appearing and disappearing on Gamestop's website for DS and Wii versions of the game, and Siliconera's Spencer Yip indicating that an IC game was being created at Destineer. (Yes, that Destineer). We're already sharpening our knives in anticipation, but we have to ask: [how do we get] Alton Brown in the game?" Their post includes a great animated spot for the show.
Like Cooking Mama maybe, but instead of medals, you play for the people's ovation and fame forever.
Dare to Hope. Prepare to be Disappointed.
Chairman: "Let Kitchen Kombat begin!" "Your cuisine is mine... forever!"
I could see it having a fun, Mortal Kombat character select screen as well. Of course, this would work better with the original Iron Chefs, as they all much more distinctive styles. The sad truth is, the game will probably be a poor imitation of Cooking Momma, which already fell woefully short of its potential. Combine that with the presence of annoying, arrogant ass clowns like Bobby Flay and Michael Symon and you have a disaster in the making.
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
That's my guess, that it's a Cooking Mama clone. It seems pretty hard to do a real Iron Chef style game (where you would have to come up with unique dishes) since computers don't have a good idea of what tastes good.
I love Alton too, but I wish his recipes didn't include "put this in your fridge for 4 hours" quite so often. I've always suspected that he was trained as a restaurant chef (where 4 hour wait times are a virtue since it allows you to do some of the work before the lunch/dinner rush) and that's why a lot of his recipes are less than ideal for a home setting. 4 hour waits are the worst since you can't do them the night before or in the morning before going to work, but if you wait until you get home you won't be eating until midnight. I do love how he explains what exactly is happening with his cooking techniques, it allows the show to be useful well beyond whatever he happens to be making that day.
I read the internet for the articles.
I mean, by that line of reasoning, working around a virtual farm doesn't sound that exciting either, but Harvest Moon did just that. Let you run around the farm, shear the sheep and brush your horse. I'd guess it must have sold enough copies to make it worth porting to most consoles that ever existed.
An even more bizarre, and I would dare say _disturbing_, concept is Boong-Ga Boong-Ga. The Japanese arcade game where you get to shove a giant plastic finger in what looks like the plastic arse of someone bent over. And watch their face as they scream in pain. And then get your virility and sexual behaviour judged by how brutal an anal probing you gave the poor bugger(ed).
I'm not sure how that would translate even to the Wii, because thrusting the wiimote at thin air must be, at a wild guess, not quite the same as shoving it into someone.
The Japanese also seem to have these interesting game concepts, like driving a big truck... while staying under the legal limit, obeying all the traffic rules, and avoiding causing any damage to your truck or someone else's property. Break too many rules and you're fired. Does that sound exciting? Well, they too didn't think us gaijin would find it exciting, because in the USA version they turned it on its head. Cause enough mayhem and you get a bonus.
So, well, don't be too quick to dismiss the concept. I'm sure some people will find it hilarious to flip pancakes with the wiimote, and stir in a pot with it.
I don't understand them, but, hey, they probably wouldn't understand why I'm posting on Slashdot from home at 1 AM either.
A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
I've found that most people who aren't either professional or dedicated hobbyist cooks or serious gourmands don't really know intuitively what's going to taste good. They know they like "chicken primavera", "buffalo wings", "pizza", or "eggplant parmesan" and might look up a recipe or two to see how to make it at home (or just buy the sauce in a bottle for wings or pizza). When you get inventive with a dish, it's always best to let people try it before telling them what's in it.
I have a few examples. We have a restaurant near here that has a pizza with sourdough crust. I've heard several people groan at the thought who liked it when they tried it. My uncle hates sour cream. He won't eat it or even smell it. My mom makes a dessert with sour cream in it, but the rest of the dessert is so sweet you never taste any sour taste and whipped cream would be way too sweet for it. My uncle loves the stuff, and they joke about how his portion is made with whipped cream or Cool Whip.
One of my personal favorites is hot sauces. I love making my own and I have a cabinet of different small-batch commercial sauces. Lots of people who think they love hot, spicy foods are very surprised by hot sauces made with anything other than just ground dried peppers, white vinegar, and salt. Lots of very good hot sauces use a pepper mash in addition to or instead of ground dried peppers. Vinegars from red wine, white wine, apple cider, or other types might be used. Many have vegetables or fruits in them, like carrots, apples, mango, peach, pineapple, or blackberry. A few use food gums or oils to thicken them, while a few use water to thin them or as part of the traditional vinegar portion to cut down on the taste of vinegar. Many have herbs and spices.
One of my most prized bottles is simply a mix of pepper puree, vinegar, and salt. It's a single-crop, single-barrel reserve sauce made from hand-selected red savina peppers from a particular hot sauce producer's private farm stock. Since a hot pepper's heat, flavor, texture, and more can be affected by everything from soil nutrients to hours of sun exposure and rain levels to pruning, there are very complex differences in single-crop hot sauces from year to year. This one's called The Legend and it's from CaJohn's Fiery Foods. My current one is a 2002 vintage. It is a hotter year, but still flavorful. It needs to be used in moderation or you'll really piss off your non-chilehead friends. Still, it's peppers and not just habanero oil or capsaicin extract so if you like your stuff hot it's not going to actually literally burn your tongue. The real curiosity about sauces like this one for most people is, "they make vintages of hot sauces"? They sure do. Several companies have reserved vintage hot sauces, but few have a single-crop one sold in a wooden box. Dave's INSANITY LIMITED EDITION PRIVATE RESERVE is another vintage reserve in a wooden box, and it's good, too. It's not the same type as The Legend, but it is a good vintage reserve of another type. I'm planning on picking up some of the 2008 as I'm out my previous one.