Gamertell

Title: Gardening Mama
Price: $29.99
System(s): DS
Release Date: March 31, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Majesco (Taito)
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Pros: Nice change of venue, promotes working outdoors and can be relaxing.
Cons: Boring, repetitive and not as diverse as the Cooking Mama games.
Overall Score: Two thumbs sideways, 70/100, C-, * * out of 5

When Cooking Mama turned out to be a huge success, gamers knew that Taito and Majesco wasn’t going to let her be a one hit wonder. Sure enough, she soon became the star of a series of DS and Wii games, all focused on cooking.

Now, Taito and Majesco have decided to branch out and see how well Mama will do in other, similar situations. Could she be so charming and magnetic a figure, and the gameplay so addicting, that all sorts of spin-offs could find the same success? Gardening Mama is the first attempt to test and see just how much Mama people want.

How does your garden grow Mama?

Mama’s decide that it is time for a bit of a change. She needs some fresh air. It can get hot, cooking in the kitchen all day. Confining too. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mama was on her way to developing claustrophobia.

So, Mama has decided to get out her gloves, watering can and seeds and head out to the garden for Gardening Mama.

Well, bear in mind that Mama isn’t really going to be doing any work. You are. Mama’s going to just watch you with that judging stare of hers, ready to jump in and work only if you screw things up.

Sort seeds, watering flowers and remove weeds. How riveting.

Gardening Mama‘s greatest flaw comes from its lack of variety. In the Cooking Mama games, every dish requires a wide variety of mini-games to complete it. In Gardening Mama, you’re pretty much following the same pattern for every plant. You take a seed, plant it in the ground, water it, perhaps add fertilizer or treat for bugs and that’s pretty much it.

Unless you find some kind of comfort in performing repetitive tasks and actions repeatedly, it gets old quick.

Also, like the Cooking Mama DS games, Gardening Mama has the same issues with touch screen controls. Sometimes they’ll work well, offering a slight degree of forgiveness. Other times, they’ll be merciless and require pinpoint precision. And, very rarely, you’ll perform the action as commanded and see the game is penalizing you for doing so.

Not Mama’s finest moment.

Gardening Mama is boring. There, I’ve said it. It tries to utilize the same system and control used in Cooking Mama, but it doesn’t quite work. While cooking involves all sorts of different actions and activities to result in a successful creation, gardening doesn’t.

People who really love Cooking Mama and the casual gameplay might enjoy Gardening Mama and find it relaxing. Everyone else will just get tired of watching the plants grow. There isn’t the same sense of achievement. When you make a successful batch of potato salad in Cooking Mama, you feel like you’ve accomplished something. Growing most of the flowers and other vegetation in Gardening Mama feels like you’re just going through the same routine.

Site [Gardening Mama]

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