Last week, Wired reported that the clever folks behind Nintendogs might be trying their dab hands in the digital kitchen. As a foodie myself, I've always been partial to a bit of virtual ingredient swapping, so to inspire their wok-related shenanigans, I've compiled a list of games that feature epicurean-related elements:
Burger Time The greatest arcade game in the world. I don't care what you say about Chuckie Egg or Smash TV, running away from hard boiled eggs and hot dogs, while tramping over buns, lettuce, tomato and beef patties to form the most scrumptious burger was my introduction to the world computer games. Fiendishly difficult, but most amusing.
Pizza Tycoon, Pizza Connection 2, Fast Food Tycoon, Pizza Syndicate, Restaurant Empire I remember reviewing Pizza Syndicate for Bits, covered head to foot with tomato sauce and pizza dough. As I recall, I wasn't much of a fan of this game, one of the glut of business simulations that attempted to capture the imagination after SimCity revolutionised the personal computer, but any excuse to play with food is a good one.
The Sims Online Continuing the pizza theme, I spent many a moon "making" pizza in this online world with three other people. As a minigame, it was one of the more interesting ways to earn skill points, and to chat with folks while wiling away the time, thinking about real pizza.
GTA: Vice City It's no surprise that computer geeks are often associated with pizza takeaways. It is the food that features most often in these games. Even in the Grand Theft Auto series, pies make an appearance, with a pizza delivery minigame thrown in for a bit of above-the-board money making.
Food Force The UN got in on the videogame act earlier this year with the release of a free game aimed to teach players about the politics and challenges behind the World Food Programme. While certainly educational, it lacks the dynamics and challenge of more consumer-driven game products. That's not really the point though. In any event, it has the word food in the title, so it's included in this list.
Any others?
