Cookie & Cream Review

Even after three years, there still aren’t a lot of DS games that make good use of the whole dual screen aspect, and those that do usually aren’t particularly great games, anyway. Say hello to Cookie & Cream. This adorable bunny duo spreads their teamwork across two screens, so Cookie gets the top and Cream gets the bottom. For Cookie, the game is a 3D platformer; for Cream, a series of 2D, touch screen mini-games.

Huh?

Cookie is the more important of the two, as his mission is to navigate straightforward but perilous roads through differently-themed worlds. He can’t get very far without the help of Cream, though. When Cookie reaches certain dead ends, it’s time for Cream to master a contextual mini-game. For instance, Cookie may come across a river he can’t cross. Cream, via the touch screen, can cut a series of ropes to release the floating platforms Cookie needs. In other instances, Cream will need to stop a roulette to open a locked gate or spin a wheel to rotate a bridge.

This indirect relationship is a clever idea, but the drawback is that you, the player, have to control both of them. In other words, there’s a lot of switching back and forth between stylus and D-pad. Some puzzles require Cookie to act immediately before Cream’s actions are reset, and it’s difficult to coordinate the two. This is especially true for left-handers. There is an option to switch the D-pad with the X, Y, A, and B buttons, but that’s incredibly awkward, and you still must contend with finding a way to get Cookie to move and jump at the same time.

But there is a co-op mode to alleviate this. It’s pretty clear this game was designed as a cooperative experience; it’s too irritating and frustrating to try and play both parts on your own. In co-op, one person takes Cookie and the other Cream. Naturally. Co-op mode ends up being kind of fun, because you can see what the other player is doing and berate them for not doing their part. A great addition is the ability to co-op with only one game card. This means sitting through long load times, though, and dealing with a choppy framerate.

Once you do get the hang of the cooperative gameplay, you’ll quickly find that the 3D platforming isn’t anything special. In fact, it’s quite barebones and… well, stupid. Cookie can double jump, but that’s all he can do, so every puzzle is just a matter of helping Cookie jump across a river or pass through a gate. The controls are rather clunky, and the game likes to throw a lot of annoying monsters at you. You have a very small window of opportunity to kill an approaching monster before it starts jumping on your head, never to let off, all the while knocking seconds off the timer.

Cookie & Cream is based on a rather unforgiving timer. Though the game is simple and easy, you really have to know what you’re doing and already have an understanding of the touch screen mini-games to make par. If you do run out of time mid-game, however, you can ask for more. You just won’t get any points at the end. But points only go towards opening up additional mini-games for free play, anyway, so who cares.

In addition to playing mini-games solo, there is a multiplayer mode that supports local and online play (but good luck finding someone else online). The multiplayer mode is a rapid succession of the touch screen exercises from story mode, except now you’re racing through them against other players. It’s somewhat entertaining in how it moves so fast, much like a round of WarioWare games. On the other hand, the mini-games aren’t very interesting as a battle. And when broadcasting the game to other players, their systems shut off after each round.

Final Comments

Do you like good ideas and bad games? If so, Cookie & Cream is for you. The cooperation between these two rabbits is actually very clever and fits the DS well, it just isn’t executed in a manner that says, “Yes, this works.” It’s too hard for one player to be both Cookie and Cream, and even when you do find someone else to help you with the game, you’re still dealing with a basic platformer that can only compete with the Nintendo 64′s worst.