Cookie is a cooking shoot'em up developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game and released exclusively for the ZX Spectrum in 1983. In the game, Charlie the chef has to bake a cake, but its five ingredients are sentient and tentative to escape his pantry and allow him to recapture it. The game was written by Chris Stamper with graphics by Tim Stamper. When released, it received mixed reviews, with critics praising the graphics but criticizing the difficult difficulty and its similarities to Pssst. The game was released as Crazy Kitchen in Italian markets and as Chef, Lo in Croatia.
Gameplay
The game is presented from a 2D perspective and the main objective is for Charlie the Chef to bake a cake from evil sentient ingredients. The five ingredients vary from Mixed Peel, Chunky Chocolate, Crafty Cheese, Sneaky Sugar, and Colonel Custard, all of which are jumping out of the pantry and trying to dodge the player if possible. The player starts the game with three lives. Several ingredients fly across the screen at the same time, and if the player touches an ingredient with his body, a life is drawn off. The player's goal is to put the ingredients in the cooking bowl before they either fall into the trash cans on either side or toss the player into the bowl. In defense, Charlie the Cook can shoot sacks of flour, which will continue to push the ingredients in the direction they're moving. Bombs can also be created in the game, which allow the player to push the ingredients further than conventional flour sacks. The player has to slide the correct selection of ingredients into the bowl, which changes for each level. When the right amount of ingredients has been put into the bowl, a cake will be baked and a new level will begin.
Development
A version was also created for the BBC Micro and was due to be released in 1984. However, it was never commercially released. Cookie was one of the few Spectrum games also available in ROM format for use with Interface 2 and allowing the game to load "instantly" (normal cartridge loading may take a few minutes ).
front desk
Crash's Matthew Uffindell, of Crash's Leaders, was reviewed by Tranz and by Tranz on Ultimate, who was bundled with Cookie on his first first. Uffindell realize that the gameplay is addicting and confusing, be it its predecessor Pssstestand. Crash's Lloyd Mangram justified the game as competitive and undervalued, his opinion it was for the ultimate in all of the ultimate games. Mangram hailed the graphics as detailed, fast, and "lost". The Home Computing Weekly Reviewers praised the graphics and sound, and stated that it was "called the standards of Ultimate." A reviewer from Sinclair User gave one that the skill was of "arcade and cartoon" quality, and criticized the concept of the game, it was important that the player lost interest after completing the level. Mangham praised its playability and heard that it was "very fun" to play and easy to listen to. Sinclair User was of the opinion that the first impressions of the game are important for the customer and that the player has been cheated of the terms and conditions of the games with Pssst.
