Personal Trainer: Cooking (NDS)

Personal Trainer: Cooking for Nintendo DS contains more than 240 dishes from dozens of countries around the world. The DS Chef, a friendly electronic cooking instructor, walks users through each step to make sure every dish comes out perfect and delicious.

Personal Trainer: Cooking even includes videos of various cooking techniques, such as how to properly julienne vegetables. The touch screen interface helps budding chefs check ingredients on an electronic shopping list they can take to the grocery store. It also lets them search recipes based on ingredients, number of calories or cooking time. When a user’s hands are too covered in the business of cooking to use the touch screen, the voice-recognition feature comes in handy: Just tell the DS Chef to move on to the next step or repeat the last one.

“Personal Trainer: Cooking is the first in a new line of Personal Trainer titles from Nintendo designed to help users enrich their lives and learn new skills in fun and interesting ways,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Whether you’re cooking for yourself, your family or your friends, everyone in the household benefits from these tasty recipes for months and years to come.”

Personal Trainer: Cooking also builds on the social aspect of food as well. Roommates can try out recipes together, or parents can involve their children in preparing dishes for the family. With a tap, users can even scale the quantity of their recipes based on the number of guests they expect.

Users can customize their favorite recipes. For instance, if a user thinks a recipe tastes better with a pinch of oregano, he or she can jot that note directly onto the recipe using the Nintendo DS stylus and touch screen, and it’ll be saved for the next time the dish is prepared.

Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party (NDS/Wii)

Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party is the “must-have” Wii title for the holiday season and will keep players of all ages and experience entertained and challenged for hours on end. In fact, speaking of “on end” the game is the first ever that players can play using their butt via the Wii Balance Board™ accessory.

“We’ve already seen people around the world play Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party and have an all-out blast,” said Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Ubisoft. “The combination of the unique use of the Wii Balance Board, the endearing and always entertaining Rabbids and the fact that anyone can play it makes it the biggest party game this holiday season.”

Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party, rated E-10+, is now available for the Wii ($49.99) and NDS ($29.99) at retail locations nationwide.

Age of Empires: Mythologies (NDS)

Age of Empires: Mythologies features epic, turn-based combat and fast-paced multiplayer skirmishes between Greek, Egyptian and Norse civilizations. For the first time in the series’ history, players will control legendary heroes, battle mythical beasts and call upon the divine power of gods.

“Age of Empires: Mythologies combines strategy and turn-based combat with the innovative Nintendo DS controls to deliver a new twist on one of the most successful franchises of all time,” said Kevin Kraff, vice president, global brand management, THQ. “The game appeals to clever, imaginative gamers of all ages, and will provide a truly unique handheld experience.”

Age of Empires: Mythologies is inspired by the hit Windows PC series Age of Empires and uses a brand new game engine that improves on the critically acclaimed Age of Empires: Age of Kings. The game features three playable civilizations – the Greeks, Egyptians and Norse – enhanced AI, and an epic fantasy tale, inspired by myth, that drops players in a grand struggle for supremacy. Age of Empires: Mythologies also offers expanded multiplayer via Wi-Fi or single-cart game sharing featuring unique maps, customizable rules and a brand new skirmish mode. Age of Empires: Mythologies is now available for NDS.

Age of Empires: Mythologies is rated “E10+” and is now available for the suggested retail price of $29.99.