Wii Sports Resort is not just a kid’s computer game — it is a game the whole family will enjoy playing. Whether it is fencing, ping pong, basketball, wakeboarding, archery, skydiving or any of the other many games that are offered – there is truly something for everyone.  The game play is so realistic and the addition of the Wii Motion Controller adds to the feel of you really being IN the game.  I feel this game is appropriate for all ages but there are definitely some games where the controls might take some getting used to for the younger kids.  It is a pleasure to bring you my review, a little about each game offered and some things I really enjoy about Wii Sports Resort.

Let’s begin with the video so you can get a feel for what it is like:

Wii Motion Controller

When you buy this game you can get one Wii Motion Controller (you add it to your existing remote) or you can get the expanded game pack that comes with 2 motion controllers. Honestly I wish I had known about the edition with 2 before I bought the first.  The Wii Motion Controller adds to the realistic game play and to buy a second motion controller AFTER the fact is more expensive than just getting the original pack with 2 included.  With just one controller you have to pass it back and forth and cannot play simultaneously.  Many of these games are one player but it would be really nice for the whole family or at least more than one to play the option of playing simultaneously.  I think additional Wii Motion Controllers will be on our Christmas list! They are easy to snap onto the existing Wii remotes and to snap off if need be.  It does feel like it adds to the sensitivity and REALNESS of play.

Games

There are MANY games included in Wii Sports Resort and within those games are other versions of the games for you to unlock.  The games include:

Swordplay — Fencing is so realistic in this game.  Hold and swing the Wii remote like a sword.  There are modes where you can slice through fruit, duel or have a showdown against multiple sword fighters.  Nintendo is great at making fencing ultra realistic and celebrating the sport it is rather than having it be like sword fighting.  My kids LOVE this one.

Wakeboarding — Hold the Wii Remote like you would a handle if you were water skiing or wake boarding.  Carve the water by tilting the Wii Remote left and right and pull up when you get over a wake to get huge air and do fun tricks.  This one took a little while to get the hang of but we all loved it when we did.

Archery — Use the Wii Remote and Nunchuck exactly like you would a bow and arrow.  You have 12 shots to hit the target and you add up your points to beat your high scores and compete against other players by taking turns.

Frisbee — Throw your frisbee on the beach at the target so your dog can run and catch it.  Yeah, I was scared with this one – any Wii game that involves throwing makes my heart stop a bit when my 6 year old takes the control for the first time.  I am happy to report the TV IS still in one piece and my kids really enjoy this one as well.  You can also unlock Frisbee Golf which has the objective of throwing the Frisbee and getting it to the green in as few throws as possible.

Basketball — Compete to see who can make the most 3 point shots in the time limit.  After playing this you can unlock a pick up game and this is one I wish I had the extra Wii Motion Controller for — so we could play simultaneously.

Power Cruising — You use the Wii Remote and Nunchuck like you would two handle bars on a Jet Ski.  You can ride the waves and this one is another one that takes a little getting used to but is so much fun once you do.  You can play the Slalom Course  or a game versus another player – would be good to have the extra controls for this one as well if you want more than one to play.

Cycling — Use the Wii Remote and Nunchuck like pedals.  Pacing is important in this game because if you pedal too fast for too long your Wii character will become tired.  Play as a road race or against another player in your home.  Also need additional controllers for the VS. mode.

Golf – If anyone in your family enjoyed Golf in the original Wii Sports this is for them!  My husband is a big fan of this one and says this version is a upgraded and offers more courses than the last. You swing the Wii Remote JUST like a golf club and the game play is very realistic.

Table Tennis — Swing the Wi Remote just like a Ping Pong paddle.  Very realistic game play and yet another that would be even more fun if there were 2 Wii Motion Controllers.  Without you can still play against the computer and game play gets harder as your skill level increases. After playing the first version you can unlock Return Challenge where you can take turns returning as many serves as you can.

Bowling — This version of Bowling allows you to choose manual throwing style (as in Wii Sports) or automatic throwing style so any time your hand moves forward like you are throwing the ball it is released. A nice option to make it even easier for younger ones. After playing the regular game you can unlock 2 more fun bowling games “100 Pin Game” and “Spin Control”.

Canoeing — Hold the Wii Remote like an oar and start paddling!  You can play the speed challenge or vs. mode — take turns playing or use extra controls to play simultaneously.

Air Sports — This category is the favorite in my house. There are 3 different games offered.  Skydiving – Is tons of fun… you are the Wii remote as you jump from the plane.  You try and grab other players to form formations and have pictures taken with as many people connected and smiling as possible each time. This is very different from any other Wii Game I have played and one that made me say “AGAIN”. Island Flyover – This is my son’s favorite game. The Wii Remote IS the plane and you fly over beautiful scenery to try and find the

“i” targets above places and objects to shoot and then fly into.  Whether you are flying into a volcano or have unlocked flying at dusk – this game is very pretty and challenging.  They don’t tell you where the targets are and they don’t show up until you are close to them.  Exploration of the entire area is necessary and my son has a blast trying to find the remaining targets.  Dogfight – Fire your balloon blaster to knock out the other person’s balloons.  Another one you need the extra Wii Motion Controller for.

Overview

I LOVE Wii Sports Resort – this ranks in my top 5 Wii games without a doubt.  I love the Wii Motion Controller.  My only wish is that I knew some of the games required the additional accessory so I would have bought the combo pack to begin with instead of having to add it on at a larger cost.  There are MANY good games in this one package and ones that the kids will be playing for a long time to come.  Wii Sports Resort follows in the Nintendo tradition of making wonderful games for the entire family. I highly recommend Wii Sorts Resort but do yourself a favor and if you plan on playing with more than one player get the Expanded Wii Sports Resort with Two Controllers to begin with.

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The premise – simple — move the circles so that the energy flow fills the audio containers. As you do you will hear different soothing melodies.  The music and graphics are simply beautiful.  Game play gets harder as you go on. I played all of Act 1 and made it to scene 5 on Act 2.  I HAD to MAKE myself step away but I WILL be back! My 9 year old son loved it as well. I would say ages 7 and up could “get” this game and really enjoy it.  Kids who are younger could just play with the shapes and music and enjoy it as well.

The below video gives you a good sample of the music and flow of the game:

This is one of those rare games I find that I will keep going back to and keep recommending to all ages.  THANK YOU to the creators of Auditorium for creating a game that makes you think and is visually and musically a masterpiece.  Click here or on the picture to play Auditorium now – you will NOT be disappointed.

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Play First still offers some of my all time favorites (mentioned and described in previous post) like:

Puzzle Games:

Zuma

Cubis

Word Games:

Super Text Twist, Test Twist 2 (newly released 12/25/08)

Book Worm Deluxe

Now onto the new suggestions!

Play First 2009 Suggestions

Tasty Planet

While not a new game this is one my daughter (age 5) loves and I did not mention last time. It is good for younger kids as it will give them a real handle on mouse skills and also allows for shape and size recognition. You start out as a bacteria and have to eat objects to become bigger. The bigger you become the bigger objects you can eat. You need to avoid certain objects and anything bigger than you are. Cute sounds and graphics makes this especially entertaining for younger kids.

Carnival Mania

In this game you help your friend Polly turn an old run down amusement park into a thriving one. Add rides, shows, attractions, manage workers, materials to build and expand into the best carnival ever. Very fun if you enjoy simulation games and carnivals. Best for ages 8 and up.

Dream Chronicles 2: The Eternal Maze

This is a cool game with many different puzzles involved. I would say it is great for ages 9 and up. The first part tests your memory, the second part is a seek and find and the last part you are using your reading and deduction skills to put a sentence together that will reveal a clue. Pretty graphics and interesting game play makes for an entertaining an original game.

Super Slyder

Also, not a new game but one we found recently. With over 600 games on this site it is easy to keep finding new favorites! This is a simple puzzle game that is not so simple. Get Slyder, the little ball character into the circle — easy right? Umm maybe to BEGIN with but as you move forward it becomes very challenging. Any age can play but ages 8 and older would probably do better with later levels that require a lot of thinking ahead.

Brain Training (for Dummies)

From the site, “Sharpen your intellect with fun, challenging, brain-building games that can help increase your reaction time and improve your memory. Play 15 games to strengthen your brain power! Progress through multiple difficulty levels for a real challenge, or focus on a particular skill set: math, language, spatial, logic, reflexes, and memory.” For older children — I would say ages 9 and up.

With over 600 games and ones being added daily – there is no way I can do justice to all that is offered on Play First Games. I will say that whether you like educational, arcade, hidden objects, simulation, strategy, word and just about any other genre of game you can come up with — you CAN find it here!

You won’t be disappointed if you check out Play First Games – it is a place where you can find a game for anyone in your family. Whether you want a game for your PC, MAC, to play online or download to your mobile — the only concern you might have is, WHERE did those last 2 hours go?!

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Giraffe Above

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Here’s a video that highlights some of the things you can do in Wii Music:

LESSONS

There are lessons that are recommended first and here you will unlock different tunes and instruments. If you think you might get bored of playing Twinkle Twinkle 20 times – you might want to start here and at the games to unlock more songs and instruments before venturing to the Jam Sessions. There are Jam Basic Lessons which show you basic moves of performing with each instrument (with the wii remote and nunchuk), You then get Jam Mastery Lessons which give tons of good tips on mastering your own styles. A hint here is you have to get things right — it seemed when my 5 year old was playing if she missed even 2 notes the lesson would keep repeating. See Drum Mode below for Drum Lessons with the Balance Board.

GAMES

Mii Maestro

Wave the Wii remote to conduct the orchestra. Experiment to get different results. If you are playing with more than one person you have to be sure to get your rhythm in synch – something my kids and I never QUITE perfected.

Handbell Harmony

Cute game! Have different people play the different color handbells. When your color bell gets to the line of bells wave your Wii remote or nunchuk.

Pitch Perfect

Our favorite and beating level 4 on this unlocks more songs and instruments! This is very much a multi-player game. The Wii picks a person at random to answer a question. You may need to line up Miis from lowest pitch to highest pitch, pick the Mii with the highest pitch, pick 2 Miis that have the same pitch, etc. GREAT for sound recognition and fun to play as a group.

Jam Modes

Instrument Improv

Freely select and play the instruments you have unlocked in this mode. Instruments have four different types of controls and all are easy for children and adults to learn. If you forget or don’t know how to play a certain instrument there are always handy “How to Play” windows to click on. You can choose to play alone or have other characters play with you. When fully unlocked there are over 60 instruments and 50 songs to choose from.

Jam Session

Quick Jam or Custom Jam

In Quick Jam mode you have the song, stage, instruments and band parts selected for you and jump right into playing.

In Custom Jam mode you get to choose it all! Song and Stage selection are fun for mixing it up! Instrument and Part selection allow you to choose who will be playing what for melody, percussion, Base, Chord and harmony. Each has many different instruments, most are traditional but you will see the occasional one that will have your kids screaming with delight and wouldn’t be found at your average concert! (Cheerleaders, being in a dog or cat suit, singing in “mii” as well as DJ turntables, rapping and more). This is our favorite way to play and each time it is very different as we all choose different parts to play and mix up stages and song selection.

When in the “Jam” you can push the (-) button on the Wii Remote to see the notes that they suggest you play. They do allow for total improvisation but this is a good guide to have the song sounding like it usually does!

Making Videos

After performing you can keep a video. Not only do you rate how you thought the performance was, but you make a jacket cover with the Miis on it as well as a choose a background and title. If you know other families/friends that have Wii’s you can send them your videos for them to view and rate as well.

Drum Mode

Use the Wii Balance Board, set up in front of your chair and you will feel like you are at a real drum kit. This will take you through lessons to play the drums. VERY fun and you will have good feel of how to play the drums if you sit down and take these lessons.

Wii Music has so many ways to play that are fun. If you are an advanced musician this would probably seem a bit childish to you. However if you are looking to teach your child about music or want to learn yourself – this is an awesome game. I feel this would be an awesome resource for home schooling parents to teach their children music and have some fun at the same time.

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You can also check out these sites that have games for the holidays:

Here some links for the younger ones:
Fun Holiday Games from Kaboose online
Cute Penguin Diving Game
Lead Santa and his reindeer around a racetrack
Dinosaur Design has a cute one where you have Rudolph fly and avoid birds and other obstacles
Fast, simple adventure game as Alfie the Elf helps Santa – also from dinosaur design
A holiday memory game that is fun and BOY does it test you! (Also by Dinosaur Design)! My son Alex and I got a 91 — can you beat our score?
Make your own snowflake at the Snowflake Factory — fun — you can have the snowflake do different things after you create it. — yep Dinosaur Design They offer some other holiday and regular games as well but I featured my faves for the holidays.

And some for the teens and on up:
Miniclip Games has some fun ones for the older crowd. There are a few here for the younger ones but I’d screen them first.
Nitrome Games has some good holiday ones as well as others but I’d recommend screening them as well.

Spot the Differences (5 Differences)

Here’s a game I like to play with my kids: Spot the 5 differences between the two pictures by clicking on the spots that make them different. Find all 5 to be given another picture…. Addicting and fun for kids and adults! Enjoy!

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Sign up for a free membership and you will be able to utilize saving pictures to a gallery, emailing your creations to friends, sharing your creations with everyone on the site and adding favorite things to your backpack for you to use on other applications. It is broken down as shown: Make a Picture, Movie, Drawing, Card or Story.

Make a Picture

You need to pick a background first that you want to design on. Even with a free signed up membership you get TONS of options. After you pick a design a page comes up with lots of options for adding text, pictures, word bubbles, shapes and just about anything else you would need to add to a picture. There is also a search option so a child that knows how to spell can look for specific graphics to add. You can rotate, stretch and move the graphics wherever you like. There are so many options here and my 5 year old daughter had fun playing with this as well as my 9 year old son. You can print your creation and you can save it for others to look at. As you submit and rate other’s pictures you earn coins that can be used to spend in the shop on new graphics, music, drawing tools, etc. VERY fun and it was nice to go through with my kids and look at what other people had created. There really is no limit to what kinds of pictures you can create.

MAKE A MOVIE

The first thing you need to do is select a storyline to make a movie. Kerpoof then allows you to select from several different scenes. I recommend this for ages 7 and up as it was a little difficult for my daughter who is just beginning to read to understand all that is involved in creating a movie. Still with some assistance even a younger child would be able to make a short movie without much difficulty using this application. You drag objects into the picture. Clicking on the object tells you WHAT that object is allowed to do. There is an instructional video on the site on how to make a movie that I recommend the kids watching to maximize their potential in use. The movie making application is A LOT of fun and you can add music, new scenes and more to make it your own. This was also the BEST movie making application I have come across for younger kids on the internet yet! My son is telling all his friends to sign up to make movies and they are having a blast.

MAKE A DRAWING

Make a Drawing is like a huge Doodle Pad filled with cool options to enhance your drawing experience. The shape censor allows for you to draw perfect circles, triangles, rectangles or squares. The color mixer allows you to get get whatever color you want perfect. You can change the thickness of lines drawn, move objects around, use different drawing tools (as you buy them with coins earned), erase, email, print and more. It is amazing to see some of the creations made with this application and fun to go and rate some with the kids. Cool and very simple to use platform and I feel ages 5 and up would “get it” and be able to create with it.

MAKE A CARD

Pick an occasion from the many offered and begin to design a card. Using the graphics given to you and using the search you can find anything you need to make a unique and creative card. You can add your own special touches by drawing on it as well and they have lots of occasions to choose from. My children started making their friends birthday cards on the computer a while back and really love it. This program makes it easy to do so. They think of things that person enjoys and do searches for graphics of them to add to the card to make it special for the person receiving it. Another great application from Kerpoof!

MAKE A STORY

Choose from a storyline and let your imagination take over. Design each page with text, pictures, objects you have drawn and anything else you can imagine. Keep adding pages as you develop your story and then print, email and/or save. My 9 year old son really enjoyed doing this and I feel it is an excellent activity to inspire creativity.

KERPOOF OVERVIEW Free/Paid

With a free membership you can still edit an avatar, buy many more drawing tools, music, backgrounds etc. You can also add your favorite graphics to your “backpack” so that they are there to use no matter what background or drawing application you pull up. My son has played on this site for hours and is not yet asking for a paid membership. Paid membership DOES allow for the maintenance of their ad-free site which is highly valuable when you have young children. If Alex continues to play on the site and enjoy it (which I believe he will) I will definitely obtain a membership for him. Kerpoof also has a coloring page for younger children to print out which is WONDERFUL and has MANY pictures.

For the paid membership ($4.39/month) you get the ability for your kids to chat (safety), create and join groups and also have fun with “Buddy Draw”. You also get access to more special effects, characters, avatar styles, props, music, movies to build from, and tons more stuff to spend your “Koins” on.

Kerpoof is easily one of the best art sites I have found online for kids and adults of all ages. After I visit a site like this I am so inspired and happy that I get to review children’s games! Thank you Kerpoof for providing high quality content, encouraging creativity and imagination all with an easy to use interface and most importantly in a very safe environment for kids!

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More Bloons

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Here is Wil Wright speaking about Spore and giving a preview of the game along with more at the TED Conference:

Part1

Part 2

Spore looks utterly amazing. In pre-release there has been MUCH talk about it being “Game of the Year” and with Wil Wright behind and by this preview I can see why. There are a few different ways to purchase Spore and I wanted to clarify WHAT each gives you:

A few months ago the Spore Creature Creator was released. For just $9.99 you could use their powerful yet easy-to-use creation tool to create and play with your own unique creature. With a simple drag-and-drop interface, you can assemble your creature from a wide range of parts. You can bring the creature to life and make them dance, pose and more. You can share your favorites with friends then visit the SPORE website and look at all the other cool creatures your friends and people all around the world are making—and then pull them into your SPORE Creature Creator and play with them!

On September 7 there will be 2 versions of Spore coming out:

Spore (regular version) — The amazon.com site lists these as its key features:

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Here are a few recommendations for the Flash Games:

Smart Kit has a Plexus Puzzle to try for free and some for sale. In Plexus puzzles– the puzzle pieces are all different sized and shaped cartoon characters and you need to rotate them and fit them together so they form one solid puzzle. I found this one fun, challenging and was able to do it in 10 minutes and I am by no means a puzzle expert. The pictures you fit together are kid friendly pictures and I could see children loving this one and HAVING to finish it. I think ages 6 and up would enjoy this but ages 8 and up might have a better chance at finishing it without help.

Poiser is fun for all ages. The object is to build boxes on top of each other (pyramid style) so they reach the goal height. The boxes start out small and later on they are different sizes and made of different materials so they have different weight. Oh and did I mention you are building in space on a board being balanced on something like a pin? This makes it challenging as you always have to make sure your pyramid-type building is even on both sides.

Smart Kit’s 3D Logic Game “Stronghold of Sage” is lots of fun. There is a cube that you manipulate 3 sides of. There are blocks of different colors on each side and you have to find a path to match the colors without intercepting the other. Each level gets a bit harder and I think ages 8 and up would enjoy it and not get too frustrated.


Smiley Puzzle has different color faces and you need to match 3 in a row of to get them removed. Instead of “swapping” places as a bunch of similar games have you do to move the rows horizontally or vertically. Cute faces and sounds makes this good for ages 5 and up.

Smiler Concentration is a standard concentration game with you choosing between making 12, 8, 12, 18 and 24 matches. You get a peek at where the faces are before they turn them over and then it’s up to you to find the matches. It has very cute graphics and my son loved the sound as well.

Pickies Factory Game is a very cute game that young children ages 5 and up would enjoy playing. Pieces of the characters (4 pieces in all) fall and you put them together (by color) to form the whole character.


There are so many categories on this site that I recommend you checking out the Categories list on the right hand side of the home page. Here are a few of my favorites but these are just a handful of the more than 20 categories:

Brain and Puzzle Games
Cartoon Puzzles
Hidden Object Puzzles
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Math Puzzles
Paper Folding and Cutting Puzzles
Printable Puzzles
Spot the Differences Puzzle
Optical Illusions

There are also very insightful articles on everything relating to the brain. Again, there are MANY categories… but here are a few…

ADD & ADHD
Brain Herbs and Smart Drugs
Improve Concentration
Improve Memory
Stress Reduction

Smart-Kit is an amazing site for learning and having fun. There is lots to learn here and you can also use it to improve memory, concentration or IQ. I highly recommend Smart Kit and think children as well as adults would get a lot from this site.

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