Nintendo Wii GAMES

Wii Fit

I gave a full review along with a video of Wii Fit here. I do LOVE this game. When it first came out I religiously played it 4-6 times a week for a month and I did get in better shape and lost weight. From yoga, to slalom skiing to hula hooping and step class… this has lots of training games to help get you in shape. It can keep track of stats for up to 8 household members and is full with information on health and wellness. My daughter who is 5 can do the majority of the exercises and games without getting frustrated — I think this is fun for everyone but you have to play one at a time. Visit my review for a lot more information and see others reviews on amazon to see JUST how much fun you can have while getting in shape playing Wii Fit.

Pet Pals (Animal Doctor)

Recommended for ages 10+ due to mild blood. If your child (or you) has ever had any interest in being an animal vet or learning more about animals THIS is the game for you. You start in a waiting room with pet owners waiting to bring in their animals for you to look at and treat. In the waiting room you have the computer screen where you can go and play jigsaw puzzles, a memory match game, an animal trivia game or learn more about animals. You can hover over the patients in the waiting room to see the symptoms of each animal before you choose one to work on. The animals are all pets; dogs, cats, parrots, frogs, rabbits, and canaries are some of the animals you will see. When you choose one you are brought into the treatment room and have a certain amount of time to figure out what is wrong with and treat the animal. You get points for doing things right and you lose points for giving the wrong treatment. They have various tools you can use such as magnifying glass, syringe to take blood, stethoscope for vitals, etc. Each requires you knowing how to use the wii remote to control the tool. The more animals you treat successfully the more tools you will unlock and eventually you will be doing surgery on animals! There is also the recovery room which has activities such as feeding the animals and caring for them while they recover. Again, you will unlock more activities as you play. Pet Pals (Animal Doctor) is a very educational experience. You can play on easy or normal level. The easy level walks you through and even lets you ask for hints if you are not sure WHAT to do with the animal next. The games on the computer in the waiting room as appropriate for younger kids as well but there is a lot of reading and some mild blood while you work on the animals so I would say ages 9 and up for the real vet work. If you have an animal lover in your home that wants to learn more about animals, their bodies and the kinds of illnesses they get – Pet Pals (Animal Doctor) is the game for you!

Mario Kart

We are a Mario & Luigi family. I remember playing the first Mario Bros when I was a teenager in NYC and now it is awesome to play these games with my kids. Mario Kart is a very fun racing game that you can play with 4 people. It comes with one steering wheel you can snap the Wii remote into but it is just as fun playing without it. Choose various characters and different vehicles to race with. As in usual Mario fashion — the more you play and solve the more you unlock. This was one of the best rated games of the year and is still one of my kid’s favorites. From the amazon description:

The worldwide race is on with a whole new set of tricks, tracks, and ways to play! Place first in Grand Prix circuits or clear skill-based missions. Mario Kart Wii draws on courses and battle arenas from every game in the series – not to mention tons of new ones – the true king of the Mushroom Kingdom racing circuits will finally be crowned.

Mario Kart Wii does not disappoint and is one the whole family can enjoy playing.

Wii Music

On our second visit to Nintendo World in NYC we got to sample Wii Music a few days before it was released. Wow is it cool! My mom was with us and at the time declared it would be under our tree because this is one the whole family will DEFINITELY get into! The Product Description from amazon kind of says it all:

Wii Guinness Book of World Records

This is #1 on my son’s wishlist but we have not played it yet. My son has become recently obsessed with all things Guinness Book of Records especially after receiving the Guinness Book of records book of 2009 in 3D. He’s seen the commercials and when we read the description from Amazon it became the #1 request for Christmas. Amazon says:

Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock

There are a few different versions of Guitar hero. Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock Bundle comes with a wireless Gibson guitar and Guitar Hero 3 which features over 70 of the all time greatest rock songs. Here are the amazon hihglights:

Classic Wii Games

I have a post where I reviewed many Wii Games here. The highlights from that and games I still love and recommend highly are:

Mario Party 8

Super Mario Galaxy

Wii Sports

Nintendo DS

Disney Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force

My kids LOVE Club Penguin Online and were SO excited for this release to come out for the DS. It has MANY more missions than the site has as well as the ease of being able to sit and play Club Penguin games in comfort on your DS! My son and daughter both love this and if you have a Club Penguin Fan(atic) in your house than Elite Penguin Force is the game for you.

My Sims and My Sims Kingdom

I love the Simm Games as mentioned in my post about Will Wright. My Sims for the DS is a version of the Sims games for much younger kids. It is loads of fun and quite satisfying and you unlock more to do and more games. This game is for good readers so I would say ages 7 and up would get a lot from it. You move into the town and need to improve it. By talking with people and figuring out what it needs to unlocking furniture to design My Sims has lots to offer in creativity and growth.

My Sims Kingdom is the newest release in the younger Sim line for the DS and here are some hihglights mentioned on amazon:

Kirby Super Star Ultra

The Kirby games in general are wonderful for kids that like Mario type games. It requires some figuring out of which move will work where. This game has tons of adventures and the best graphics so far of any Kirby game to date. Both my kids enjoy this and Kirby is definitely appropriate for any age. This game features mini games and DS download play so you can add more friends to the mix for some fun. The lovable pink fluffball Kirby in Kirby Super Star Ultra provides tons of fun.

Zoo Vet (Endangered Animals)

Recommended for ages 10+ due to mild blood. Similar to the Zoo Vet Pets game for Wii above but this is with Endangered Species. This game includes 30 newly written medical cases contributed by veterinarians practicing throughout the world. You will care for gorillas, elephants, penguins, polar bears, komodo dragons and more. This game takes advantage of the stylus by letting you use it as a tool for making precise incisions. As with Zoo Pets as you successfully complete caring for animals the missions will get harder and you will unlock more instruments. There are also 6 different mini games, played on the office computer, where players can interact with the animals in their natural habitats. For example in one game you blow into the DS microphone to remove fleas from the animal. If you have someone in your family that enjoys learning more about animals and helping them I highly recommend Zoo Vet (Endangered Animals).

Drawn to Life: Spongebob Squarepants Edition

For the Spongebob lover or artist in your family – this game is amazing. You need to draw objects/characters with the stylus in order to complete scenes and move forward. Just like the episode where Spongebob and Patrick find the “magic pencil” including the evil “DoddleBob” While the game is appropriate for everyone I think younger kids would get frustrated with this. I think ages 8 and up is a good age group for this game as there is also reading involved. Drawn to Life Spongebob is FUN for adults as well who like Spongebob and enjoy drawing and puzzles.

Classic DS

I reviewed my top Educational Games for the DS last year and they are still amazing games! Please check out the post for more info on:

Brain Age

Brain Age 2 and more

Nintendo is an amazing company with games fun for the whole family. From the cutting edge games and technology on the Wii to the access on the internet — we have used the Wii more than any other gift we have ever received. The whole family enjoys it and it is something we can do together. The DS has saved us many breakdowns in long car rides and I LOVE that they offer many educational games for the kids. We are not a family that supports TV watching in the car so the DS offers something the kids can do and use their brain while they sit. If you are worried about getting a game in time for Christmas, consider Amazon Prime. It is amazon’s service that allows you to pay a one time yearly fee of $79 for unlimited free shipping. Right now they have a special promotion going where you can try it for one month for free. Happy Holidays! If it is PC/Mac games you are looking for please check out Part 1 of my recommendations.

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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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