The kid vid report
There's plenty of fun to plug into, including Viva Pinata for Xbox 360, Tetris DS and the karaoke Singstar Rocks.
By Josh Korr
Published November 23, 2006
Don't let the hand-wringing over video games these days ruin your child's holiday wishes. From quirky to cute to cool, there are plenty of kid-friendly games out there.
First, a plea: Ignore stores' patronizing displays of games for girls. Dolls, ponies and anything pink might work in a toy store, but it's insulting to tell girls those are the only games they should play.
The most reliably kid-friendly game system is the handheld Nintendo DS Lite $129.99, the successor to the GameBoy Advance. (Make sure to buy the DS Lite, not the older, bulkier DS.)
Two of last year's hits are still good bets: the racing game Mario Kart DS (rated E for Everyone; $34.99) and the puppy simulator Nintendogs (rated E; $29.99). This year's big hits - great for all ages - are Super Mario DS (rated E; $34.99), an update of the classic Nintendo games, and two brain teaser/puzzle games: Brain Age and Big Brain Academy (both rated E and $19.99).
Tetris DS (rated E; $29.99) is a fun update of the puzzler, and Elite Beat Agents (rated Everyone 10+; $29.99) is the goofiest game of the year. You help a trio of dancing, singing secret agents save people in "peril" - a babysitter trying to woo the football captain, a boy trying to find his dog - by tapping the DS Lite's touch screen in time to the beat of pop songs. And no, it doesn't make any sense when you play it, either - but it's a hoot.
The Sony PlayStation Portable ($199.99) is geared toward a slightly older audience, but there's one don't-miss game if the PSP is on the kiddies' holiday list: Loco Roco (rated E; $39.99), in which you tilt the screen back and forth to navigate an orange blob through obstacles and past enemies.
The PlayStation 2 home console ($129.99) is nearing the end of its life, but there are plenty of good games still available. The most fun game of the year for any system is the music simulator/rhythm game Guitar Hero II (rated T for Teen), which is pricey but worth it: $79.99, including plastic guitar controller. Another fun music game, especially for parties, is the karaoke game Singstar Rocks (rated E 10+; $49.99 including two microphones); though Guitar Hero doesn't require musical talent, Singstar is better if you can actually carry a tune.
Of the newest home systems - the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii - the Wii will have the most games geared toward all ages, including the latest Zelda and Super Mario games and downloadable version of older ones. The Xbox 360 has one good game specifically for the younger set: Viva Pinata (rated E; $49.99), which has players tending to a garden filled with animal pinatas. It's super cute.
Don't have any game consoles? Check out Sid Meier's Railroads for the PC (rated E; $39.99), which lets you play as a 20th century baron building a rail empire. You'll need a fairly robust computer to get the game running smoothly, though.
Josh Korr can be reached at jkorr@sptimes.com For more, see his blog at sptimes.com/blogs/videogames.
Twister Dance DVD - $30, ages 8 to 12
This got mixed reviews from the four teenage girls who tried it. They agreed that Dance Dance Revolution is more fun and solicits better dancing. With the Twister game, players stand on four mats with different colored spots and then follow along with digital dancers on a DVD that show them where to move their feet on their mat and what to do with their arms. The girls said that it was more like an aerobics class than dancing.
The thin plastic mats slipped a few times and aren't as heavy as the mats for Dance Dance Revolution, which actually light up to indicate where dancers should move. Dance Dance Revolution systems cost from $20 for a dance pad that works with a TV to $40 or more for a pad and system that works with a PlayStation. Twister allows four players at a time instead of just two. It's probably more suitable for a younger group of girls who just want to get up and move around than the serious dancer wanna-be.