Reviews from other Disers!!! Thanks so much everyone!
We got
Big Brain Academy Wii Degree-- I, DH, DD13 have had a great time with it. From what we've found, there is only one 'game' top play 2-player, though and I was disappointed in that. I think my DS10 doesn't want to play it because it would frustrate him if he didn't get high scores right off the bat.
Carnival Games - The whole family loves it. We will have a lot of fun playing this one as a group.
--Carnival Games - 9 Lots of fun for everyone and saves us a ton of money by not having to go to Dave & Busters
--This is an incredible collection of mini-games that you would find at any carnvial around the country. You start with about 20 games available and can unlock 7 or 8 more. Some of the games include: Basketball shot, duck shooting, tank dunk, knock the milk cans over, dime toss, dart toss, mini-golf, and many more. Another great feature of this game is the unique and varied use of the Wii remote. You will be swinging, tossing, turning, shaking, thrusting, circling and wiggling the remote in a different way for almost every game. The game is easy enough for anybody to play, yet it does offer quite a challenge to get the high scores. You can also unlock a whole bunch of different outfits and gadgets for your characters (one of the biggest drawbacks is that you can't use your own Miis). I highly recommend this game if you are a fan of mini-games.
Cooking Mama-- I LOVE LOVE LOVE this game, bought it on a whim but haven't regreted it yet
Chicken Little--They've played it, but aren't ecstatic over it. 5
DD15(who doesn't play video games at all) got
DDR and she LOVES it! Santa had brought the Mario version for the game cube in the past and it wasn't a big hit as it wasn't the real DDR with good music and things. This version is fabulous and just what she wanted! She doesn't care for the hand motions and it seems you can turn those off in some modes but not all. We also pulled out the Mario dance pad and she and DS were able to play 2 player! They were so happy! You can unlock additional songs and stages by playing. I know DD's gonna get a lot of use out of this! So far so good. Score: I'd give this a 9 for the teenage set. DD15 is not a gamer but really likes this and DS12 who's not a dancer in any sense of the word also really likes this. Being able to use the gamecube dance pad for 2 player mode was a real plus too! I'm sure adults would like it too (but if I played I'd have to set it on "beginner" for sure! It looks like it could be pretty strenuous)
We also picked up
Dave Mirra this Christmas. It does take a bit of getting used to, but once you start figuring it out, it offers a huge variety of tricks and moves, plus a good variety of locations that you can unlock. We loved Dave Mirra for the GameCube, so for us, this was a must get. So far, we have enjoyed it, but not as much as the one for the GC. Hopefully, the more we play it, the more we will learn to enjoy it.
Disney Princess - 9
This is a super fun game if you are into the princesses. You get to dress up your princess and then run around the castle using your magic wand on special missions (helping Jasmine find the monkey, picking up jewels). My almost 6 year old loves this game. The only reason I didn't give this game a 10 is that the controls are a little hard for my DD but she will probably get better with practice.
We love
Godfather for the Wii. My husband and I had a blast playing it.
-- Essentially it is Grand theft auto set in the time of the god father. It is quite playable for Adults only due to its Mature rating. I (DH) is the one playing it. I find the controls easy to use and the game very complex yet fun because you can do other things than what you have listed as your game objectives. it will take a lot of time to complete it is is no old school mario.......
Rating an 8 due to maturity rating and the violence
Guitar Hero III Rating: 10
Everyone in our family loves it - great for all ages! (rated T for Teen)
--GH III--everyone loves this one, even DS5 is getting in on the action! 10
Happy Feet - 8 This was for DS3, so he could have his own game. Cuter than I expected, great songs. (Note from Sarah--I've played this one and thought it was terrible--but it is a GREAT game from very very young children).
HSM Sing It! - 5
My DD (9) has played it once or twice, but that's about it.
--HSM Sing It - very disappointed in this one. DDs are all big HSM fans but they have only played this a few times. They don't really seem to like it.
---HSM Sing it - 9 I was surprised to hear negative reviews on this. We love this game! It definitely gets better as you unlock songs. It is a big hit with DS5 - we bought an extra microphone for Duets.
Lego Star Wars, DS8 gives it 10, DD11 gives it 8.
--both DD13 and DS10 have had fun at this--we had both SW games for PS2 and they''ve enjoyd and beaten those so it isn't that new, but was necessary for my 2 SW freaks!
--Lego Star Wars-the Complete Saga--DS9 plays this the most 8
--Star Wars Legos - 10
This is all my DS7 wanted for Xmas and he loves it. Very cool that you can have two players in the same game and switch characters. Very intuitive and the wielding of the light saber never gets old.
I bought Links Crossbow training (with the gun) for $19.47 at Target the other day and that has been the best game we have bought! I know it is just a minigame, but for a dunce like me, it is perfect - I am enjoying trying to beat my high scores over and over. I highly reccomend it for anyone who had the first nintendo system and liked Duck Hunt and Hogan's Alley.
Madden 08 - DH likes it but says he has to get better with the nunchuck
MLB Power Pros - 8 Great baseball game. The whole family really enjoys it!
Grandma got him
Mario and Sonic at the Olypic Games. He was very excited for this one and opened it first but he's irritated at it and says it's "stupid". Apparently he's doing the motions that the game instructs him to do but his guy isn't running, jumping, whatever, properly. He's a big video gamer and definitely knows how to work things so I don't know what the problem is. I told him he might just have to practice at it to get the hang of it but he thinks it's just not properly responsive and therefore "stupid". He's put it away for now and will hopefully revisit it another day. Anybody else get this one? Do you find that the character responds properly to your commands? Score: It looks like it could be a great game! But at this point I think DS would give it a 3 or so because he couldn't get his character to do what he wanted and he found it very frustrating.
--Mario & Sonic at the Olympics We tried it yesterday and it was not well liked by anyone. I can't put my finger on exactly why none of us liked it. We all thought it would be much more fun than it actually was. I think I might be heading to
Amazon/Ebay with this one.
--Mario & Sonic at the Olympics is our FAVORITE--so far! We have had a ball with the rowing and archery, particularly. You have to play the games to unlock all the new ones. I think the only thing left for us to unlock is the 10,000m diving. Can't wait for that one! The only thing I don't really like about it is that when you set world records or earn medals, it only 'counts' if you are playing in 1P mode.
--Mario and Sonic Olympics--DH loves it and plays it more than the kids. 10
--Olympics - 7 - swimming is my fav & hilarious to watch. None of the kids enjoy it much after the first few days but I think it still has potential. A little hard for DS5.
Mario Party 8--fun our families favorite
--Super Mario Party 8 - This is getting the most play time at our house (DS13 and DD9).
--Mario Party - my 3 DDs love it, especially playing it together.
Another fun game is
Mario Strikers: Charged (Mario soccer). Unlike many other soccer games, this game is not so worried about traditional soccer skills, as it is in making soccer fun for everyone. If you are at all familiar with the Mario sports line of games, than you will know how Nintendo incorporates out-of-this-world features into traditional sports. One of the funnest parts of Mario Strikers is tackling other players. You shake the Wii remote up and down when you are near an oppenent to take him out. Some times my son and I will let the ball just sit there while we focus instead on trying to tackle each other. There are also special pick-ups throughout the game that give you either special powers or off-the wall traps to catch your opponent. Another nice feature of Mario Strikers is the fact that it's WIFI, letting you play against opponents from all over via the internet.
He got
Metroid 3 from Santa (which he's rented before and likes but hasn't gotten far in it at all). He didn't open that one today as he knows what it's about and wanted to try the other games. He likes this one a lot though and Santa also brought the players guide for this one. Score: I haven't played this but DS12 as well as DH have checked this one out. I guess it's complex enough to keep DH interested but simple enough to keep DS interested. DS isn't up yet but I think he'd give it a 7 or an 8 and I'd say ages 10 and up. We invested in the players guide for this as DS couldn't get very far in it without googling walkthroughs.
MySIms - 8 - fav of DD13 & DD7, I haven't played it and don't see the appeal as much as the DDs.
Nicktoons Attack of the Toybots - 6 DS5 gives this a 6 because he says that it is fun sometimes but can be boring as well
Petz Catz-this one is for DS5, it's kind of like Nintendcats for the DS, cute, but for the younger ones! 6
Pirates of the Caribbean, At World's End-- I haven't played or even seen it played but DS10 says it is confusing. It was only $20 so I don't feel too bad about it.
Pokemon Battle Revolution, DS8 gives it 9, DD11 gives it 9.
--Don't buy unless you own Diamond or Pearl. You don't create your own team unless you download from D or P
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 - DS#2's favorite.
Spiderman Friend or Foe - 7
The kids seem to like playing it, my DH & I could care less about even trying it. It doesn't really look fun. Plus, we can't figure out how to get 2 players going, so that's been aggravating.
Super Mario Galaxy, DS8 gives it 10, DD11 gives it 9.
--LOVE IT! (although it can make you a tad dizzy at times) Glad DS#1 got the guide for this for Christmas. We got the Collector's edition. It is very nice & really helpful so far.
--i LOVE mario galaxy, i have gotten 2 stars already and its not so hard so far (im an 27 isnt that pathetic that i find these games hard..LOL) but anyway i wa afraid cuz im not very good at gaming but so far its pretty easy to understand and to play an dits a lot of fun.
--Super Mario Galaxy - 10 (this is my favorite game of ALL TIME! I'm up to 36 stars)
Thrillville off the Rails - DS#1's favorite. Everyone likes it as well. Really fun if you like minigames and amusement parks.
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam - 9 DS5 & DH are addicted to this!!!
WarioWare Smooth Mooves - I LOVE this game. Super fun but I wish there was a way to go over the little mini movies faster.
Wii Play, both give it 8.
--We had a good time learning about the wii using this game. Haven't played a ton, but will go back.
Wii Sports, DS8 says 3 (he has co-ordination issues), DD11 says 7.
--Too many other good reviews to post them all. Mostly 10s
Aunt and Uncle got him
Zack and Wiki. He and his dad are checking that one out right now. They've been at it for about 45 minutes. Seems like an interesting puzzle/quest kind of game but a little slow moving(at least in the beginning) and lots of reading. From what I could see, I'd say a minimum age of about 8 or older, lots of reading and thinking involved.
