Tuesday
Oct272009
Gamer Guide: Play Ball!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 02:31PM
[Editor's Note: Since I don't, well, have time for this, today's post is brought to you by guest blogger/gamer expert/L.A. dad Allen Rausch.]
So it's October. That means that besides the ubiquitous pumpkins, costume shopping and breathless anticipation from my kids for the huge haul of candy they'll be pulling in this week, there's also the changeover. No, not the change of seasons: It's post-season baseball and looking forward to pre-season football! It's been kind of a nail-biter in the Rausch household because Dad is a transplanted New Yorker and my wife is a Dodgers fan now rooting for my beloved Yankees to lose. Yeah, there's a bit of an East Coast/West Coast thing happening with us. My daughter Lily has joined her mother in rooting for the Brooklyn Quislings (as my dad still refers to the Dodgers), and my son David just wants to hit a ball with a bat and tackle anything that stands still long enough.
That led to me thinking about sports games for kids. One of the chief criticisms of video games is that they turn kids into couch potatoes. Believe me, in a country where obesity has reached epidemic proportions (to say nothing of me and my wife's own struggles with our weight), I'm very conscious of the need to get the kids up and moving. The great thing is that the latest generation of video game controllers and systems such as the Wii motion controls and balance boards are proving to a generation of couch potatoes that not only is it healthier to get the whole body actively involved in gaming, it's a lot more fun too! I remember getting a lump in my throat when I first played Wii Fit and EA Sports Active and realized that someone had finally made playing games not only good fun but good for my waist size as well.
With that in mind, I took a look at three "sports games" for kids. If you have visions of a super-complex sports game like Madden in your mind, relax. All three are merely sports-themed titles, two of which specialize in presenting "mini-games," a sort of quick-hit simple activity that pack a lot of fun into a few minutes of play. The third is a cold weather blast for those of you who own the balance board you may have purchased with Wii Fit. That means that these games are simple enough for the young ones and their gaming-impaired parents. In fact, don't be surprised if once you play them, you find yourself breaking them out with your significant other after the kids go to bed. Yeah, they're that much fun. Try 'em out, and we just might make a "gamer" out of a few more parents.
Publisher: 2K Sports
Platform: Wii
Rating: E
MSRP: $19.99
In between watching the Yankees' inevitable march toward World Series glory, our family enjoys getting into the dugout with 2K Sports Baseball Blast! Baseball Blast is a simplified version of the great American pastime boiled down to themed mini-games based on team names. Our favorite is battling against the Pittsburgh Pirates where the batter has to hit back flaming baseballs launched by real pirate ships! We also enjoy "City Ball" where players have to throw a baseball through a maze trying to hit as many trophies as possible. The real gem of the collection though is "Play Ball" mode. In Play Ball players take turns swinging for the fences in regular play and then between innings you get to play a mini-game to win cards that can give your team extra power or put some bad mojo on the other player's team. Its a lot of fun, surprisingly strategic and guaranteed to get your family laughing.
Publisher: Namco
Platform: Wii
Rating E
MSRB: $39.99
The Wii Balance Board is one of the most enjoyable controllers we've ever used, especially for a game like We Ski and Snowboard. As the name would imply, you can use your personalized "Mii" avatar or one of the adorable provided ones to ski and snowboard around two mountain resorts doing races, slaloms or participating in contests where you rack up points for doing tricks. The game's controls are fairly simple, although it's not recommended for the youngest kids. For those older than 8 – or those parents who ever wanted to catch some "sick air" without the danger of ending up in traction – there's nothing better than that moment when you cross the finish line first fully aware that you are an Icelandic ski god! Then you should go towel off because you'll most likely build up a pretty good sweat there, Picabo Street.
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Wii
Rating E for Cartoon Violence
MSRP:$49.99
Don't let the MSRP fool you. Wii Sports resort can actually run into a bit of coin if you want to outfit all four of your Wii controllers with the new "Wii
Motion Control Plus" accessory that's required for this title. But that shouldn't stop you – just a few minutes playing Wii Sports Resort will have you rushing out do so. Yes, it's that good, and yes, you will want to be able to play with four players at once.
Wii Sports Resort is the sequel to Wii Sports (you may have seen Serena Williams play the tennis game against Conan O'Brien) and like that title offers you the chance to traipse around an island resort playing all kinds of beach-themed games. The star of the show is "Swordfighting" where padded warriors with rubber swords can whack away at one another – this is easily the favorite in our house. Be sure to use the wrist strap on the controller and be careful not to hit one another. This game can get a little frenzied.
We also enjoy a rousing game of Table Tennis, throwing a frisbee to an adorable computerized dog, and my daughter loves the 100-pin bowling game. When a product bills itself as "fun for the whole family," Wii Sports Resort is what they're thinking of.
Allen Rausch is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. He’s the parent of Lily and David who, in his unbiased opinion, are the cutest children in the whole wide world. He regularly blogs about video games, culture, politics and parenting at The Angry Bear.
So it's October. That means that besides the ubiquitous pumpkins, costume shopping and breathless anticipation from my kids for the huge haul of candy they'll be pulling in this week, there's also the changeover. No, not the change of seasons: It's post-season baseball and looking forward to pre-season football! It's been kind of a nail-biter in the Rausch household because Dad is a transplanted New Yorker and my wife is a Dodgers fan now rooting for my beloved Yankees to lose. Yeah, there's a bit of an East Coast/West Coast thing happening with us. My daughter Lily has joined her mother in rooting for the Brooklyn Quislings (as my dad still refers to the Dodgers), and my son David just wants to hit a ball with a bat and tackle anything that stands still long enough.
That led to me thinking about sports games for kids. One of the chief criticisms of video games is that they turn kids into couch potatoes. Believe me, in a country where obesity has reached epidemic proportions (to say nothing of me and my wife's own struggles with our weight), I'm very conscious of the need to get the kids up and moving. The great thing is that the latest generation of video game controllers and systems such as the Wii motion controls and balance boards are proving to a generation of couch potatoes that not only is it healthier to get the whole body actively involved in gaming, it's a lot more fun too! I remember getting a lump in my throat when I first played Wii Fit and EA Sports Active and realized that someone had finally made playing games not only good fun but good for my waist size as well.
With that in mind, I took a look at three "sports games" for kids. If you have visions of a super-complex sports game like Madden in your mind, relax. All three are merely sports-themed titles, two of which specialize in presenting "mini-games," a sort of quick-hit simple activity that pack a lot of fun into a few minutes of play. The third is a cold weather blast for those of you who own the balance board you may have purchased with Wii Fit. That means that these games are simple enough for the young ones and their gaming-impaired parents. In fact, don't be surprised if once you play them, you find yourself breaking them out with your significant other after the kids go to bed. Yeah, they're that much fun. Try 'em out, and we just might make a "gamer" out of a few more parents.
Baseball Blast
Publisher: 2K Sports
Platform: Wii
Rating: E
MSRP: $19.99
In between watching the Yankees' inevitable march toward World Series glory, our family enjoys getting into the dugout with 2K Sports Baseball Blast! Baseball Blast is a simplified version of the great American pastime boiled down to themed mini-games based on team names. Our favorite is battling against the Pittsburgh Pirates where the batter has to hit back flaming baseballs launched by real pirate ships! We also enjoy "City Ball" where players have to throw a baseball through a maze trying to hit as many trophies as possible. The real gem of the collection though is "Play Ball" mode. In Play Ball players take turns swinging for the fences in regular play and then between innings you get to play a mini-game to win cards that can give your team extra power or put some bad mojo on the other player's team. Its a lot of fun, surprisingly strategic and guaranteed to get your family laughing.We Ski and Snowboard
Publisher: Namco
Platform: Wii
Rating E
MSRB: $39.99
The Wii Balance Board is one of the most enjoyable controllers we've ever used, especially for a game like We Ski and Snowboard. As the name would imply, you can use your personalized "Mii" avatar or one of the adorable provided ones to ski and snowboard around two mountain resorts doing races, slaloms or participating in contests where you rack up points for doing tricks. The game's controls are fairly simple, although it's not recommended for the youngest kids. For those older than 8 – or those parents who ever wanted to catch some "sick air" without the danger of ending up in traction – there's nothing better than that moment when you cross the finish line first fully aware that you are an Icelandic ski god! Then you should go towel off because you'll most likely build up a pretty good sweat there, Picabo Street.Wii Sports Resort
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Wii
Rating E for Cartoon Violence
MSRP:$49.99
Don't let the MSRP fool you. Wii Sports resort can actually run into a bit of coin if you want to outfit all four of your Wii controllers with the new "Wii
Motion Control Plus" accessory that's required for this title. But that shouldn't stop you – just a few minutes playing Wii Sports Resort will have you rushing out do so. Yes, it's that good, and yes, you will want to be able to play with four players at once.Wii Sports Resort is the sequel to Wii Sports (you may have seen Serena Williams play the tennis game against Conan O'Brien) and like that title offers you the chance to traipse around an island resort playing all kinds of beach-themed games. The star of the show is "Swordfighting" where padded warriors with rubber swords can whack away at one another – this is easily the favorite in our house. Be sure to use the wrist strap on the controller and be careful not to hit one another. This game can get a little frenzied.
We also enjoy a rousing game of Table Tennis, throwing a frisbee to an adorable computerized dog, and my daughter loves the 100-pin bowling game. When a product bills itself as "fun for the whole family," Wii Sports Resort is what they're thinking of.
Allen Rausch is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. He’s the parent of Lily and David who, in his unbiased opinion, are the cutest children in the whole wide world. He regularly blogs about video games, culture, politics and parenting at The Angry Bear.
If you have a budding wizard or witch in your house, they will love the Wii version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Like the other games in the series, Half-Blood Prince follows the storyline of the movie quite closely. Harry and his friends continue their struggle against Lord Voldemort during their sixth year at school. The real kicker in this edition is the use of the Wii's motion controls to cast spells in wizard duels. By moving the Wii remote in certain patterns, kids will have a blast casting spells against the game's enemies or enjoy a multiplayer mode where they can wizard duel against their friends. Like the movie it's based on, there is some violence (no death or blood, but people do get thrown around by magic and one boy gets kicked while on the ground), a few "Hells" sprinkled in the dialogue and lots of references to kissing or "snogging" (the main characters are 15 and 16, after all). While it's a game suitable for older children, it's an easy buy for any parent who is OK with their kids seeing the movie it's based on.
Saving the best (and cheapest!) for last, if you own a gaming system and have kids, you must own LEGO Star Wars. This is a brilliant adaptation of all six Star Wars movies rendered in LEGO sets. It doesn't sound like it would work, but it does. The characters and settings are adorable, and the way the game reproduces iconic scenes from all six movies is often hilarious. Gameplay consists of platforming action, solving puzzles using LEGO pieces and fighting against hordes of LEGO-ized Star Wars baddies with blasters or lightsabers. There are lots of hidden secrets to uncover and new Star Wars characters to unlock and play with, which makes the game endlessly replayable. And it's simple enough for all but the youngest players to get the hang of. The "Fantasy Violence" descriptor is necessary but the "violence" in the game is merely LEGO figures whacking or shooting each other with toy guns and breaking up into LEGO pieces. If you do get it, though, be careful. You might just find yourself playing the game late into the night after the kids go to bed.