Highlights from our Wii Holidays

My kids received a lot of games under the tree. And you know my love of games. Some highlights (with quotes from the kiddos):

Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage When Big opened this one my 27 year old sister let out a sigh, “I really wanted that one!” Well, too bad, so sad, Big loves this game and he’s not giving it up. This game isn’t just fun, its creative fun.

Players mix up fancy jumps and moves to score points. But the creativity comes in as you learn to create your own jumps. Says Big, “its fun because you can do tricks and practice so you can be a good snowboarder.” He doesn’t like to use the Wii balance board for it, and its only an option when you play. Middle says the balance board slows him down (which, probably, is a good thing to do tricks, but they’ll learn this in time.) (By the way, Big tells me this game requires Wii Motion Plus to make it really work for him.)

My sister’s jealousy over Shaun White Snowboarding didn’t last long because she was quick to open Just Dance. And she squealed. Seriously. I had no idea but this was on the top of her wish list. Score one for the big sister! She says its “great for friends to just laugh and have fun but also a great work-out.” (I wonder how the neighbor below her apartment likes this one.) Apparently, this was a very hot gift this season amongst the teens and twenties. They love to jam to the music and are playing it with their friends. I’ll have to remember this one for babysitter gifts for the future.

Middle was gifted Where’s Waldo? from my other sister for Channukah. He’s very hesitant to use the wii (he likes to perfect before doing) and this game moves slowly enough for him to play without too much trouble. Basically, a “page” is placed on the screen and the player searches the screen to find Waldo, friends, and other objects. In-other-words, this isn’t an action game, so its great for teaching little ones to use the wii-mote. “I like it because you have to find the man, Waldo,” says Middle.

He also received Imagine Party Babyz, a friendly action series for kids. This game is part of Ubisoft’s Imagine series which is aimed at tween girls, but we find it to be totally child friendly. It includes about 30 mini games that up to four players can compete or play individually. The mini-games are completely child-friendly including Red Light, Green Light, Whack a Monsters-in-the-box, coloring, feed the teddy, and many more. Players are rewarded in costumes to dress up their babies (which is Middle’s favorite thing to do.) “When you bam the monster’s head he has a slinky on his head!” says Middle of the whack the monster game, which has gotten a lot of playtime.

Can’t forget to mention Wii Fit Plus, which is a huge hit. The plus version opens all of the locked games and exercises in wii fit, so that you can now do an entire session of Yoga. It also adds many new games, like my favorite: Skateboarding. No one has beaten me yet, and that’s with a bad knee.

On the recommendation of Melissa at Girlymama, the huz received Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Reflex. Her husband plays it and now so does mine. I can honestly tell you that I’m not a fan and that they boys don’t like it when he plays because they’re not allowed in the room. The game came with house rules (only play when the kids aren’t around and with the sound way down.) That said, he’s been playing, a lot. He thought the game would destress him from work stress. It does. When he plays he enters this whole other world of stress, as he becomes a hero. So maybe heroic stress? Anyway, for those of you looking for a great shoot-it-up game for your husband, brother or uncle, put this one on the list. Its extremely well done. As a non-violent-gamer, I have to admit to being really impressed.

Thanks to Ubisoft for providing samples of the following games: Imagine Party Babyz, Just Dance, Shawn White Snowboarding. The rest were purchased or given to us as gifts. This post includes affiliate links.