Your BasketThere’s no getting away from the fact that kids love video games. The good news is that, in moderation, they’re great fun, can stimulate little brains and even improve hand-eye coordination. We’ve trawled through the gaming charts to find some games that cater for every age. From arcade to adventure and pre-school to teens, just make sure you don’t get hooked yourself...
1) Noddy and the Magic Book, PS2
(Recommended for 3+, gentle-adventure lovers)
Kiddie-favourite Noddy lives in Toyland, where two naughty goblins, Sly and Gobbo, have stolen Big Ears’ magic book. The rascals are using it to play tricks on Toyland’s inhabitants. In this well-designed platform adventure game you join Noddy as he travels round Toyland trying to right the wrongs caused by Sly and Gobbo and catch the troublemakers before they cause any more havoc.
Blending an original Noddy storyline with a wide variety of gameplay, this is designed to both challenge and entertain three to six-year-olds, teaching them life lessons, social skills and hand-eye coordination. It’s cracking good fun, too.
Buy Noddy and the Magic Book from Game.
2) Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Wii
(Recommended for 3+, sports lovers)
Mario and Sonic finally team up in this barnstorming athletics simulator, set at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. You and your sporty offspring can tackle the 100m sprint, swimming, judo, table tennis, hammer throwing and archery.
You can choose from 25 characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. You also get full Tournament and Mission modes, plus online leaderboards for all the different events. Best of all, it may even inspire your games-crazy kids to get off the sofa and run around the park instead.
Buy Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games from Game.
3) Big Brain Academy, Wii
(Recommended for 3+, brain-training lovers)
Great one for all the family, this, adapted from the Nintendo DS brain-training game. The Wii version only has three mini-games so far, including one with numbered blocks that you add together, knocking blocks out by wielding the Wii remote like a hammer.
The second is a variant of Spot the Difference, while the third displays two towers of bricks you have to punch holes in to make sure they match. All of the games are intended to stimulate memory and mental functioning – the perfect antidote to no-brainer shoot-‘em-ups.
Buy Big Brain Academy
4) FIFA 08, PS3
(Recommended for 3+, footie fanatics)
Footie-loving gamers are always forced to choose between rivals. We reckon FIFA’s latest offering and its Pro Evolution SoccerFIFA edges it this year, with vastly improved graphics and animation and a 35-point decision engine. This basically means that every player on the pitch is fully aware of those around him and constantly thinking about tactics and position when not under your control. Clever, eh?
Other changes include more realistic physics, which take into account everything from air pressure to the angle of your foot. You can even create your own special moves, replicating every possible trick from real life. The perfect way to while away a rainy weekend.
Buy FIFA 08 from Game.
5) Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction, PS3
(Recommended for 7+, adventure lovers)
Designed specifically for the PS3’s superior processing power, this fantastic game is overflowing with exotic creatures and flying vehicles. The animation must be seen to be believed, as you hurtle through an all-new galaxy spanning vast worlds such as a majestic cloud city and space-age amusement park.
The ramped-up animation makes the characters far more detailed and expressive – and you get a kick-ass arsenal of weapons. It’s not all wanton destruction though – there’s puzzle-solving too, so you can at least pretend it’s educational…
Buy Ratchet and Clank Future Tools of Destruction from Game.
6) The Simpsons, Xbox, Wii, PS3
(Recommended for 12+, adventure lovers)
Hugely popular adventure game. Bart finds a manual for The Simpsons Game, which allows the game to give him special powers. Of course he sets out to cause as much mayhem as possible... and at the same time, Marge is on a crusade to stop video game violence.
There’s also a surreal world the Simpsons get trapped in called the game engine, run by spoofs of Mario and Sonic et al. The whole thing’s as weird and wacky as you’d expect, but isn’t prohibitively difficult to play – my 10-year-old son loves it.
Buy The Simpsons from Game.
7) Dewy’s Adventure, Wii
(Recommended for 3+, adventure lovers)
This compelling fantasy game for the littl'uns makes full use of Wii’s unique interactivity. It’s set in a world of lush forests, peace and prosperity, but the evil Don Hedron has seized control and transformed the land into a gloomy place smothered in Black Water.
It’s down to Dewy, a droplet of pure water, to restore peace and beauty to his world. Tilting and shaking the controller slides Dewy around, while the remote changes weather effects and produces earthquakes and raging storms. Brilliant – what the Wii was invented for.
Buy Dewy’s Adventure from Game.
Author
Dan Roberts is a feature-writer and columnist with over ten years’ experience of working for The Guardian, The Observer, The Independent, Daily Express and Mail on Sunday, as well as numerous national magazines. His areas of expertise include health, wellbeing, relationships, psychology and parenting. Dan also writes two monthly columns, including Diary of a Single Dad, a humorous but affectionate account of raising his te-year-old son, Ben. The best of Dan’s work can be found on his website at www.dan-roberts.net
Got any others?
Got any other suggestions? What are your kids into? Use our comments system below to share the knowledge...
Comments
Register or login to post or rate comments.