video game review Archives

D3 Publisher Presents iCarly GroovyFoodie Nintendo DS

July 28, 2012 by Momstart 4 Comments

Nickelodeon’s hit tween show iCarly is still going strong as children love watching other children doing something empowering like putting together their own hit internet TV show. It’s fun, interesting and humorous. From TV to DS, comes iCarly GroovyFoodie by the publishers I know and love D3 Publisher.

iCarly: Groovy Foodie! on Nintendo DS is a riveting action puzzle game, based on the wildly popular Nickelodeon television series, iCarly, available exclusively for the Nintendo DS ™. In iCarly: Groovy Foodie!, Carly and Sam get into mischief at a local hot dog stand and could face time in juvie, unless they complete community service by feeding the citizens of Seattle! Play as the duo and help them out of trouble by serving wacky dishes to crazy customers in a fast-paced, action puzzle game that dishes out all the random hilarity from the show!

Game Features

Prepare endless dishes and serve them to quirky customers before time runs out!
Interact with the entire iCarly cast and earn special upgrades to have Sam trigger "Random Dancing," see Gibby charge shirtless into lines of customers, and more!
"Battle" 20 types of crazy hungry customers including costumed web mascots, troublesome goop throwing students, and intimidating prisoners from King County Prison!
Serve more than 20 imaginative food creations including Spaghetti Tacos, Doughnuts on a Stick, and Fudge Balls!
Match wits with characters like arch nemesis Nevel Papperman, mean teacher Ms. Francine Briggs, Lewbert the nasty doorman and T-Bo as they bring the pressure to serve with extra special panache.
Enjoy frantic fun in five locations from the iCarly show, including the popular Groovy Smoothie, Webicon, Ridgeway High School, King County Prison, and Crown Ridge Mall!
Explore an abundant variety of dishes to serve in Spencer’s customizable food prep guide and create your menu at the start of each location!
Utilize Freddie’s customer database to understand the unique preferences of each customer and concoct the perfect strategy to feed the crowd!
Master your serving skills and earn up to 50 game achievements to unlock bonus content like special abilities, additional dishes, helper utilities, and other awesome upgrades from Gibby’s shop!

Michael Phelps: Push the Limit for Kinect Xbox 360

November 26, 2011 by Momstart 2 Comments

Earlier today I reviewed Twister Mania with a glowing review as a family game, Michael Phelps Push the Limit is MY GAME! I love swimming, it’s my favorite sport. I used to swim so much that I became a lifeguard in college. It was my part time job, I was quite excited to try out Michael Phelps: Push the Limit for Kinect Xbox 360.

Michael Phelps: Push the Limit offers players the chance to compete against each other as well as against one of the most decorated athletes of all time, Michael Phelps. I don’t really know much about Michael Phelps, I just wanted this game so that I could get some exercise pretending to swim. This game is INTENSE. And I have to mention that it’s picky. It’s not easy for the kids or for me because it’s picky about your body position and your location on the screen, it’s not very forgiving and I think Kinect games need to be forgiving, but I still liked this game for me, it’s just not an easy to play as a family game. It’s not easy to compete against each other.

It’s also fun creating your character

You can play in quick matches in the single player or local/online multiplayer against friends or immerse yourself in the challenging and fun Career Mode where they swim their way to the podium through some of the most breathtaking locations across the world, finally facing Michael himself in the final. But it’s a long difficult road to getting there. I knew what I was doing and it took me quite a few times just to get past the first race. Most of the time I didn’t finish fast enough to even qualify. Even though, I really liked playing this game, I think it should have started off a little easier, and yes we were playing on easy mode.

It’s fun hyping up the crowd, achieving the perfect dive from the start which somehow Zoe figured out how to do, swimming at the optimum rhythm, timing the perfect turn, or timing the last gasp reach to the wall, Kinect for Xbox 360 allows the game to accurately replicate those elements in the most fun and accessible way possible, by using simple body and hand gestures.

Michael Phelps: Push the Limit was developed by Blitz Games and published by 505 Games. For more information, including screenshots, movies and gameplay tips, visit www.michaelphelpsgame.com

I received this review as a member of the Game Review Network, no compensation was received

Twister Mania Kinect Xbox 360

November 26, 2011 by Momstart 1 Comment

Growing up I always loved playing Twister. It’s such a fun party game to play with lots of friends and I loved the challenge. Thinking about playing this as a family on the Xbox 360 Kinect left me wondering how is that going to work when we merge into one solid shape as we get all twisted up. That’s where the mania came in turning Twister Mania for the Kinect into a smash hit in our house. The interface of the game gets an A+ because it was so easy for our family to use. This game works quite well for little ones and is an easy to play Kinect game.

This interactive digital Twister® experience allows up to eight players to twist into the action with 16 fun, unique ways to play in a TWISTER- inspired environment filled with iconic, colorful flair. We had the most fun playing as teams, we did two teams of two and it worked out fabulously. Most kinect games with the kids drive me crazy because it’s so hard to tell a 3 and 4 year old how to make the kinect work, but for Twister Mania it just worked and it was fun. I really enjoyed playing it.

To Play Twister Mania you use your body as the game piece. It challenges you to twist yourself in thousands of different ways and the quicker the better.

We chose from 3 main game modes:

Party Play: Twirl the virtual spinner and advance around the Twister® mat with up to four teams of two in Party Play, a metagame that combines all game challenges. Party play was the easiest mode for us as a family. the kids could understand that when the color wheel came up with their color it was their teams turn. So we all jumped in and out of the living room and laughed as everyone tried to do the different objectives in party play.

Play It All: Try your hand at every game challenge from start to finish in this campaign mode for the overachievers. I think my husband spent hours doing this game mode the other night while I was out having a moms night out. It was so funny to come in and see him making more poses, but I wasn’t just laughing at him, I was happy to see him enjoying a game. We haven’t enjoyed a Kinect game like this since it first came out.
Quick Play: Jump right in and directly select any of the 16 ways to play and difficulty level for a quick challenge. Is a great way to just get started.

Now within each of the different game modes there are certain activities within each. Here is just a sampling of what you’ll find. (a total of 16 ways to play)

        Shape Frenzy: Mimic the shape (there are over 1800!) that appears on screen and earn points based on how well you fill its silhouette.
        Twist & Fit: Avoid the wall and fit your silhouette through cutouts coming at you on a moving wall. Score points by passing through a wall without touching a thing; the more wall you hit the lower your score.
        Break It Down: Work your way through a stack of colored blocks by assuming their form. When a shape is removed, the wall above will begin to crumble.
      Spot On: Challenge up to three players (or four teams of two) in a game of contortion H-O-R-S-E. Create a shape and see if your friends can match it.
    Team up with another player for cooperative play or go head-to-head in any game mode. TwisterTM Mania supports up to eight players in turn based pairs.

I love how we can all look at the photos at the end of each game session, it’s fun to see who had the best pose, of course, we took actual photos too.

I received this review as a member of the Game Review Network, no compensation was received

Xbox 360 Kinect For Kids Once Upon A Monster Active Video Game

October 29, 2011 by Momstart 3 Comments

Once Upon a Monster is the BEST game we have played so far on Xbox 360 Kinect for Zoe and Miles. They can do all of it by themselves and the game is smart enough to let them leave and come back as they feel like. When you have kids their age they are all over the place game wise. So I LOVE Once Upon A Monster.

I completely agree with Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. She said, “Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster is a very engaging title, which provides families with young kids a quality experience unlike anything they have seen before”. It’s engaging because the kids want to make Cookie Monster and Elmo do the right thing. See I took a photo of Zoe and Miles trying to imitate the screen.

And they kept trying until they got it. You see, they had to make Cookie Monster and Elmo do that the brown monster was doing, (I already forgot the brown monster’s name.)

Samantha Ryan also said Once Upon A Monster is “Full of life lessons, like building friendships and overcoming fears, the game combines the values and appeal of the beloved Sesame Street brand with Double Fine Productions’ talent for creating lush and exciting worlds while delivering a fun game that parents can feel good about purchasing.” I would totally buy this game. It’s perfect for them and gets them off the couch and dancing. Check out Miles grooving to some Disco fever music

Once Upon a Monster has six enchanting chapters to explore with multiple activities. They “turn” the page by pulling out. No I take that back, they jump into a chapter by pulling out and they turn the page by swiping. They know how to swipe, as the Xbox 360 dashboard is full of swiping.

As I sorta mentioned above it has drop-in/drop-out co-operative modes that work really well. This game is REALLY REALLY good at it. They can both leave and then the game pauses. When they return it picks them back up. Having played quite a few Kinect games, I really can tell you that this feature hardly ever works as well as it does in Once Upon A Monster.

My favorite feature of this game is that the kids are active. It actually gets them moving.

Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster on Kinect for Xbox 360 is rated “E” and available now at retail stores nationwide at a S.R.P. of $49.99.

We received samples.

Wii New Carnival Games Over 30 New Games and Attractions

November 3, 2010 by Momstart 535 Comments

2K Play released New Carnival Games on September 21, 2010. New Carnival Games has even more games than the first Carnival Games, count them, over 30 new games and attractions for you and your family to enjoy together. It’s always great to find a game that the family can play together and it’s simple enough for really young ones to play. This is geared towards kids so if you are looking for a challenge you might want to pass, but if you’re looking for a way for the family to spend some time together then give it a try.

These games are fun and have full compatibility with the Wii MotionPlus controller accessory. You start the game by customizing your character. Choose your eyes, hair and skin tone. We always have fun making avatars for the games we play. Zoe and Miles always know which one is Mommy and it’s fun to listen to them say, “it’s Mommy!”

There are five game alleyways pointing to an alley of game play. Play bumper cars, fish bowl bounce, and pitch a plate, the only place that you can break a plate and not get grounded. I love playing ski ball in the actual arcade arena. So Gold Rush Alley Ball is one of my favorite games to play in New Carnival Games. Retailing for just $39.99 for Wii and $29.99 for Nintendo DS, New Carnival Games makes the perfect addition to family night!

Here’s your ticket to over 30 all-new games and attractions! Bring home the midway magic with favorites like Fish Bowl Bounce, Pitch-A-Plate and Bottle Stand-Up. Enter the Haunted House if you dare and even bound around in Bumper Cars. With over 300 prizes yours for the winning…the fun never ends with New Carnival Games!

Synopsis:

You can almost taste the popcorn and cotton candy. You can almost hear the joyful music and the sound of laughter jingling through the air. That’s right — the carnival is coming back to town, and the entire family will want to come out for the wacky attractions, addicting games and rollicking fun it’s bringing along. Bounce on into a vibrant and exciting world — once you start playing, you’ll never want to leave.
New Carnival Games brings the fun of the carnival into your living room, and gets the whole family together for skill-testing competitive and cooperative games accompanied by side-splitting laughs. This time, you’ll experience a world of brand-new adventures that are wackier than ever and win exciting wearables from the biggest prize rack you’ve ever seen. For the first time ever at the Carnival, you can use your Wii MotionPlus controller accessory (not included). Step right up to the ultimate carnival for family fun like never before — and you don’t even have to wait in line.

Key Features:

For 1 to 4 players
All of the family fun and wacky laughs of the original multimillion unit-selling game is back with more hilarious carnival adventures than ever
Compete in more than 30 brand-new games and attractions
Get into the action and enhance every move you make with new and exciting Wii MotionPlus compatibility (Wii MotionPlus not included)
Show off your gaming prowess as you collect 300 all-new carnival prizes and wacky wearables
Challenge your family and friends to head-to-head competitions or team up for cooperative play in multiplayer modes

Enter to Win:

New Carnival Games

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This giveaway ends November 22nd, I received a sample free to me, my opinion are still my own. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

I Spy Universe Nintendo DS Video Game Review & Giveaway

August 30, 2010 by Momstart 87 Comments

The I Spy Universe for the Nintendo DS is a game of find me if you can with your eyes. Scholastic has been making I Spy books that have been enjoyed by millions for years and now they bring you I Spy in space with I Spy Universe.

I love riddles and this game is full of them. You are given a riddle that indicates something you are searching for. Each item that you are searching for will bring you one step closer to fixing a broken generator that will re-fire the sun. Wow, sounds like you are in charge of saving the Universe here, well you are! There are 12 different areas to explore and some of the images actually come from the books we all know and love. The game is aimed at children but since I’m around them all the time and love riddle, I feel like it was made for me too!

Description:

Blast off to save the I SPY Universe!
The sun is fading and your help is needed to re-fire and restore it’s glimmering light again! Only the generator on-board your rocket can save the sun. To power the generator, travel the depths of the universe to solve I SPY riddles to collect the 36 pieces to fix the generator! Along the way, earn fuel for your space travels by playing 6 brain-teasing puzzles.
Key Features:
– Space-themed gameplay immerses players with 12 planets bursting with I SPY riddles and games.
– Unlock and solve I SPY riddles while collecting objects to light the sun and save the universe.
– 36 I SPY riddles set against 12 photo-realistic I SPY scenes offer over 400 objects to search and find.
– Six logic puzzles challenge players and unlock new planets to explore in the universe.
– Hint feature assists players in solving riddles and finding the most challenging objects.
– View picture riddles at full-screen, read or listen to riddles and save up to four games!
Platform: Nintendo DS

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I Spy Universe Nintendo DS

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This game was received by Scholastic and I thank them for sending me a product to review.

JumpStart Get Moving: Family Fitness

June 14, 2010 by Momstart 322 Comments

I’ve been working with JumpStart for over a year now and it has been quite exciting to see them progress and grow and move from on-line/computer gaming to the Wii.

JumpStart is an award-winning adventure-based 3D virtual world that is super-personalized, wildly imaginative and really fun, but don’t let that fool you – it also teaches math, reading, and critical thinking skills so kids get a real jump start in life.

They recently sent me their newest game JumpStart Get Moving: Family Fitness. The game will be in stores June 15th and it will be sold for $29.99. It has been rated E for Everyone with Comic Mischief by the ESRB.

We put it in last Friday to give it a test. The graphics immediately pulled Zoe and Miles in. They each wanted to play so I gave them a controller. We created avatars for each of them and I let them pick out all the colors. So of course Zoe was as purple as she could possibly be and Miles had a lot of orange. Creating your own avatar involved hair, eyes, smile, clothing, body color and shoes.

I love that two players can play at the same time so my children don’t have to take turns, and I love that Zoe was trying very hard to do the actions. Some of the actions were a little bit too complicated for her to do. For instance, in playing Volleyball you have to go up and in the direction of the bull’s-eye. Even i had trouble making both movements.

I did find that with practice though, it became easier and easier to accomplish the goal. There are quite a few different activities that you can do right away. I like picking one of the rotating activities that lasts a while. they are short and keep my kids attention and go from a running activity to volleyball, to baseball. Each activity involves movement. In total there are 11 exotic arenas/backgrounds to choose from and more than 15 sports challenges. It is fun and got all three of us through a rainy morning last week.

Some of the activities you can use the Wii Fit with, and some of them require the nun chucks to be plugged in. The running activity requires you to have the controller in the left hand and the nun chucks in the right hand and you go up and down with your hands like you are running. You don’t’ have to run in place but I’m sure it’s a good thing to encourage your children to do and it will burn even more calories.

Having two children that need to be more active than they are, I am so pleased that Jumpstart put together a game like this. Brook Burke is the trainer that shows you how to do each activity before it begins. You can practice with her before starting each activity.

As a mother of 4, Brooke Burke knows that raising healthy kids means worrying about their minds and bodies. That’s why she’s teamed up with JumpStart to create a game that gets families up, active and healthy together! She’s discovered it’s the perfect way to teach her kids that fitness doesn’t have to be a chore.

Access expert tips for more ways to stay healthy.

Train with Brooke to make the most of every motion.

Track calories burned to see your progress.

Enter to Win:

JumpStart Get Moving Family Fitness for the Wii

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I received a free product to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own, JumpStart is also providing the giveaway copy.

Chime Xbox 360 Arcade Review

April 4, 2010 by Momstart 1 Comment

I had no idea what to expect with Chime. From the looks of it, it is something like Tetris but on crack. Thanks to Zoe Mode and The Game Review Network I received a code to download the game Chime from the Xbox 360 Live Arcade.

About Zoe Mode:

Zoë Mode makes music and party videogames; simple, social, games that are effortlessly fun but don’t take themselves too seriously. Based in Brighton, London and San Francisco, its diverse work force is unified by its attitude to play.

You can follow Zoe Mode on Twitter to find more exciting facts about Chime or upcoming games.

About Chime:

Chime is like Tetris but a lot more complicated. If fact it took me a few times of playing to realize that scoring takes place by creating quads and covering the board. The more coverage you have the better you are doing. I also found that the more of the board I played on the easier it was to play.

You have to options for play, timed mode of free mode. Timed mode is where you can score and unlock more levels. In face, you have to play a bit of the timed mode before free mode is even unlocked.

To Play Chime, you have to place pieces that are similar to Tetris pieces and rotate them to fit them together. In stead of clearing lines, you need to create quads, shapes that are at least 3 by 3. You can continue to make them bigger by quickly adding pieces to the sides to make the quad bigger. To score high you have to move quickly to keep the quad growing.

I found Chime to be a lot better than I expected. I was addicted and played until my eyes burned from staring at the screen for so long.

You will find five fantastic songs by world-famous musicians ( I haven’t even heard all of them yet, I’m only on level three so far) – including Moby and Paul Hartnoll (Orbital); multiple difficulty levels; and different playing grids with a variety of shape-sets. You get a new shape-set with each level. I’m not sure if it gets easier or harder with the new shape-sets. I think it gives you more opportunity to cover more board. Chime also offers full Xbox LIVE Arcade leaderboard support so players can impress the world with their musical talent and promote goodwill.

Of course, one of my favorite parts is the ability to earn Xbox Live points with the game. And just by playing the game the first time you unlock 50 points. The Fairy Godmother Points.

When it comes to the game controls it took me a bit to quite hitting a automatically. Every time you hit a it locks your piece into place and I did that a lot when I meant to rotate it with b.

About Chime’s Goodwill:

By purchasing Chime you are helping to support

and

A minimum of 60% of your purchase of the game Chime will go to OneBigGame to support these two charities.

Deca Sports DS Review

March 19, 2010 by Momstart 4 Comments

Hudson Entertainment sent us Deca Sports to review on the DS

The beloved Deca Sports franchise is back in action and on the Nintendo DS for the first time! Hudson Entertainment’s Deca Sports DS is now available in stores everywhere for $29.99. Deca Sports DS makes ten all new sports, including golf, cheerleading, arm wrestling and clay shooting, more accessible than ever with multiplayer functionality and customizable teams.

My three year old daughter finds Deca Sports a lot easier to play than Mario World on the DS. She is able to play some of the games after we show her how. I think her favorite was the golf, rugby, cheerleading, sky diving, ping pong, wall climbing, arm wrestling, bobsled, sepak takraw and finally clay shooting. Oh wait, she likes them all. The characters are children and cartoonish. I think that and the music appeals to her. It’s also the touch screen movement that makes play easier for her to do. She can try a bunch of different things and eventually gets it to do what she wants. Kids learn so fast these days.

I was terrible at Ping Pong and ok at Arm Wrestling. I really enjoyed Sky diving and Bobsled even though I always came in about third when I tried the bobsledding.

About Golf:

Golf gives you complete control, grab your diver or the club you want and get the shot you desire. By using the stylus you have the control you need for the power you want.

About Rugby:

While playing Rugby I was wondering if this really is a gentlemen’s sport. I mean it seems some play pretty rough. Good think it’s on a video game.

About cheerleading:

About Sky Diving:

You pick your team and then you jump out of an air plane. On your way down you have to move into formation. Then you have to make sure you are facing the correct direction. You race to get as many done as you can before the time runs out.

About Ping Pong:

I completely sucked at ping pong. I could hit it back but I would get skunked whenever it was my turn to serve.

About Wall Climbing:

Wall climbing is a race. I love races and using the stylus was easier in this one than in some of the others. You guide your person up the wall from point to point.

About Arm Wrestling:

Arm wrestling was another one that I was ok at. I found it difficult to determine which type of movement I was supposed to do for what. I do enjoy the thrill of winning though when I did accidentally defeat my opponent.

About Bobsled:

During the Bobsled run you have to make sure you take those turns as fast and safely as you can. You steer with the L and R buttons and watch the edges as they’ll only slow you down. I had a hard time figuring out how to handle the turns but I still really enjoyed it.

About Sepak Takraw:

This is a game I had never heard of before now. It’s like volley ball but you get to kick. You get to use your feet, knees, chest, and head to hit the ball over the net.

About Clay Shooting:

I would have to say that I like clay shooting too even though I didn’t mention it above. I have always loved games where I get to shoot something.

Hudson Entertainment is the North and South American subsidiary of Hudson Soft, an international provider of games and entertainment content founded in 1973. Hudson Entertainment focuses on four key businesses: console retail games, digital download content, mobile games, and music. Hudson introduced best-selling videogame franchises including Bomberman, Bonk, Military Madness and Deca Sports. Hudson’s mobile division is a leading supplier of games and personalized content. Through numerous partnerships with record labels, Hudson has become a leading provider of digital music and video content. For more information on Hudson Entertainment, please visit www.hudsonent.com.

Winter’s Tail DS Donation and #giveaway

December 1, 2009 by Momstart 258 Comments

Meet Winter the Dolphin

Winter’s Tail was created by Scholastic and Crave Entertainment. It was sent to me on behalf of Scholastic for review and donation. The only problem is that since I want to donate it as a Christmas Present to a local charity they only take new unopened toys. So I’m not going to open it for review.

I will give you all of the product details that I was sent to include with my review.

Take an exciting journey on your Nintendo DS and learn about the real-life story of Winter, an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin who overcame incredible odds. Including fun mini-games and a fully interactive storybook based on the Scholastic Book Winter’s Tail, read by the authors Juliana, Isabella and Craig Hatkoff. The release date is set for November 24^th. Rated E for Everyone!

Game Trailer:

Game Highlights:

From the #1 New York Times Best Selling Authors of Owen & Mzee
Immersive interactive story – Based on real life events
Fish Facts – Teaches children about dolphins, marine biology and conservation
Whale Words – A glossary that teaches pronunciation and definitions
Fun Micro-games reinforce the meaning of each chapter
Storybook editor, paint & color mode & more!

To Enter:

Visit Winter’s Tail and let me know which interactive feature you like most on the site.

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