Spring Travel with Nintendo 3DS

Nintendo Gameboy

I can remember all my vacation memories growing up started with a long car ride. These car rides would drag when we were younger and would lead to angry parents and uppity children. Then my parents found the magic charm that is the original Game boy. The grey brickish, green screened dot matrix and stereo sound emitting wonder was the first time one could bring Mario and Tetris with you everywhere. Only drawback was Mom would want the Game boy for Tetris too.

Fast forward a few decades and now the handheld of choice is the Nintendo 3DS. Instead of big and grey they are now sleek and brightly colored, with two screens and a stylus. With bright, vibrant colors and graphics that are in 3D, long gone are the black and green screens of yester year. Instead of carrying around a case of games, an entire library of stellar games are now available with a few clicks and downloads directly onto the 3DS through the Nintendo eShop.

This Spring Nintendo is releasing quite a few gems to catch your attention. We are going to take a look at two of the ever expanding online library of 3DS games.

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First up we are going to look at HarmoKnight. HarmoKnight is a music/rhythm platforming action adventure game. Yes, its a mouth full but there is one more important characteristic [Read more…]

Wii U Review

nesNintendo has a history of making big leaps in digital home entertainment. Some great successes, like the NES, SNES, and Wii, while some have been innovative but never really taken off, like the Virtual Boy. The consistency across all of their consoles has always been innovation, ‘game changing’, well built, and timeless. After a bit of cleaning and the proper cables even an NES can be plugged in and played today, some 28 years after being released. Most importantly the games are still fun!

WiiUThe next step in the history and future of video games is the Wii U. The Wii U is the sleek new console made by Nintendo. The system itself has next generation graphics, comparable to the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Textures are sharp, sound is clear and the characters in the games look like they will hop right out of the screen at you. Speaking of screens, the innovative game changer with the Wii U is its touch screen controller. The controller has two analog sticks, the mandatory 4 buttons to the right and a few important buttons as well, home, start, select, etc. The middle of the controller is a touch screen which not only displays game play/video/etc but also acts as an input source itself. Some examples of this are an in-game map, flinging ninja stars, a different perspective of the environment. The possibilities are only limited by the designers’ imaginations. As of now the Wii U is available in 2 sets. One the basic which includes a white system with 8 GB of internal storage, the Wii U Game pad, stylus, Sensor Bar, AC adapters for both the game pad and the console as well as an HDMI cable. The Deluxe includes a black system with 32GB of internal storage, as well as all the accessories of the Basic Set AND game pad stand, charging cradle, Console stand, and Nintendo Land game. The Basic retails for $299.99 and the Deluxe retails for $349.99. The Deluxe is a great deal, for the extra $50, there are 24 GB more of data, a game, easy way to stand up the console AND a charging cradle.
[Read more…]

StoryToys Children’s Book Apps Review

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Reading books is one of our favorite family activities. Both of my children absolutely love reading books and picking them out. I was recently asked to review the StoryToys 3-D Interactive Pop-Up Books, and my children both absolutely love them.

About Story Toys:

StoryToys are interactive books that combine a great story, stunning illustration and beautiful design with the interactivity and engagement of games. They admit that while they do love games,
they also prefer that their kids are playing games that are going to leave them with something of value. Each StoryToys is designed to help children learn something, from reading, to sequencing to task coordination.

Also, StoryToys are made by parents, so all of their product have been tested by children ages 2-11. So you know that they really [Read more…]

iLearn ‘N’ Play Adventure Explorer Review and Giveaway

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The big Christmas present in our house this year was an iPad for the family! I must admit that now that we have one, I can already tell that we need another one 🙂 Everyone wants to use it all the time, which is really testing the patience of my almost 3 year old (which is a good thing).

Being as my almost 3 year old really loves to play with the iPad, I work very hard trying to find “apps” and “games” that are educational for her as well as fun. I was very happy to try out the Adventure Explorer from iLearn ‘N’ Play & appStart Learning.

About AppStart Learning:

AppStart Learning joins 3+ toys and apps to make learning fun by making learning play! iLearn ‘N’ Play works with our young children to help them learn and understand some of the early learning concepts.

The company has offices throughout North America, as well as offices in London, Rome, Sydney, and Hong Kong.

Adventure Explorer

About Adventure Explorer:

For the Adventure Explorer, you can connect your iPad, iPad mini, iPhone, or iPod to the console.

The Adventure Explorer has a working on/off ignition switch, a steering wheel, a shifter, accelerator, forward/reverse control that works with the iLearn ‘N’ Play apps.

There [Read more…]

Wonder Forge Games Review #GiftGuide

As my daughters get older, I find myself beginning to instill in her my love of playing games with the family! When we were kids, (and even now) my favorite part about family get togethers was all the games that we used to play. I am so glad to share with you some wonderful kids games .

Wonder Forge has over 50 games that are not only fun, but they also help boost self-esteem and help build on many of the skills that parents are working on with their children already! For my review, I was sent Dazzling Princess Game, Enchanted Cupcake Party Game, Never Land Challenge Game, and Fun Machine. All of these games are for 3 and up, as well as with two or more players.

disney princess game

Dazzling Princess Game is a great game for your young girls! You have to collect sparkling jewels to help decorate your bracelet, ring, and tiara.

This game helps work on:

  • Counting and matching
  • Imaginative Play
  • Turn-Taking and Playing together

 

disney cupcake partyThe Enchanted Cupcake Party Game is another great one for your kids! In this game, you work together to make as many cupcakes as you can before the party begins. You have to follow the recipe cards to pick the perfect fancy liner, frosting, and topper.

This game [Read more…]

Freaky Pets at Hallmark and for Online Gaming

Freaky Pets is a silly and unique place for family fun, crazy characters, stuff to do, and stuff to win. Activities include daily giveaway games, random prize giveaways, weekly themed personal missions, monthly community missions, and so much more. This is a fun gaming activity- full of giveaways and fun for families to play together.

Check it out at www.Facebook.com/freakypets.

Freaky Pets are [Read more…]

Peaceable Kingdom Games-Snug As A Bug & Race To The Treasure Review #GiftGuide

Peaceable Kingdom’s mission is to make good, do good, and be good. Which means: to create fresh, fun, award winning products that educate, inspire, and tickle funny bones, to donate to charitable organizations that support the well-being of children, to remain committed to socially-conscious manufacturing practices and sustainable and eco-friendly materials, to maintain integrity in all business relationships and to support the people who support them! The Peaceable Kingdom philosophy – come into the kingdom and join the fun!

I was lucky enough to be able to review 2 of their new Cooperative Games for Little Kids. I reviewed Snug As a Bug in a Rug, and Race to the Treasure.

The great thing about all of the games in this line is that they are Cooperative games. Which means, that you work together with all the partners against some sort of obstacles. These types of games allow kids to work together, take turns, follow directions, and of course to cooperate!

This is a GREAT game for a variety of ages in kids!! There are 3 levels for playing this game! My daughter is only 2.5, but she had no problem playing the game [Read more…]

SpongeBob’s Surf and Skate Roadtrip Video Game- Soon to be Released!

SpongeBob’s Surf and Skate Roadtrip for Kinect is being released 11/8, so if you have a fan of Spongebob at your house- and who doesn’t- this may need to be on your Holiday list! [Read more…]