We hear that players will once again be able to play as Bee Mario and Boo Mario but will also be able to roll over Goombas as Rock Mario (see transmission 8 below) and make platforms with Cloud Mario. Hmm…probably need to see that to appreciate it…and you can! Check out transmission 1 below.

Here’s a sneak peek:

My kids liked this one even more:

And this one – check out that tongue-swinging by Yoshi. Niiice:

And you’ll discover an important little hint in this one:

So you move around the level map in a ship that’s shaped like a Mario head (and they say that you can load up on 1 Ups in one of his ears (always helpful in Mario games, don’t you think?!)). Watch it again if you missed it.

Even multi-player gets a little better, giving a second player just a bit more power to be able to defeat some enemies (in addition to that ability to collect gems). Here’s a tiny peek:

And finally, here’s the first transmission Nintendo released. It’s the one where you see what may be our favorite new feature, Mario can become Cloud Mario and make platforms. Sweet.

May 23 can’t come fast enough.

I’ll provide more detail and artwork soon.

For the Sony PS3:

Madden NFL 10

DJ Hero (Bundle with Turntable)

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (Rated E 10+ This is a must-have for the boys on my lists.)

Little Big Planet (This game allows for creativity; the kids can create their own game levels! Don’t be fooled by the cover, it’s best for older kids 10-12.)

Need for Speed: Shift

——————————–

And for older kids only:

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (This game is worthwhile for the visuals alone. Look. At. This. Amazing graphics make you feel as if you’re controlling the action of a movie.) *Note: Rated T (Teen) includes swearing and violence

Some people may be surprised that we picked Uncharted 2 as one of our top picks because it includes violence and objectionable language, but we couldn’t write a “Best Games” list without including this game.  It’s remarkable.  And, believe me, there are far worse games on the market that I won’t ever mention to my readers.  This game operates from a third person perspective and is about as far as we’ll go in our house for the action/adventure games.  It is, in fact, a bit of a stretch for us, but we marvel at the graphics and game-play.  It’s riveting.

__________________________

For Nintendo Wii:

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS.!!!!!

We love this game. LOVE it.  It’s a Mario game that finally allows for simultaneous multi-player action (for up to four players) — not just collecting stars (as in Super Mario Galaxy).  Tons of fun.  Your family can learn the benefit of working together versus one player racing ahead of the others (and then killing off everyone else simply because their characters didn’t keep up they didn’t wait for the other characters).  Also teaches the value of communication (e.g., “Now wait for me, Billy, or my character loses a life!”).  It’s best to realize early that some levels will be beaten much more easily if only one player plays. Did I mention that we love this game?! Get it.  It’s great.

MarioKart Wii (with Wii Wheel) (another fun game to play with a group of people)

My Sims Agents

EA Sports Active (and then EA Sports Active: More Workouts)

(get it for your favorite teen or preteen but use it for yourself, too!!)

Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues

and the best little-known Wii game of the year:

____________________________

For Nintendo DS (or DSi):

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (Note: this game is rated E 10+)

Scribblenauts

Scribblenauts allows your kids to live a little of the old classic “Harold and the Purple Crayon” except they’ll write the words and make the object appear (for example, write b-i-k-e and a bike will appear to help you).

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (Note: this game is rated E 10+)

__________________________________________________

Full Disclosure:

I did not receive any form of compensation for any of these games, I just like helping my readers find good video games!

Here’s the review:

Ready 2 Rumble (Wii) is a fun, invigorating game that is best described as an extremely buffed-up Wii Sports boxing. There are multiple moves, such as the uppercut, hook, jab, etc. There are also heavy versions of all the punches too, which makes it fun to really smash the opponent.

The characters can range from funny to seriously tough.

There are some real people– Shaun White, Jon Travolta– while there are some not real people that you create in championship mode. In championship mode you create your own boxer, but that guy starts out as the worst boxer possible– 1/100 strength, 1/100 punch speed, 1/100 agility, etc.

You build up your strength in training activities– hit the mitt, speed bag, medicine ball, jump rope, and others. The only downside to this championship mode is that many of the training levels do not read your movements with the Wii remote, and it is extremely tough to build up that level. Also, if you already have something built up, let’s say 98/100 strength, if you do something like jump rope that is very difficult, it lowers your strength, so you have to do a strength exercise again.

Also, beating the Gym level and the next cage are both fairly easy, but when you get to the next round, the game suddenly gets very tough.

That being said, multi-player is fun, because the other person, assuming they know how to play, should be better than a breeze or really tough match like the sporadic playing in championship mode. It is fun and sometimes even a brief workout to play someone else, especially if you’re playing in an advanced arena, for then you have roaring fans and spouts of fire next to you when you walk out of the entrance gate.

Overall, Ready 2 Rumble has an enjoyable multi-player boxing, but in the single player modes, it seems the game-makers just tried too hard.

RATING (10 being the best): 5.7/10

Keep in mind: Older teens (and those looking for more challenging boxing than that found in Wii Sports) might like the precision required by the various punches, but younger kids will likely become frustrated. Our rating is based on that notion. Modify it for your kids’ preferences.

________________________

Here’s a video trailer. Check it:
http://blip.tv/play/AeyaOgA

________________________

Special thanks to Romeo Corsi and the folks at RocketXL for giving us a review copy of the game.

Do your kids play video games? If so, have you heard about the site called What They Play? If you haven’t yet discovered WTP, check it out now.  It’s a fantastic site dedicated to helping parents better understand the games their kids play.  My co-host and I talked about it on our podcast, Parents and Kids Talk Radio, back in April.  If you’d like to hear what we said, just click here.

This week, as part of its “Real Moms” feature, the site asked six women questions about video games.  I’m happy and honored to say that I’m one of those moms.  Check out the questions and my responses here.

It’s always a good idea to stay up to date on the games your kids are talking about and playing with their friends.  I recommend that you bookmark What They Play and visit often.

Congratulations to Pete of My GPS Camera Phone and PG (or should I say P@) of Annoyingly Boring!

Each of our winners won a copy of the Wii game, Rayman Raving Rabids TV Party!! That game was one of our top picks this year and is undoubtedly one of the most fun games of the year!

Thank you to everyone for participating!

Happy Holidays from PKTR, Soapbox Mom and Ubisoft!!

This is one of the most fun games we’ve played this year (and that’s why it made our list of Top Picks – Video Games on Wii and PS 3)!

Want a chance to win?

This week, we’re asking you to leave a comment telling us which video game is your (or your family’s) favorite video game. That’s all you have to do to be entered into the drawing.*

Besides, now that the election is over, what else do you have to do?

You have until Saturday, December 20 at 4:30 pm (ET).

Tune in to the radio show I do with the kids on that day at 6:00 pm (ET) when we’ll announce the lucky winners on our live podcast!

Good luck and Happy Holidays!!

.

———-> For more great holiday giveaways, check my blogger friend Michelle’s site, Scribbit, or Sarcastic Mom’s Giveaway Roundup!

__________________________

.

*And you must, of course, provide a valid email address for us to contact you.

Congratulations to the winners of the Shaun White Snowboarding Wii games:

Ashlie of Mommycosm

and

April R of Sweet Leaf Tea!

According to our preteen sources, it’s one of the coolest games of the year!

It’s Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip

We are giving away two copies!  One of them can be yours!!

No snow where you are?  Can’t go skiing this year?  Just imagine you and your kids doing this:

and this:

For a chance to win, just leave a comment here or on our companion blog, Parents and Kids Talk Radio. Be sure to include a valid email address because if you’re the winner, we’ll use it to contact you.

Happy Holidays from SoapBoxMom, Parents & Kids Talk Radio and Ubisoft!

For more games from Ubisoft, visit this link.

________________________________

Entries will be accepted until Saturday, December 13, 2008 at 12:30 pm (ET).  Giveaway is only open to US residents and US addresses (no PO Boxes).  See additional rules here.

NOT! What a waste of quarters! You can buy the game as an iPhone app now for under five dollars.

In the article, Alan Schwarz describes the role that the Wii has played in his life, as it calls to him to try some of today’s amazing video games.

Getting further into the article, however, I was surprised that most of the games Schwartz mentioned were … hmm … how to say this … not my favorites.

“Dude!” I thought to myself, “What about Super Mario Galaxy? Why have you not yet tried SMG??” Come on, man, you played Ms. Pac Man!? Don’t brush this off as a game that will leave you feeling, as you described, “infantilized.”

This guy needs a bit of assistance (which I’d be happy to provide) to find better games that will make him love the Wii.  At a minimum, he must. try. Super Mario Galaxy.

Then we’ll see what he says.

Alan?

Uh, Mr. Schwarz??

___________________________________

My family loves video games.  My obsession began back in the 80s with Mario and Donkey Kong (and yes, I even played Pong).  It continues today with my iPhone applications, particularly Wurdle and Tetris.  My entire family now shares my fondness for technology, gadgets and video games.  So each year we compile a list of our favorites.  This year, because we have so many, we’ve decided to break them down into three separate lists.

First, presented to you today, is the best video games for kids over ten on PS3 and Wii.

The second list will include our top picks for video games for handhelds (PSP and DS).

The third list will include our favorite iPhone applications for kids and will be published soon afterward.

And now…here it is:

Top Ten Picks – Video Games for Kids Over Ten

Sony PS3

The following statement is a bit hard for me to make, because I’ve been a solid Nintendo fan for such a long time, but…

my son insists that sports games are significantly better on the PS3.  We have them on PS3 and on the Wii.  He only plays them on PS3.  The graphics are richer, more detailed, the grass looks like real grass (he says they actually took pictures of real grass and developed the picture from there…), the players look more like real players, and the game play is more fun.  Wii, he believes, is too easy.  He says it should be reserved for people who don’t play many video games but still want to play with the rest of the family.

1. Madden ’09

It’s the latest version of the Madden NFL franchise.  If you know them, well, you know all about it.  If you don’t, rest assured that if you have a video game player that has had a Madden game in his/her library, buying this title for him is a safe move.

2. NBA Live ’09

The beauty of this game is that it updates every night.  If a player’s on a hot streak, he’ll be on a hot streak in the game.  If he’s not doing well, the game will reflect that misfortune. For parents who aren’t into video games, be warned that you’ll see oodles of sports games when you shop for this game, but be sure to get the right one.  Here’s a picture of the cover to help you:

3. Little Big Planet

LBP is a creative, fun adventure game where kids create their own world (or play in story mode with existing worlds). We’ve touted the virtues of Scratch on my other website and on our radio show – if your kids love Scratch, they’ll likely love this game.  Hard to explain, just trust us that older, bright kids love it!  Spend a little time on the website for more information.

4. Buzz! Quiz TV Bundle

Have you ever wanted to audition to be a contestant on Jeopardy? Stand on the stage with your family and play Family Feud? This game will satisfy your desire for button buzzing and outwitting other contestants. It’s fun (and much better than the PS2 version). Goofy, British accented host can get annoying, but other than that it’s good old family fun!  Warning: Kids under ten might get frustrated by questions about 70s television shows and such…

5. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

Exclusive to PlayStation, this series is fun (though a bit violent and not recommended for kids under ten).  We marvel at the graphics and enjoy watching the robot character, Clank.  Here’s the latest title:

______________________

Nintendo Wii

1. Shaun White Snowboarding

(requires a balance board for optimal play).  It seems to be headed for top honors as the most sought-after video game of the season.  I have to insist that other platforms just won’t do it justice.  The balance board makes it feel more realistic and (as my son would say, “Really cool!”)

2. WiiFit

(comes with the balance board) Read my earlier post here about WiiFit.  Or visit the website here. It’s unusual.  It’s groundbreaking.  If for no other reason, get it because it’s cool.

3. DeBlob

We predict this game will be the sleeper hit of the holiday season.  We’ve played it for months on our iPhone and love it.  On the Wii?  Even better!  The blob character colors in colorless towns and defeats villains along the way.  Complications arise (like villains removing colors) and make the game interesting and fun.

4. Mario Super Sluggers

If you like the baseball game on WiiSports (included with the Wii), you’ll love this Mario game.  It takes that simple idea and runs with it.  Fun for the whole family.

5.Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party

My kids refer to this game as “the first game where you use your butt to play”.  Yep, it’s true.  You sit on the balance board in the Wii version.  Silly, nutty fun.  If you’ve played Rayman, you’ll probably like this game.  Younger kids will love it simply because of that potty humor novelty.

_______________________________