Pid (PC, 360, PS3)
Have you ever fell asleep on a bus, only to miss your stop and end up far from home? Well that’s exactly what happens to Kurt, a little alien boy who finds himself on a distant planet REALLY far from home. Help him get back to his own planet in this 2-D puzzle action platformer downloadable on Steam for PC, or on the Xbox 360 and PS3 game consoles (PC version reviewed here).
Imagine: Babyz (3DS)
Take care of babies all over the world in your quest to become an expert infant caregiver in Imagine: Babyz for Nintendo 3DS. After you choose your character’s look, play the role of a young lady who just graduated nursing school, with the goal of opening her own day care center someday. In the meantime, you’ll earn your reputation working at a world-class nanny agency. You’ll travel the globe taking care of all kinds of babies and making their parents happy.
Monster 4×4 3D (3DS)
Ready to get down and dirty with some monster trucks? In Monster 4×4 3D for 3DS, you’ll compete in different events like races against 3 other AI trucks or one boss. Or you can smash and bash in arenas in a destruction derby for points. Win third place or higher in any of these events to unlock new skins, upgrades, and even new trucks.
Imagine: Fashion Life (3DS)
Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning (3DS)
November is a time for giving thanks for the harvest of the season, and what better way to celebrate than with another Harvest Moon video game? Especially considering this year is the series’ 15th anniversary! This new game, available on 3DS, has all the standard features fans love, while adding a few new important twists to keep things interesting. You’ll just have to read on to find out what they are!
SpinCraft (iPad)
Help Pyd the alien pilot his UFO to deliver pizzas all across the galaxy. SpinCraft is a free-to-play game for iOS devices (iPad version reviewed here). Similar to games like Super Monkey Ball, help maneuver Pyd’s UFO around 3-D checkerboard mazes, avoiding enemies, obstacles, and pitfalls. Collect three special yellow gems in each level to open a portal and move onto the next stage. I’m not sure how that correlates into delivering pizzas, but oh well. Now I’m hungry.
Review: A Game of Dwarves (PC)
One may be tempted to compare the new mining-based simulation, A Game of Dwarves, with the currently successful Minecraft game. However, it’s true predecessor (and Minecraft’s as well) is the niche game, Dwarven Therapist. In Dwarven Therapist, one manages a small group of dwarves trying to meet their needs while simultaneously staffing off the occasional crisis like rampaging monsters. A Game of Dwarves is much less complex (and thankfully is much easier to grasp) while also presenting a much more lush and beautiful dungeonscape to explore. Manage a small colony of dwarves who must carve out their domain from the bedrock of a mountain, complete with managing dwarves’ food supplies, contentment, and their need for rest. The game can be played in a campaign mode with successive challenges or in a sandbox mode where a creative player can go wild to carve out their “dream cavern”. As a mix of The Sims, Minecraft, and a role-playing game, A Game of Dwarves serves up a nice bit of exploration, strategy, and creativity.
Thundercats (DS)
As a child of the 80’s, most of the cartoons I watched as a kid had toys tied in with them. So basically we were watching 30 minute commercials back then. Girls had Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony, and Care Bears. Boys had stuff like Transformers and He-Man. If any of these currently sound familiar, it’s because they’re still around today, in new forms for younger generations to enjoy. There were many other 80’s toy and cartoon lines that didn’t quite reach the notoriety of stuff like Transformers, but some got real close. One of those that rode the coattails of the popularity and themes of He-Man was Thundercats. I was never into Thundercats myself (I was more of a Transformers man), but I do remember the old cartoon and many of the kids in my third grade class had Thundercats lunchboxes that year. Now, Cartoon Network has an updated remake of the Thundercats cartoon, and you can enjoy all the adventures of Lion-O and friends on the Nintendo DS.
Reader Review: Clan of Champions (PC)
Skylanders Giants Gigantic Blowout! (Wii, 3DS, PS3, 360, Wii U)
One of last year’s biggest holiday releases for kids is back in a gigantic way! Skylanders Giants is the sequel to the hit video game and action figure combo blast that took young gamers and collectors by storm. This new game features a different quest, Series 2 figures of some of the original cast with different abilities, new characters that light up, and extra big giant figures that pack a humongous punch. Skylanders Giants is now available for Wii, 3DS, PS3, 360, and the upcoming Wii U (Wii and 3DS versions reviewed here).




