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 Planet 51. |
There are plenty of family gaming options out there on store shelves for console owners to explore.
Here’s a quick look at some family friendly titles — including a few that will get them up and off the couch — you may want to consider:
- Walk It Out, from Konami for the Wii, was created, according to the developer, with getting kids and adults to combine rhythm game elements with a walking simulator.
A walking simulator?
Well, as a parent myself who struggles to ensure his kids balance their gaming with outdoor activities, I’m always looking for ways to get them up and moving around.
Walk It Out features more than 100 songs, including Ne-Yo’s Closer, Fergie’s Clumsy and Demi Lovato’s How Do You Sleep.
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As the music plays, you will take a walk through different environments such as fields, stadiums, parks, beaches, city streets and more.
Step to the beat and you’ll see the world on the screen move in time with you. You can explore by deciding on the direction to follow.
As you walk, you’ll have a chance to unlock songs and other items.
Your fitness levels can be tracked via in-game charts and graphs that record calories burned, distance travelled and the number of steps each player has taken.
And since it’s a Wii title, there are minigames to play along the way. So, get your kids up and moving around — and adults can benefit from this title, too, as you walk along while listening to some cool tunes.
- Just Dance, from Ubisoft for the Wii, is a dance-based rhythm game in which you follow onscreen choreographed moves while bopping to a variety of classic dance songs.
The game features more than 30 licenced tracks, including everything from MC Hammer’s anthem U Can’t Touch This to Katy Perry’s Hot N Cold.
It’s another game that will get your family up off the couch and dancing around the living room, burning calories while laughing and having a good time together.
- Tatsunoko vs Capcom Ultimate All-Stars, from Capcom for the Wii, is an impressive fighting game that features icons from both the gaming giant and the anime studio’s rosters.
Using a two-on-two format and featuring 2D action, you’ll have the chance to pit Capcom characters such as Street Fighter’s Ryu, Darkstalkers’ Morrigan of Lost Planet’s PTX-40A against Tatsunoko characters from Gatchaman, Hurricane Polymar, Casshern and other anime series.
The game boasts a basic four-button attack control scheme, including a button that triggers a call for assistance from your tag-team partner.
By using your tag-team partner, you can unleash some combination moves.
- Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces, from XSeed Games for the Wii, is a surprisingly effective aerial combat title for Nintendo’s motion controlled console.
You’ll have to use the remote and nunchuk controllers to fly the wild blue yonder in a variety of planes as you attempt to engage enemies in dog fights.
Master the controls and you’ll become a terror of the skies, as you gun down enemy jets.
- Rabbids Go Home, from Ubisoft for the Wii, sees those rascally Rabbids looking for a way to get to the moon.
They settle on stealing human stuff and piling it up, using it as a ladder so they can climb their way to the moon.
But us humans being cranky beings aren’t too impressed with our stuff being taken, so we sick the Verminators on the Rabbids.
There are more than a dozen environments to explore, such as supermarkets and airports. Tackle more than 40 missions and try to avoid those Verminators.
- Planet 51, from Sega for the 360, PS3 and Wii, is based on the animated film of the same name.
It’s a nice day on Planet 51 when a spaceship lands and out pops Capt. Chuck Baker, a human who thinks he has landed on an unpopulated alien world.
He finds a pal in Lem, an alien teen who tries to help him elude the police and army and find a way off the planet.
The game features mission-based gameplay, as well as minigames and multiplayer modes to extend the gameplay.
- Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, from Disney Interactive for the Wii, puts you in the shoes of characters such as the Mad Hatter, White Rabbit, Cheshire Cat and others.
The idea is to explore the fantastical world of Wonderland, solving puzzles and battling enemies along the way.
Featuring a look akin to Tim Burton’s film, this is one movie-based game young players should enjoy exploring.