Want to Get Your Game on? Add These To Your Holiday List

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I received the below in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own and honest. Please see “Disclose” tab for more info.

For many kids (and tweens, and teens…and let’s face it- parents too) gaming is a part of life. A way to unwind, relax, and have some fun. Here in my house, it is the source of some major father-son bonding time. As you write your list for Santa this year, you might want to add a few of these as well.

Do you own a Wii U yet? If not, you might want to check out the Wii U Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Set bundle. It includes a copy of the Mario Kart game, Nintendoland game, the deluxe 32GB Wii U console, a MK8 steering wheel, and Mario themed red Wii Remote (or Wii-mote, as my husband likes to say). The bundle is a good deal if you don’t have the system yet. It come with everything you need to get started, as well as the super-fun-for-everyone and family friendly Mario Kart 8.

The Wii U is the sleek, recent 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. The Wii U Mario Kart 8 Bundle is available for $299.99 on http://happyholidays.nintendo.com

If you prefer to play on the 3DS, you will likely enjoy Super Smash Brothers. This fighting game which has a plethora of Nintendo and non-Nintendo characters who face off in multi-person fights in last man standing type battles. Each character has different special attacks; different weapons, different speeds, and different heights and weights all of which will help you decide who your favorite is and who your personal enemy is. Personally I love Link and Little Mac. Each character can be broken down into three basic fighting categories, gunner, swordsman, or hand to hand.

What I like most about Smash Brothers is its depth without adding too much confusion to the individual fights. There are only a few buttons and players can master their character relatively quickly. I would suggest Super Smash Brothers for anyone who has a 3DS or is a fan of Nintendo in general. The game play is addictive and will leave you feeling quite fulfilled yet looking for more as you beat the game. Super Smash Brothers is available on the 3DS and is available now for $39.99 from all major retailers as well as the 3DS estore.

Last but certainly not least, any Pokemon fan or artist’s new favorite game; Pokemon Art Academy. This new Pokémon-themed version of Nintendo’s Art Academy series offers 40 lessons teaching you how to paint, sketch and draw the Pokémon characters you know and love, starting with using your 3DS. Your child (or you) can grab his or her stylus and start right away, learning how to draw all their favorites step-by-step. They will learn real life drawing skills that they can use not only for Pokemon, but for drawing in general. They can use these new found skills to draw, paint or use medium of choice their creations onto paper- they can also share them digitally. My son has me using his latest creation as a screen saver, which I think is adorable.