Disclosure: In any review for a product or service, products or compensation may have been provided to me to help facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Guidelines. Please see “Disclose” and "Terms of Use" tabs for more information.
As the days grow shorter and chillier, we look to some games that can be played indoors and well as some that can taken with you on the go for travel fun. Check out these fun new video games, perfect for kids (and the kid at heart, too).
Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer
In the newest incarnation of Animal Crossing called “Happy Home Designer”, players help design their very own Animal Crossing town, including exteriors, interiors, and even gardens.
In beautifying your town, you are also helping the locals of Animal Crossing with various deign challenges.
Each challenge is different and requires the player to use their own personal style and incorporate the clients requested items into the design. With hundreds of clients to work with, the game is quite long. Another great aspect of this game is its amiibo support. Home Designer uses the new amiibo cards (similar to the figurine amiibo but these are cards, not toy-like figures) to unlock special characters in town who will give you unique design challenges. Once the design challenges are complete you move on to the next one.
Animal Crossing is a great way to get into gaming. The concept is understandable and easy to pick up . If you are in the mood, players can also explore and share their creations.
Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer is available in fine stores everywhere. It is available by itself or as part of a bundle which includes a specially designed 3DS XL.
Chibi Robo Zip Lash
In the world of Chibi Robo, aliens have invaded and stolen all the snacks. Your job as Chibi Robo is to zip and whip obstacles at enemies. Game play is mostly of the 2D platforming variety. As Chibi, you can quick throw and power throw through obstacles and enemies. Plug in and Power up into both Fire Chibi-Robo and Ice Chibi-Robo. These both add new gameplay elements to the game, and are fun as well. Chibi also has amiibo support, and my son loves it. When you Chibi Robo amiibo is tapped against the game, it unlocks Super Chibi Robo, collects in-game figurines, and unlocks bonus levels.
Chibi Robo is available in an amiibo and game bundle. The bundle retails for $39.99, while the game by itself retails for $29.99.
Skylanders SuperChargers
How do you put a new fresh face onto a game which has been updated four times now? Easy- introduce Super Chargers. Super Chargers includes vehicles which are used to traverse levels and race tracks. Tracks also have puzzles and boss battles in order to win each race. Vehicles can be upgraded with collectibles called Gearbits. Also, if you purchase Skylanders for the Wii U, you can play as Donkey Kong and Bowser of Super Mario fame. These figures also double as amiibos in other games, so it is almost as if you are getting 2 toys in one. My son absolutely loves the vehicle aspect, and was so excited about them being added. I guess there is no bad thing about autos (and etc) in gameplay, is there?
The new Skylanders Superchargers start set sells for $74.99 and is available at stores everywhere for the Wii U, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Super Mario Maker
One of the most recent trends in gaming is the so self creation, where users are the ones who make up portions of the game for either other people to play or just to share with friends to show off their building prowess. On this same thread of games comes Nintendo’s Super Mario Maker. In this game, users can either create new levels using components of various Mario games, or play levels made by other players. The presentation is easy to understand and get into, but to make that perfect level will take practice. A great way to get into the game is by first trying the level creator and messing around a bit, then trying other people’s levels to see how creative all those Nintendo fans really are. The answer is- incredibly. From speed runs to super difficult to artistic expressions, all are present and its only getting better as people learn more.
This game also supports amiibo figures, where each figure unlocks a new power up for Mario to use in the level. So if you put your Sonic The Hedgehog figure on the controller, Mario changes to Sonic and even the background music changes to reflect this as well. Super Mario Maker is available now for the Wii U and retails for $59.99 and is available at retail stores and also the Nintendo eShop.
Your son is so cute, and I love seeing him with his new video games. My son loves all these games and plays his Nintendo WiiU and his NIntendo 3DS.
I am a big fan of Super Mario. I haven’t introduced the game to my kids. I am sure they will love it.
those are fun, i have kids just the right age for them
Both my husband and my son are dying for the Super Mario Maker. I may be buying myself the Animal Crossing one.
Although these are not games that I would get for myself (I have no children of that age group that I know to gift one of them to) they do sound interesting. I especially think the design one will be a big hit with anyone you give or get it for.