Hot Wheels World’s Best Driver Video Game

October 1, 2013 by 4 Comments

Disclosure- The products below were provided to me in order to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC Guidelines. Please see “Disclose” tab for more information.

Hot Wheels are known for their small cars and big fun.  With creativity, any location can become a road and or track for your little ones.  So now instead of having tiny tire tracks on the TV, Hot Wheels has made World’s Best Driver, a video game.

kids video game

Family Video Game

The game starts out with selecting a team, each team specializes in a certain driving style, red is for tricks, green is for speed, blue is for drifting and yellow is for off roading.   The interesting aspect of this game is when hopping from team to team, there is a clear difference in vehicles which can be felt in their handling and speed as well as vehicle types.  Multiplayer takes a ‘hand off the controller’ type competition where each player takes turns, which can be frustrating to little ones, but to older players can teach them by example on ho to master the more difficult challenges.  Little Man’s favorite team to play was yellow, yet when watching Daddy play his favorite to watch was blue.  The bright colors and futuristic feel of the cars were quite appealing, but the drifting was a bit beyond his driving skill at this point in time.
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Disney Infinity – A Family Video Game

September 27, 2013 by 8 Comments

Disclosure- The products below were provided to me in order to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC Guidelines. Please see “Disclose” tab for more information.

Disney Infinity is the latest in Disney’s every growing library of video games.  This entry is a mashup of a bit of another toy/video game cross over,with some clever Disney characters and designs, sprinkled in with some Disney magic and player creativity.  The result is a fun family friendly game that child and parent can enjoy.

Disney Infinity is at its core a toy box.  This toy box has as few or as many pieces in it as you may like.  Starting with three characters and three play sets the fun begins.

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Each play set revolved around a popular Disney film included in the starter set are: Pirates of the Caribbean, Monsters University and The Incredibles.  The characters included are Sully from Monsters University, Captain Jack from Pirates and Mr Incredible from The Incredibles.  With character and setting in place the player can pick to play in the play set.  Lets say you’d like to play Pirates.  Grab Captain Jack and put him on the Inifinity base along with your play set then hop into the game.  As Captain Jack you explore a location from the film, Tortuga.  While there Jack finds himself rescuing, battling and exploring the battle ravaged city.  As Sully you explore the campus of Monsters U find tons of hidden items and a plethora of fun missions to clean up the campus after a rival Fear Tech trash it.  Last but not least we have Mr Incredible battling his way through the city of Metroville, protecting its citizens from the Omnidroids.    All three play sets are a blast to play in and are wonderfully more fun with a second player in co-operative play mode.  The second player having the ability to drop in and out of the game as they please, prefect for a younger sibling or a busy parent.  The biggest drawback of the play sets though is only characters from the play set can be used in it.  Sorry no Captain Jack visits to Monsters University.  This can be a pain on the first playing of the game with siblings, but is easily remedied with the addition of additional characters available everywhere the game itself is sold.
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Educational Apps For Your Kids

September 20, 2013 by 2 Comments

As fun  and educational   as iPads can be, when it comes to parents playing learning games with their children (as opposed to kids playing by themselves and turning into zombies), there really isn’t an app for that. Until now. TigerFace Games has developed a number of learning apps that allow parents and children to either compete or collaborate. The TigerFace Games apps are just a few of the dozens of games that are part of the Fingerprint Network. We spoke with Nancy MacIntyre, Fingerprint’s CEO and co-founder. Having worked at Broderbund, LeapFrog, and Hasbro, Nancy knows a thing or two about games. “We’re trying to create experiences that parents and kids can do together,” she says.

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We test-drove three Fingerprint apps, including two that are being released this week. We also previewed two more that are due out by the end of September. All are fun, engaging, entertaining, and challenging, and the graphics and animation are excellent. Cosmic Reactor

Two players compete head-to-head in seven math-based games. One is a memory-match game, where players turn over “plates” that have equations, trying to find matching pairs (for example, 5×2 and 20-10). In another, a randomly generated problem comes up (“pick the equation that gives 41”), and players have to find the right one from among a bunch of equation-sporting viruses that are floating around the screen. Customisation is easy, so kindergarteners can do simple addition and subtraction, while older kids can multiply and divide larger numbers. (Ages 5-11).
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Travel Adventures – Share Your Photos

September 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Have you guys seen the new United Sharing Adventure yet?  I contributed to it, my photos represent the State of New Jersey.  From the Land of Make Believe (geared for kids under twelve) to the teenage stomping grounds at Gillian’s Wonderland Pier & Boardwalk in Ocean City, to adult-sized entertainments at Jersey Shore’s dazzling casinos, award-winning restaurants and theaters – New Jersey has something fun for everyone.

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Even visiting their historic sites is fun, with scenic ferry rides to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island or guided tours up Lucy the Elephant, a six-story structure standing since 1881 with spectacular views of Atlantic City’s skyline. Once a Hoboken neighborhood secret, when Carlo’s Bakery was dubbed “the Cake Boss” on a popular cooking show, visitors started lining up to score their delicious Grab & Go meals featuring Italian cannoli and lobster tails topped off with luscious gourmet cupcakes. The homemade ice creams at Holsten’s Brookdale Confectionery in Bloomfield draws locals but Sopranos’ fans come for the onion rings.
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Turbo Video Game by D3

August 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment

 

Disclosure- The products below were provided to me in order to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC Guidelines. Please see “Disclose” tab for more information.

Video games can be difficult to gauge on the surface, especially ones which are franchises.  The gems of these are usually few and far between, but in recent years there have been some notable exceptions.  These include Toy Story and the popular Batman: Arkham series.

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To be a gem, the game has to tie into the move/cartoon/character while also being fun and interesting.  Turbo: Super Stunt Squad is the newest game by D3 featuring characters from the movie Turbo.  This game is a stunt based game.  Think the popular skate boarding games of yester year minus humans and skateboards and instead super speed boosted snails.
Initially there are a few levels open.  Each level is based on a  human environment, but from a snails perspective.  These settings include a kitchen at a fast food establishment and a nail salon.  In each level there are collectibles and upgrades which unlock new abilities as well as open up new portions of the level to explore and conquer.
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Zoomer – the robot dog

August 12, 2013 by 9 Comments

Disclosure- I received the below in order to facilitate my post. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC Guidelines. Please see “Disclose” tab for more information.

Technology is moving at an astounding pace, and almost every day it seems like there is an amazing new discovery or innovation.   One of those fields which are progressing astoundingly is robotics.

Zoomer

Check out Zoomer, a new, robotic dog.

Zoomer is awesome in robot form.  He acts just as a puppy would.  He zips around, does silly things and even pees.  Yeah, I know.  By pees, I mean lifts his leg- no liquid comes out.  Zoomer’s commands vary from sit, lay down, play with me, to pee and guard me.  Each command is easy to use as well, with a tap on the head and saying the word Zoomer before it, the command is issued.  The booklet included with Zoomer includes most of his commands, even ones he hasn’t learned yet.  He learns them by being played with more.  There are also some commands which you and Zoomer will figure out together.
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G- Project Speakers – speakers to go

July 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Disclosure- I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for G-Project. I received a G-Go and G-Zip to facilitate my review.

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When out and about how nice would it be to have a soundtrack. To be able to listen to whatever you wish whenever you wish. Easy feat right? Just grab an mp3 player or cd player and a pair of headphones and go. This works fine except when you actually need to hear whats going on around you. Case in point: yard work at home.

What happens when Mom and Dad want to listen to some tunes while de-jungling the yard? Would you really want both parents with their ears covered and unreachable? Absolutely not.

Portable speakers are a good solution. Today I am looking at a few such items made by G- Project, specifically the G-Go and G-Zip. G-Project create speakers that pump out high quality sound and are built for rugged activities that will last.

The G-Go is built for adventure. With the ability to withstand splashes and rugged enough to hold up to a beating its the perfect auditory accessory. The companion for yard work, Summer parties by the pool or at the beach The G-Go will kep the music going. The G-Zip is powered by 4 AA batteries which will work for 8 hours. The speaker is built to be portable and customizable. It sports a handle and a reasonable weight. In regard to an actual connection, there are 2 ways to use the speaker, Bluetooth and 3.5mm stand audio jack. Both of which work well. Via Bluetooth, audio options can be changed remotely including volume and playback.
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GearPower by IOGEAR

July 18, 2013 by 6 Comments

iogear

One of IOGEAR‘s newest portable power solutions is GearPower, GMP7K. This device is small, powerful and effective.

The Gear Power is charged via USB, it can be connected to a wall outlet or a PC USB port. Any ‘hot’, powered USB connection will also charge it. Most new cable TV boxes have hot USB ports on them somewhere and make for an easy place to plug something in for a while without keeping the computer on or leaving a charger in over night by accident.

When using the Gear Power make sure to follow these battery efficiency tips:

1) Periodically run the device to its absolute bottom (run it dry), then charge it to full capacity. This refreshes the battery’s memory and will lead to stronger, quicker charges and help keep capacity at its maximum.

2) Keep it out of the sun and warmth. Electronics do not like the heat, especially batteries. Excess heat wears batteries down quicker.
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