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New releases get young gamers into action |
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Written by Justin Hoeger, MCT
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Friday, 09 November 2007 |
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Often ignored, even mocked by older players, games aimed at children nevertheless deserve their places on store shelves.
Most hyped-up titles, such as "BioShock" and "Halo 3," are rated for older players, and children and preteens who are gamers need something to play, after all. The following are some recent offerings.
First up is "Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol," sequel to the somewhat obscure GameCube game "Chibi-Robo: Plug Into Adventure." This time around, a new model of the 4-inch-tall automaton is tasked with restoring life to a barren park.
Our little hero, who looks like a metal saltshaker with legs and a power-cord tail, waters flowers to make them bloom and dances to make them produce seeds. Each time he does this, he gains a few happiness points, which can be converted into battery power for the little guy. (He uses power with every action and runs out pretty quickly at the start.)
He can cut down flowers and take them to a local flower shop for a big bonus of happiness points, and the wattage he trades the happiness points for can be used to buy new items to help him in his task. The game is as cute and friendly as its little hero, and the DS touch screen is used well to control Chibi Robo's actions.
"EA Playground" is a collection of mini-games tied to a playground environment full of kids. Players guide their own character around a schoolyard, a park, a stadium and the woods, challenging other children to their favorite games.
There are only seven games, but each has numerous challenges to complete as the player encounters children who are more skilled in a particular activity. For example, the Slot Car Racing game starts with an eight-lap race involving four cars, and its first challenge is a time trial to make one lap in 12 seconds or less.
The other games are Tetherball, Paper Racers (paper airplane flying), Wall Ball, Kicks (volleyball mixed with soccer mixed with tennis), Dart Shootout (a Nerf-style shooting gallery) and good ol' Dodgeball. The DS version has a different set of games, sharing only Dodgeball.
The mini-games make good use of the Wii Remote's motion sensitivity without overdoing it. Kicks, Wall Ball and Slot Car Racing are the most fun of the bunch, but all things considered, the game is pretty shallow. The mini-games can also be played in a party mode with up to four people.
"Spider-Man: Friend or Foe" turns the web-slinger and some his most famous enemies and allies into humorous caricatures of themselves.
Nasty creatures called Phantoms are popping up all over the place, and Spider-Man foes such as Doc Ock, the Green Goblin and Venom are working with them - but not, it turns out, of their own accord. Once freed of their mind control, even Spidey's worst enemies are willing to team up with him to defeat this new menace.
The game plays like a simplified version of "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance" and other RPG beat-'em-ups. Two characters - Spidey and a friend - fight through various levels against numerous enemies, usually with a boss at the end. A single player can switch between the two fighters at will, or a second player can drop in at any time to control No. 2.
In between stages, players can buy upgrades for Spider-Man and his sidekicks, with the wall-crawler having a more comprehensive set of skills as the star of the show.
The visuals are pretty good, though they don't approach the sparkle of most Xbox 360 games. Still, the animation is well-done, and the exaggerated designs of familiar characters are fun to see.
Finally, we have "Thrillville: Off the Rails." In this game, players control a child or teen who is made into the unlikely manager of a string of amusement parks. It's the player's job to build new games, concessions and attractions, get to know park customers, and design and buy new rides.
There's a ton of stuff to do in "Off the Rails" - so much that it might be a little complicated for some players at the younger end of its age rating. The attention to detail is keen - attractions can be given custom paint jobs, workers can be hired and trained, ticket prices can be changed, and so on – but it's the sort of detail that could turn players off rather than drawing them in.
Even so, it's fun to design and use an amusement park, and the mini-games are pretty fun. (They can be played outside the main career mode as well.) But the best part is being able to design freakish roller-coasters with gut-flipping drops, twists and turns and loops, as well as special "Whoa" pieces, like flaming hoops and stunt jumps, for extra pizazz.
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CHIBI-ROBO: PARK PATROL
3 stars
PUBLISHER: Nintendo
SYSTEM: Nintendo DS
PRICE: $29.99 (Wal-Mart exclusive)
AGE RATING: Everyone
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EA PLAYGROUND
2 stars
PUBLISHER: Electronic Arts
SYSTEM: Nintendo Wii, also for Nintendo DS
PRICE: $39.99 ($29.99 for DS)
AGE RATING: Everyone
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SPIDER-MAN: FRIEND OR FOE
2 ½ stars
PUBLISHER: Activision
SYSTEM: Microsoft Xbox 360, also for Nintendo Wii, DS, Sony Playstation 2, PlayStation Portable, PC
PRICE: $49.99 ($19.99 to $49.99 for other versions)
AGE RATING: Everyone 10-plus
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THRILLVILLE: OFF THE RAILS
3 stars
PUBLISHER: LucasArts
SYSTEM: Microsoft Xbox 360, also for Nintendo Wii, DS, Sony Playstation 2, PlayStation Portable, PC
PRICE: $49.99 ($29.99 to $39.99 for other versions)
AGE RATING: Everyone 10-plus
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Justin Hoeger:
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