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Fun and Learning with Hidden Object Games

September 4, 2009 By
PopCap Games

Image via Wikipedia

I am totally addicted to Hidden Object Games. I mostly play them at night, after the kids go to bed, while my husband is flipping through the channels. I find that as I concentrate on searching the screen for the hidden items, everything else just kind of melts away. It’s like having fun and relieving stress at the same time!

I was contacted by a representative of PopCap Games, the leading developer /publisher of G-rated, family-friendly word, puzzle and action games, with some surprising information about Hidden Object Games. It turns out that playing them can also help kids improve their observation skills and their ability to pay close attention to details. This quote comes from Dr. Carl Arinoldo, New York based child psychologist and author of Essentials of Smart Parenting: Learning the Fine Art of Managing Your Children:

Games such as Mystery P.I. and Amazing Adventures Around the World could certainly help improve concentration and focus. But perhaps the most significant benefit would be the potential to develop or strengthen a child’s observation skills. By searching for specific objects on a screen filled with hundreds of images, the mind is forced to pay close attention to detail. This skill is too often lacking in the classroom and may frequently make the difference between success and failure in pretty much all school subjects.

PopCap sent me two games to review, Amazing Adventures The Lost Tomb, and Mystery P.I. The Lottery Ticket. I’m almost finished with The Lost Tomb, and I’m really enjoying it. I’m searching tents and stables and other desert locations for hidden items that are getting harder and harder to find with each level. For example, here’s a screenshot. See all the easy to spot and not so easy to spot items “hidden” in the picture?

The Lost Tomb screenshotHead over to PopCap to download a free trial or purchase the full game of Amazing Adventures The Lost Tomb, fun for you, educational for your kids! Totally worth the price.

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Wii Birthday Party Bash

August 3, 2009 By

BirthdayPartyBashThe new Birthday Party Bash game from Wii puts a fun new twist on the traditional birthday party by combining everything from the invitations to the party games right on your Nintendo Wii!  Right from the Wii screen, you can choose a party invitation and email it to friends, or print out invitations to address and send by snail mail. Then choose from 10 party themes (Pirates or Princesses, maybe?) and check the Birthday Party Bash website for great recipes to serve to hungry guests that coordinate with the party games.  (Warning, that site has auto-play music).

Yes, you get party games! But with a modern twist-up to 12 players can take turns playing 20 games, including car racing, pinata bashing, cake layer stacking (brought to you by Duncan Hines), and more. Players can even name and customize their avatar.

The best part is, this isn’t just a game to be played only at birthday parties. The party games can be played in free play mode any time, or the player can create a new “birthday” game to play with friends any time. I think it’s a really fun twist on birthday party games and a fun option for younger Wii players.

disclosure:

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central on behalf of Nintendo Wii Birthday Party Bash. Mom Central sent me a copy of the Wii game to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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Guitar Hero Rocks the Nintendo DS

July 9, 2009 By

Thanks to Mom Central, we recently reviewed Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits for the Nintendo DS. My 10 year old son Nathan has been the most enthusiastic tester, racking up game points and showing it to his friends.

GHOTModernHitsBundleContents If you are familiar with Guitar Hero, you know it uses a guitar-shaped controller with buttons to push instead of strings, right? Well, the Guitar Hero game for the DS uses a hand grip/fret board that plugs into the game slot, and a pick-shaped stylus for “strumming”. It’s really clever!

The 28 songs on the game are radio-edits of music by bands I’ve heard of (Coldplay, Lenny Kravitz, The Offspring, Franz Ferdinand, Foo Fighters, Tenacious D), and some that I was not at all familiar with (The Bravery, The Duke Spirit, Atreyu, 12 Stones) because I am old and out of touch :P    There are two other Guitar Hero games for the DS, and the songs can be streamed wirelessly between the games.

Single players can challenge themselves with Quickplay mode that lets you jump right to any song, or Career mode with “Fan Requests”, challenges, and unlocking new venues and songs as the game proceeds.

Two or more players can synch up their games and play cooperatively or in a face-off, and during Guitar Duels, challenges come up that must be dealt with before the game can continue-like having to drag the ends of a broken “string” together, or having to sign an autograph for a fan. I didn’t get very far in the game to get to do that, but for a dedicated player like my son, it just amps up the challenge level.

BUY IT:  You can get Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits at Best Buy for $49.99. It comes with the Guitar Grip controller and the pick stylus, plus stickers for customizing the DS. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself playing it as much as your kids do!

Thank you Nintendo and Mom Central for this fun review opportunity!

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