In “Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure,” players will take on the role of an apprentice to the Fairy Godmother and will accidentally set off a series of events that cause friendly Sprites to transform into mischievous Imps. The evil Imps make their way into the worlds of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Ariel, Belle and Tiana, and players must pursue the Imps into each Princess kingdom to prevent them from causing any harm. With the use of their magic wand, they’ll need to turn the Imps back into their original Sprite form, and return them to their rightful home in the Magical Kingdom.

Each of the Princess worlds will allow players to explore and interact with familiar Disney characters such as Lumiere, Pascal, Flounder, Gus and other fan favorites who will help guide them through missions and progress though the game. Quests and mini-games, including platforming, hide and seek, and puzzles, are designed to test the skills of the youngest players and challenge older players alike.

Players can also customize their avatar and room in the Fairy Godmother’s Castle, utilizing gems that are earned throughout the game to trade for items in the in-game “Wishing Well” store. Outfits, accessories and tiaras can be purchased to dress up avatars, creating hundreds of different combinations. Special items like floor patterns, wallpaper and furniture can be used to personalize and build out each player’s room in the Castle.

I think this game sounds like a lot of fun for Disney Princess fans. I’ll be reviewing this game in the fall so stay tuned for my opinion of this magical game.

The post Disney Interactive Announces-Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure appeared first on The Mom Maven.

We have had ours for a few weeks now and it works great. We haven’t lost or left game cartridges in the car or at a friend’s house because they are always attached to the DS. If you have a DS or 2 or 3 in your family get them each a Memorex Universal Game Selector Case. It will keep the missing cartridge chaos at bay.

Disclosure: I received a Memorex Universal Game Selector Case for the purpose of this review. All opinions are 100% mine.

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In Imagine Sweet 16, players embody a young girl who is about to turn 16 and just joined a new high school. How will she become THE girl to know? By planning, promoting and hosting the most awesome Sweet Sixteen parties ever of course – including her own!

Key Features
Social Networking on the DS — Players will build a virtual friends network and boost their popularity by throwing awesome parties for classmates!
Get Creative — Select the party theme and decorations, plan fun activities for guests, and pick the right music to keep the party going all night long!
Have Fun — Imagine Sweet 16 Players will need to pay attention to their guests’ moods and make sure everyone has a rockin’ good time to boost their score!

Imagine Party Planner
In Imagine Party Planner, you get to plan the most amazing celebrations! Join an agency that caters to the most prestigious clientele. Meet with famous clients to plan out their specific requests, from a simple wedding cake to a spaceship for a party among the stars. Design décor, invitations, and more through fun mini-games as you expand the agency to be the premiere Party Planner in town!

Key Features:

Plan the Party

• Meet with clients to learn about their dream party and discover their likes and dislikes. Plan millionaire balls, charity galas, weddings, birthday parties, and more! -Play fun mini-games to design and win key pieces for the party.
• Select gorgeous gowns, shoes, and accessories for the hostess to wear.
• Design and mail invitations to guests.

Spotlight on the Party – Enjoy watching each party you have planned through colorful and fun animations.
Unlock Rewards – Watch the agency grow as your parties are featured in magazines, then spend your earnings on all-new customizable items!

The post Holiday Guide 2011-Gifts for Girls-Two Nintendo DS Games appeared first on The Mom Maven.

thinkSMART software is developed to enhance and encourage reading skills, critical thinking & logical problem-solving, and do so in a fun creative way.

Crazy Machines (DS & Wii): Think outside of the box and push the boundaries of creative thinking as you utilize random objects (anvil, rolling spheres and more!) to build a variety of increasingly complex contraptions that cause chain reactions. Big picture thinking, big fun and big points await in the construction of Crazy Machines!

Labyrinth (DS): Based on the popular board game, Labyrinth drops players in a series of mazes where logical thinking and problem solving skills are the only way out.  Move the walls with the stylus and discover all your treasures in the labyrinth before your opponents do!

Scotland Yard: The Hunt for Mr. X (DS): The chase is a-foot! Scotland Yard is searching for Mister X in London, New York, Berlin, Paris & Amsterdam.  Deductive thinking and procedural logic are key as players aid the famous detectives in the capture of the elusive Mr. X.
I gave all 3 games to my 16 year old son for him to play and review for me, here is what he had to say.

The two DS games I tested (Labyrinth and Scotland Yard) were really lacking on instructions. They basically tell you the story of the game and then tell you to play without telling you what to do. After I figured out how to play the games they were both a lot of fun and highly addicting!  They are themed for a little younger kids, probably between the ages of 8-12. They both take alot of thinking and stratagy. The Wii game (Crazy Machines) was a lot of fun as I do enjoy making and watching Rube Goldberg Machines. This one is also themed for a younger audience than myself, and it’s pretty tricky! Even I got stuck on some levels. There were a few minor glitches in the game. I did have to exit and restart the game after it randomly froze on me.

All in all the games were fun but not very intuitive. They could all use more instruction at the beginning of the game.

The post Summer Vacation is Winding Down-Stay Sharp with Mentor Interactive appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Wii

In the Wii game you can:

• Twist the Wii remote to let Rapunzel’s hair rejuvenate flowers, and press the “A” button to swing into action and help Flynn climb out of caverns.
• Collect enough sun drops in a level so that Rapunzel’s hair can continue to grow.
• When playing as Flynn use the “B” button to clear brush and attack enemies. For a “smash attack” use a swinging down motion with the Wii remote.

Sounds like fun for the whole family!

The post Holiday Gift Guide: Disney’s Tangled for Wii and Nintendo DS appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Date: Sunday, March 21st, 2010
Time: 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. EST
Location: #ZhuZhuGame
Host: @MomTalkRadio (Maria Bailey, Founder of MomSelect)

Zhu Zhu Pets for Nintendo DS allows players to care for and play with their favorite toys virtually. Players will race their hamsters through different mazes to collect carrots, coins and new hamster friends and babies. It’s an endlessly enjoyable game that lets you have fun with Zhu Zhu Pets anywhere!

Join us to learn all about the Zhu Zhu Pets Nintendo debut. And of course, there will be an opportunity to win your very own copy!

You have a chance to get in on the action before the party. We have one Zhu Zhu Pets Nintendo DS game to give away as a pre-party prize. Enter to win by:

*Clicking HERE to RSVP
*Tweeting out the details of the party between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on the day of the party

Be sure to follow @MomTalkRadio, @ResourcefulMom and @MomSelectAmy throughout the evening for updates, prize information and contest details.

We’re so excited to party with you and your family! If you want to brush up on your game knowledge prior to the party, visit www.activision.com or www.gamemillpublishing.com.

The post ZhuZhu Pets-Nintendo Twitter Party appeared first on The Mom Maven.

A little about the product:

My Healthy Cooking Coach—a recipe “game” released by Ubisoft that makes life in this fast paced world just a little easier. My Healthy Cooking Coach suits those of us constantly on-the-go. We want to make yummy nutritious meals for ourselves and our families but often time and money don’t permit. This application contains 260 healthy recipes, nutritional tips, a “virtual refrigerator” that help make use of the ingredients already in the cupboard and a budget tracker which can be set based on your own personal need.

When I first turned on the application, it took me about 30 minutes to set up my preferences. I liked that I was able to mark ingredients that we will and will not eat, we are all picky eaters in my house. Once the references are set you can browse the recipes, play in the virtual kitchen or get your daily recommended recipe. Even though I listed that no one on my house eats fish, we got several fish dishes as our daily recommended recipes. I am sure this is because we have a very limited amount of ingredients that we like and only a few of the 260 recipes met our picky requirements.

One of the recipes we tried was for Sweet and Sour Chicken. Once I chose the recipe I checked out the necessary ingredients and put those that I needed to purchase on the shopping list in the software. I did modify the recipe a bit 1) I used boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of drumsticks and 2) I opted not to coat the chicken in sesame seeds. Once I had purchased all of my ingredients I got to work.

I don’t claim to be a great cook but I felt the best way to show you how the software works was to video tape our dinner preparations.

The chicken was good. In the future I would make the sauce earlier in the day and use it as a marinade so the flavor would be able to permeate the chicken better. Three out of four of us liked the chicken and, much to my youngest son’s dismay, I will be making it again.

The application is very easy to work with and it has very good functionality. My Healthy Cooking Coach is made by Ubisoft and retails for $29.99

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