The four modes of play are Story, Air Rallies, Balloon Pop and Free Play. Matthew’s favorite mode is Free Play and his least favorite is Air Rallies.

I am horrible at flying games, I think it is because I have some spacial awareness issues but I was able to accomplish all of the tutorials, with a little coaching from Matthew so in my opinion most kids ages 6+ should be able to master the art of flying in this game.

Matthew enjoys the game, but only time will tell how re-playable it is. Disney’s Planes Wii is available at all of your major retailers. We recommend this game for your younger gamers, ages 6-9.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this game for the purpose of this review. I gave my copy to my reviewer after I received his review. All opinions are 100% mine or Matthew’s. There are affiliate links in this post.

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“Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure,” is an all-new interactive journey from the massively successful Disney Princess franchise that immerses players into the enchanted worlds of Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Tiana, and gives them the power to save their favorite Princesses by wielding a magic wand.

“We’re excited to announce the launch of ‘Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure’ as the newest addition to the Disney Interactive video game family,” said Javier Ferreira, senior vice president of publishing, Disney Interactive. “Fans have told us time and time again that the iconic Disney Princesses are some of their most beloved characters. With the launch of this title, through captivating gameplay, we’ll bring Disney fans the sense of wonder surrounding the Disney Princesses.”

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 chaotic Imps make their way into the worlds of Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Rapunzel 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.

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.

Rated ‘E’ for Everyone by the ESRB, “Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure” is now available for the Wii console and Nintendo 3DS for a suggested retail price of $39.99 and for the Windows PC/Mac for a suggested retail price of $29.99.

Belle in Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure

This game is geared for young girls, yet I have enjoyed playing it. There is minimal reading, most prompts are read by the Fairy Godmother. The game is very repetitive so children can play rather quickly and easily. I enjoyed visiting the princesses in their own worlds and helping them on their adventures.

This game would make a great gift for little girls ages 3-10 who are fans of the Disney Princesses.

Disclosure: I received a copy of the game for the purpose of this review. All opinions are 100% mine.

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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.

The 4th game in the series is based to the Family Game Night television show on The Hub. We watch the show regularly because we are fans of the host Todd Newton. In the TV show 2 families of 4 compete in over-sized versions of classic Hasbro games. Each time a team wins they choose a Monopoly Crazy Cash card and at the end of the game they put the cards in the Monopoly Crazy Cash Machine to see how much money they have won and the team with the most money wins the game.

Game Overview

The video game play is similar to the game show, with Todd Newton narrating, but it has a few flaws, First this is a “family game night game” and the whole family can’t play! This is a one or two player game! To me, that is a major problem. It should be at least a 4 player game with 2 people on each team. Also at the end of the game if the second team’s money total surpasses the total of the team that counted first, they stop counting! Each time we played I ended up with more cards than my son but in each game once my cash total was greater than his, they stopped counting! I had 3 Crazy Cash Cards left and I don’t know how much I earned. This makes it difficult to turn it into a 4 player game where we play 1 parent against 1 child and keep a tally of the total cash to see who wins after we play the 2 games necessary for our family of 4 to play since not all the money is added in.

Before playing each game go into the options menu and learn how to use the Wii controller for that particular game.

Connect Four Basketball is a fun competitive game of Connect Four played by throwing basketballs into the columns instead of chips.

Yahtzee Bowling is a fun twist on Yahtzee where instead of dice you are playing with six-sided bowling pins and a large ball.

Bop-It Boptagon is a family favorite on the TV show but the game controller interface doesn’t work very well. At the beginning of each round they show you the actions for each command but “twist it” never works for us and the action hints go away after the first few turns so players must remember what each command means.

Scrabble Flash is a fun game to play and once you understand how to use the controller it is quite enjoyable.

Sorry Sliders is a lot like playing Curling where you are sliding Sorry pawns down into a scoring ring where your oonent can knock your pawn out of the scoring rings. The game play is pretty easy but the narrator is often talking over himself in this game and it gets confusing.

Our Thoughts

Family Game Night 4 the Game Show for Wii isn’t a bad game but it isn’t as good as it could be. The game retails for $29.99 which is a low end price for a Wii game but I don’t think it is worth more than $19.99. It is rated E and the whole family could play but since it is only a 2 player game, that is difficult. We have several EA Play games that we love but unfortunately, this one missed the mark.

Have you played Family Game Night 4 the Game Show for Wii? Please leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts.

Disclosure: we received a copy of this game for the purpose of this review. All opinions are 100% mine.

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There are 30 Olympic themed events that players can participate it. Everything from synchronized swimming, to soccer, to track and field is included. Each sport has different rules on how to use the controller and nun chuck and I have found that the kids adapt better to these than the adults do. The tutorials before each event are easy to understand and very helpful. Add to the regular events the Dream Events which are similar but themed in the virtual worlds of Mario and Sonic and you get even more fun. The London Party mode you play a board game where you try to earn stickers by completing challenges on the board and in mini games. Another favorite feature of this game for my 16 yr old son is that in addition to playing as one of the Mario or Sonic characters, you can also play as your Mii.

We think your family will enjoy playing Mario & Sonic at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Disclosure: we received a family game night package from Sega that included this game. All opinions are 100% ours.

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Maybe you have a little driver in your family. the Lightning McQueen Racing Wheel with Wii Remote Stickers make a great gift for that child.

PDP also has the iPad and iPad 2 Disney Cars kit for $49.99.

Visit PDP for all of your gaming accessories this Christmas,

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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.

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Cars 2: The Video Game brings players inside the international training center CHROME (Command Headquarters for Recon Operations and Motorized Espionage), where they choose from more than 20 different characters and train to become world class spies. As part of their international training, they will participate in simulated hazardous missions using high-tech gadgets to evade and slow down adversaries.

Avalanche Software, video game developers of the critically acclaimed Toy Story 3: The Video Game, are back in the driver’s seat for Cars 2: The Video Game, working in close collaboration with Pixar artists to bring the humor and personality of the feature film to life.

“Cars is one of Pixar’s most successful and treasured franchises, so we are thrilled to be working with Avalanche Software again to extend our creative vision of the Cars 2 universe into the interactive medium,” said Jay Ward, Cars franchise guardian at Pixar Animation Studios. “Avalanche Software has the technology, experience, and history in working with us to create the best-looking Cars video game to date.”

“The team at Avalanche Software is working on exciting ways to combine the power of the franchise with new storylines and characters in Cars 2: The Video Game to create something unlike any other racing game,” said John Blackburn, vice president and general manager of Avalanche Software. “The combination of racing, international locations and spy themes, and the beloved Cars characters makes Cars 2: The Video Game a truly unique game for players of all ages and skill levels to enjoy.”
Cars 2: The Video Game will feature connectivity with the World of Cars Online – a free-to-play browser-based, virtual world based on the hit Disney•Pixar animated Cars universe. Players will be able to discover an exciting new world beyond Radiator Springs with Mater, Fillmore, Sarge, and others as they gain rewards in the video game and then use them to unlock new items in the World of Cars Online.

Cars 2: The Video Game will be available on major video game platforms this summer including PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PC/MAC.

Please visit http://Disney.com/CarsVideogame and www.facebook.com/carsgames for more information.

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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!

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“I am absolutely honored to be involved in restoring Oswald to the cartoon status that he once held,” said Warren Spector, general manager and creative director, Disney Interactive Studios’ Junction Point.  “Having the opportunity to present Oswald the Lucky Rabbit onscreen for The Walt Disney Company is a dream job for a lifelong animation fan like myself.”

Disney eventually lost the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit due to a clause in a contract with cartoon distributor, Universal. In February 2006, The Walt Disney Corporation was able to regain rights to Oswald, bringing him back to the home of his creator.

The new video released by Disney Interactive Studios pays tribute to Oswald and demonstrates how Disney Epic Mickey will help to restore him to the fame he once enjoyed.  To view the video, please visit www.Disney.com.

Disney Epic Mickey is an action-adventure platforming game for the Wii console that sends Mickey Mouse on an epic journey of creativity and discovery.  As Mickey, the player is propelled into Wasteland, an alternate world made up of Disney’s long forgotten characters and attractions, and is given the power to wield paint and paint thinner to dynamically change the world while determining Mickey’s path to becoming an epic hero.

Through the use of this unique paint and paint thinner, the key components of animation and Mickey’s tools for impacting his world, players will have the ability to shape how the story unfolds as they discover the concept of “Playstyle Matters” – an innovative style of gameplay created by Disney Interactive Studios’ Junction Point, led by industry luminary Warren Spector, where players creatively tackle different challenges in the world to explore all the possibilities and storylines – but with consequences for their chosen actions.

Disney Epic Mickey will be available exclusively for the Wii console.

Please visit www.Disney.com/DisneyEpicMickeyVideogame and www.Facebook.com/DisneyEpicMickey for more information.

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