Guitar Hero 3 A+

Guitar Hero 3 was a family gift this Christmas. This game gave our family and guests days of solid entertainment. The music line up is incredible it contains some of the greatest rock music of recorded.

I was fascinated that our daughter was really into the music. it seems her favorite song is also one of my favorites ” Bulls on Parade” by Rage Against the Machine. I love watching her get into the song with the guitar that comes with the game.

The game play is good. The community aspect of the game is what sets it apart from other games.  If your Wii is connected to the Internet you can join it to GuitarHero.com and view all of your statistics from game play the site.

We completed the game on easy in about 3 days and it was all fun.  We have started to play the game on medium and it continues to be fun.

Avatar: The Last Airbender C

This game was a bit disappointing in that it is only single player.

The family enjoyed exploring the world of the Avatar and playing as the characters from the show. My daughter and I really wanted to play the game as a team.

The original Shrek game for the original XBOX allowed multiplayer cooperative play with up to four players playing at the same time. The game play of that game is my gold standard for family gaming. Working our way into an out of dungeons, thru towns, and across fields in various quests really gave us some good insights into our daughter’s personality. It turned out to be a good exercise and a platform for showing her how to deal with frustration, solve problems, and work with the other members of her little group (Mom and Dad) in the game.

Avatar was a blast but very boring for those watching and not playing. Games that are based on children’s cartoons should have cooperative play so we parents who are gamers can play through with our children.

I give the game a C.

Wii Sports A+

Unlike every other gaming system currently on the market, the Nintendo Wii has a game included. Wii Sports is more than just a game, it is 5 sports games plus a few extras. Wii Sports includes Baseball, Bowling, Boxing, Golf, Tennis, training modes for all of the aforementioned games and a fitness test.

Even those with very short attention spans will get much satisfaction from weeks of playing Wii Sports alone. All games can be played versus the computer or a live opponent. Rather than getting an extra game with the system I suggest a second Wiimote and Nunchuck controller. This will enable one to play all the games with a live opponent.

In baseball the Wiimote is used to pitch and hit. The game is very realistic and satisfying.

Bowling is my personal favorite of the included games. The feel is great and you really get the sensation that you are bowling.

Boxing is a real workout. The Nunchuck and the Wiimote are used to punch and move.

Golf is a bit frustrating for me as golfer I have not managed to get the feel for the swing.

I find Tennis frustrating as well. It could be because I am a bad tennis player. My 8 year old, WiiGirl, who has spent two summers at tennis camp, constantly beats me like a rug in the game. When I do win I am a sweaty hyperventilating mess.

Wii Sports is a winner

Brunswick Bowling F

Rather than waste your time reading this review I will tell you this game graded an F.

With that said I wasted my time playing this game. I love Wii bowling and Wii bowling this game is not. During game play the Wiimote feels very detached from what is happening on the screen. Wii bowling feels like bowling this does not.

WiiGirl normally loves to create characters in game. The character creation in this game is very limited.

We were expecting this game to be as good as Wii Sports Bowling with better graphics and more options, but it is not. If you like bowling on the Wii, stick with the free version for now it is the best.

After playing this game the people at Brunswick really need to watch what they attach their name to.

Cars Wii C

I love racing games and have been looking for a great racing title for the Wii. My search continues.

Like most games based on movies this is a weak title. WiiGirl seems to replay Cars occasionally. She and I do race each other in this game now and then. It is a good racing game for small children. I give Cars Wii a grade of C.

Nevertheless, Cars should be a good buy as it is over a year old, and will be discounted in most stores.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 B+

This game is much improved over the 07 version. I would suggest that anyone even mildly intrested in Golf buy this game.

I missed the online play and would like to know why EA did not put it into the Wii version.

The feel when driving, making approach shots, and putting is great. I have no feel for the chip shots but then again in real golf my chip shots are all over the place as well.

The probem with phantom shots that make the 07 version almost unplayable is solved.