Game on!

After the fun afternoon we spent at Ubisoft's San Francisco office a couple of weeks ago, I knew that a Nintendo DS would be at the top -- and possibly the only item -- on my kids' holiday wish lists. Last week the kids received an early Christmas present -- Ubisoft, aka Santa, sent us our very own Nintendo DSi so we could try out all of their great Nintendo DSi games!


Naturally, they are absolutely delighted, and they're off and running with games like Battle of Giants: Dragons, Battle of Giants: Dinosaurs, Petz: Dolphinz Encounter, and Imagine: Boutique Owner. 3Po and Jammy picked up right where they left off, with The Pea not far behind. Since she can read all the instructions that come up on the screen, The Pea she was able to get the hang of the controls even more quickly than 3Po and Jammy did.

I have to say, I'm happy to see The Pea enjoying the DSi as much as her brothers. She has wanted a DSi for the past year or two, but I never really considered getting her one because I thought it was just a peer pressure thing, and she'd quickly get bored with the games. I didn't realize that there was such a wealth of games developed especially with girls in mind, such as Ubisoft's Imagine series of games. And I'm even happier to see that my message of moderation seems to have sunk into my kids' heads. They don't complain (too much) when their 20 minute timer goes off and they have to hand the DS over to their brother or sister. I still make sure they play outside or with their other toys or do some reading or drawing so there's a good balance in their free time. It does mean that they don't get to play as much of the DS games as they'd like, but it also means that the games will retain their interest for a longer period of time!

The views and opinions expressed here are my own. We received a complimentary Nintendo DSi (thanks, Ubisoft!), but no monetary compensation, to aid us in reviewing Ubisoft games. Watch out for more reviews of Ubisoft's holiday lineup of games for the Nintendo DS!