Shrek Forever After game for Nintendo DS

It's kind of sad that the Shrek franchise has reached the final chapter with Shrek Forever After, but the good news is that you can always watch it on DVD, and Shrek fans can always bring Shrek to life in the Shrek Forever After games for Nintendo DS, Wii and other platforms. Activision kindly sent us a copy of Shrek Forever After to play and review on our Nintendo DS, and here's what we thought:


The Basics
Shrek Forever After is inspired by the fourth and final Shrek film. In this game, players can become 1 of 4 characters -- Shrek, Fiona, Donkey or Puss -- and team up with friends to solve some fun and challenging puzzles to defeat the bad guy, Rumpelstiltskin. When not in multiplayer mode, a single player can switch between any of the 4 characters. We reviewed the game for Nintendo DS, but the game is also available on the Xbox 360, Wii, and PS3.

Here's a description of the game from Activision:
Gamers will take on the role of Shrek, Fiona, Donkey or Puss In Boots to out-smart, out-fight and out-play the devious Rumpelstiltskin and his army of bad guys. Gamers will team up by using their characters’ unique skills and special abilities to progress through the game’s fun and challenging puzzles. Throughout the adventure, gamers can use the Magic Mirror to travel between Shrek’s normal world and his alternate reality for double the fun. Each world features secret areas that can be unlocked as players gain new moves and abilities keeping them coming back for more. The action reaches all new heights in the final showdown where the team goes head-to-head with Rumpelstilstikin to help Shrek save his friends and restore his world.


The Bottom Line
My kids love playing this game! I love the fact that they can actually collaborate on a single game instead of competing with each other to see who's the best.


The Blah
I thought the graphics would be better than they are, but my kids don't seem to think it's a big deal.


The Bottom Line
Shrek Forever After for Nintendo DS is a lot of fun for young Shrek fans!


And speaking of fun, I'm giving away a Shrek Forever After game for the Sony PS3, as well as a $50 Sony PlayStation Network gift card! Be sure to enter (click here to get to my giveaway post!)

Disclosure: I received a product sample, but was not paid to review the product or give my opinions. Unless clearly stated, the views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Bakugan Battle Trainers game for Nintendo DS

My boys are seriously into Bakugan (if you don't believe me, check out my post on their 6th birthday party), so as soon as they knew that a Bakugan Battle Brawlers game for the Nintendo DS existed they began pestering me for it. So it was a happy coincidence that Activision invited me to review their newest Nintendo DS Bakugan game, the Bakugan Battle Trainer. Here's what we thought of it:


The Basics
Bakugan Battle Trainer was released in Spring 2010. It is Activision's second Bakugan title and builds on the wildly successful Bakugan phenomenon. The game takes players through training exercises; the more training they have their electronic Bakugan undergo, the greater the G-power they obtain. As higher level play ensues, they get to do battle against some evil battle brawlers who have captured other Bakugan and hold them hostage.


Here's a description of the game from Activision:
In Bakugan Battle Trainer, aspiring Bakugan trainers will find out first hand what happens before and after the brawls. Players will master the secrets of training their Bakugan while choosing how to improve their skills and abilities with an in-depth training mode that helps their Bakugan excel at all aspects of battling. Ultimately, players will send their rigorously trained creatures into battle with a mission to free their imprisoned brethren from the enemy's hold. Beyond this ingenious style of play, the classic elements of Bakugan are in place -- collect up to 30 creatures, intense battle action, and the ability to improve your rant by defeating opponents.


The Bongga
3Po and Jammy love the Bakugan toys, but since they've only just started reading, they have never really gotten into the Bakugan brawls. So they really like Bakugan Battle Trainers since it's not focused on the battles -- you can have a fun time taking your Bakugan through the training exercises that occur between battles.

The training facility consists of gathering tokens, mini-games, quizzes, and an assortment of other actions that can be carried out such as bouncing and petting your Bakugan. It's a lot more low-key and much more my boys' style.


The Blah
Since this is the second Bakugan game, I was hoping there would be some multi-player functions (i.e. two kids each with a Bakugan Battle Trainers game on their Nintendo DS would be able to battle each other over a WiFi connection).


The Bottom Line
Bakugan Battle Trainers is a great game for young Bakugan fans because it takes the classic Bakugan strategy game to a whole new dimension!

Disclosure: I received a product sample, but was not paid to review the product or give my opinions. Unless clearly stated, the views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Style Lab Jewelry Design for Nintendo DS

All 3 of my kids love making necklaces and bracelets. There's just something so calming and therapeutic about stringing beads and charms onto a string, and when you're done you end up with something pretty and unique and personal to wear. They started out when they were very young, sliding huge plastic beads onto pipe cleaners with their chubby 18-month old fingers, then graduated to plastic pony beads.

The beads have gotten smaller and smaller as they grow up (now they can work with seed beads, elastic cord, wire and crimping tools). And now they're delighted to find that one of their favorite craft activites has gone virtual with the introduction of Ubisoft's Style Lab Jewelry Design game for Nintendo DS! It was just released a couple of days ago and we were lucky to receive an advance copy to play with and review.


The Basics
Style Lab: Jewelry Design lets players create their very own pieces of jewelry, try the jewelry on photos of themselves, and upload the jewelry to the web, and order an actual copy of the jewelry for them to wear. Players can choose from game mode (where they pretend to be the owner of a jewelry shop; the goal of the game is to design the perfect piece of jewelry for the customers who come to their shop and earn money so they can buy more beads and charms to use in future jewelry creations), or they can enter a free play mode and design whatever jewelry they want.


The Bongga
The Pea, of course, loves this game; it's her third favorite Nintendo DS game (next to Imagine Salon Stylist and Style Lab Makeover). Even my two boys, 3Po and Jammy, love playing it! They like stringing real beads so it's not a surprise they like this as well. I'm impressed with how Ubisoft really got it right and created so many games that really appeals to girls' interests! It's so much fun to create jewelry, and so much easier to plan it out virtually than to struggle with the real needlenose pliers and crimp beads and such. And since you can actually order your finished creations, you get all the satisfaction of a finished product.

I really love how this game utilizes the best of the DSi's features. You can use the Nintendo DSi camera to take a photo of yourself, then "try on" the jewelry you made in the game. You can use the wireless feature to share designs with friends who also have the DSi and their own Style Lab: Makeover. Best of all, you can even upload your design to the web and order the actual bracelet that you design! Unfortunately we haven't gotten a chance to upload any of our creations to the Style Lab or order them, but you can bet this is one feature that we'll be trying in the future -- and when The Pea's jewelry creations arrive, you can bet I'll be posting photos on this blog!

The Blah
I have to admit I'm a bit daunted at the thought of getting everything set up to be able to order the kids' jewelry creations off the web. I took the first step -- creating an account at www.stylelabgame.com , but it seemed like just another online site for kids, and I couldn't figure out where I could actually order and pay for the jewelry. I wish Ubisoft would include clearer uploading and ordering instructions!

The Bottom Line
Style Lab: Jewelry Design is the perfect combination of virtual gaming and actual shopping. I would definitely recommend this game as a present for an 8-10 year old girl -- along with a gift certificate to the Style Lab shop, so the girl who receives this game can also get a real copy of the jewelry she designs!

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Makeover fun with Nintendo DS games from Ubisoft

The Pea is at that age when makeup is just beginning to interest her. And I don't just mean trying it on -- she's been painting her nails and smearing on eyeshadow and lipstick since she was two. Recently she's asked me whether she can wear makeup to school and ballet class! Imagine what the teachers would say if a third grader came to class looking like Ivana Trump. It goes without saying that I nipped that idea in the bud.

Don't get me wrong, I'm totally fine with The Pea experimenting with hair and makeup. In fact, she's got her own little kit with lip gloss and nail polish and eyeshadow and a hairbrush and mirror. I just don't want her going out like that! Fortunately Ubisoft recently sent us two games that let The Pea indulge in her current makeover obsession on the Nintendo DS: Imagine: Salon Stylist and Style Lab: Makeover.

The Basics
Imagine: Salon Stylist is a Nintendo DS game that lets players run their own beauty salon. In the game's background story, you are a salon owner; the goal is to get clients to keep coming back and attract new, celebrity clients -- all of whom give you "money". You please clients by giving them the hairstyles and makeovers and treatments they want, greeting and treating them nicely. Successful makeovers earn you money that you can spend on salon decor and use to unlock new hairstyles and accessories that will make you even more successful.

Style Lab: Makeover lets players create avatars of themselves and their friends, and experiment with different makeup and hair styles. You use the Nintendo DS's camera to snap a photo of yourself so that you can match it as closely as possible to the available face shapes, skin tones, hairstyles, and facial features. You can complete makeover challenges to earn points that can be used to unlock more makeup colors, tools and styles. Unlike the Imagine series, Style Lab: Makeover does not have a story game component (there's another game for that: Imagine: Makeup Artist).

The Bongga
These two games are The Pea's current favorite! The story component of Imagine: Salon Stylist is secondary to the enjoyment she gets out of playing with the hair and makeup tools. She loves putting makeup on her virtual face and her friend's virtual face, and she loves experimenting with all the different hairstyles. And she loves styling The funny thing is that 3Po and Jammy also like playing with these games! I think they like using the stylus to do things like cut and straighten hair, or trace the outline of a virtual model's lip in order to apply lip liner.

The Blah
Both games are harmless fun, so I really don't see anything wrong with either of them. If I had a complaint, it would be that Style Lab: Makeover doesn't let girls take a photo of themselves and make over their actual face. They just use the photos to help create an avatar that resembles them.

The Bottom Line
Imagine: Salon Stylist and Style Lab: Makeover are two great games for young girls that let them indulge in all the hair and beauty makeovers they can think of. Parents will like it because there's no mess -- no need to buy gallons of makeup remover, and no need for that quick trip to the hairdressers to fix an unauthorized haircut that has gone tragically wrong!

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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