The Holiday 2010 Special Edition of "Minty Moose"
We just received the following news from Webkinz World. Here’s the full press release:
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Dec. 22 Webkinz World® has a very special gift for their millions of members — their Webkinz accounts will no longer expire!
Effective January 19, 2011, members who do not extend their accounts after one year will be able to continue to play with, and care for, all of their pets. The games, tournaments, jobs and daily and hourly activities will be open to all members, with some features limited for members with expired accounts.
The Spider With Remote
About the size of your hand, Web Runner ($35, www.fantasmatoys.com) is a
remote control spider that can run up walls and ceilings, as long as the
surface is smooth. It features articulated legs, glowing red eyes.
The spider’s stickiness is provided by air suction, provided by a small but powerful (and rather noisy) fan. That, combined by the light weight of the plastic parts, makes it possible for the spider to move quickly up a wall — a rather creepy effect. The spider is powered by lithium-ion batteries that are charged by drawing power from the six AA batteries in the remote through a small wire. The spider’s movement is controlled wirelessly through two thumb switches. Includes limited edition collector’s comic book and a spider bite temporary
tattoo. Besides startling your spouse, you get the added benefit of vacuuming your wall.
Details: Fantasma Toys, www.fantasmatoys.com. Price: $35. Ages: 7-up.
What is it? a remote control spider.
Teaches/Purpose: Halloween, robotic controls.
Entry date: 10/11/2010.
Funny thing — the App store rating for the ESRB’s own app (marked by an E for Everone) is “12+” for things like “Infrequent Mild Profanity or Crude Humor.”
This raises an interesting question — will ESRB ratings ever be in the App store, or will Apple’s less symbolic, age-based system with ESRB-like descriptors start to infringe on the ESRB’s space?
This is more evidence that the “App” way of thinking is reconstructing old media models — even the video game industry.
Here’s a press release and image released by the ESRB today
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 14, 2010
ESRB RELEASES MOBILE APP THAT LETS PARENTS FIND RATING SUMMARIES BY TAKING A PHOTO OF THE GAME BOX
New iPhone® and AndroidTM Apps Give Parents Simple Way to Get Detailed Information about Video Games
Just in Time for Holiday Shopping
NINE PRODUCTS AND TWO INDIVIDUALS WIN THE KIDS AT PLAY INTERACTIVE “KAPi” AWARDS AT CES 2011
New York City, December 9, 2010 – The second annual Kids at Play Interactive – “KAPi” award winners were announced today recognizing the most innovative games, software, devices and apps for educating today’s digital children. The KAPi Award ceremony will take place at 2011 International CES in Las Vegas on January 7, at 6:00 p.m. at the Fashion Show Mall.
More than 500 children’s technology products, each released in 2010, were considered for the KAPi Awards program, and were evaluated by an independent jury of industry and editorial experts. The judges were looking for products that raise the bar for innovation and design excellence.
The KAPi Award winners are:
uDraw Studio is the drawing package that comes bundled with THQ’s uDraw GameTablet. You can paint, draw, and color with nine tools. For example, you can draw simple lines with a pen, then add character with the airbrush tool or chalk. Sliders and toggles adjust opacity, size and paint drop-off. The Line Tool lets you draw perfectly straight lines and the Paint Fill tool lets you fill in areas with a color. Content includes 100 stamps, 15 post-processing effects including black & white, sepia, negative, and neon, create endless customization options, and the ability to zoom in up to 400% for the fine details. Created for THQ by Pipeworks Software. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This new version of the Story Reader features a lighter, more compact shell. After a child inserts the ROM cartridge and the book, they simply open the cover of the reader to hear a narrator read whatever page the book happens to open on. The starter set includes the Story Reader 2.0 unit and one Toy Story 3 title. Additional titles are available in three-pack book refills for $20 and include Disney’s Cars, Finding Nemo, Peter Pan, Sesame Street and more. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
The first Sonic to have hands free controls, Sonic Free Riders lets you and another player (optional) go head-to-head on 30 tracks. As you score points, you can unlock new accessories for your character. There are several modes of play, including free race; tag race; and relay race. In each, you can pick up and use items to slow down your competitors. For example, you can throw a target torpedo to take out a racer or roll a giant bowling ball to clear a path. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Put a phonics teacher inside your preschooler’s plush toy, with Smarty Ants, a $30 talking dog designed to teach early reading essentials. Borrowing from the Webkinz model, the $30 toy comes with one month of free content (a code is included) that gives your child access to a virtual world, called Smarty Ants Reading World (designed by Two Fish). Once you’ve setup your child’s account, they can steer an avatar representation of their dog inside the world, take a pre-test, and play games. You can then adjust the content inside the plush toy to your child’s level, by plugging it into your computer with the included USB plug and customizing the level. Currently there are two animals — a white dog and a husky. Both have a moving mouth and robotic neck. The sound is clear. Powered by three AA batteries (included). Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
The latest in the SingStar series, this party pack comes with the SingStar Dance game, two microphones, and SingStar USB converter. It combines both singing and dancing and is compatible with the PlayStation Move motion controller, allowing you to accurately track your dance moves as you follow the choreography of the on-screen avatar (note both the PlayStation Move motion controller and PlayStation Eye camera, both sold separately, are required to utilize the dance functionality). The game features music from artists such as Lady Gaga and Kid Cudi, as well as classic pop music from The Jackson 5 and Blondie. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This is a collection of early math (counting, sorting and patterns) activities, introduced by Cookie Monster and Big Bird in a carnival setting. While your kids will like the narration and find the Sesame Street characters to be “as seen on TV”, this title is so overly scripted that any joy is removed from the games. This is one of two titles in a series. The other is Elmo’s A-to-Z Adventure. Developed by Black Lantern Studios for Warner Bros. Interactive. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
When does a TV show become a fashion accessory? When you load it onto a specially designed, rubbery USB that doubles as a bracelet, that’s when. Flash-drive manufacturer ATP Electronics (http://sesamestreet.atpinc.com/) has partnered with Sesame Street, to create a line of seven $25 flash drives, each containing an episode taken from the Sesame Street home video collection, and themed after a Sesame Street character. Currently, the collection includes Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Grover, Ernie, Abby Cadabby and the Sesame Street sign. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This third edition of Rock Band plays the same as previous versions, but includes more music (up to 1,500 songs via download), a new handheld keyboard peripheral, and up to three-part harmonies that can accommodate bands with up to seven members. Besides the additional content, the game play is similar. Content includes 83-songs, plus access to existing Rock Band tracks (Rock Band and Rock Band 2 discs, downloaded songs, track packs, AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack, LEGO Rock Band and Green Day: Rock Band). That’s quite a mix of music. New three-part vocal harmonies that were introduced with The Beatles: Rock Band are included in this version, providing you have the microphones, so up to seven players can play at once. Developed by Harmonix and published by MTV Games. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Exercise games are plentiful these days, especially with the launch of the Sony Move and Microsoft’s Kinect. So what’s special about Nickelodeon Fit for the Wii? It’s the first exercise program for an adult and a child to do together. If you’re looking for realism and accuracy, this isn’t your best option. For example, you can easily cheat in nearly every exercise, simply by waving the Wii Remote. At one point, we stopped moving, and it took the program 10 seconds before it realized. However, this program does facilitate your exercise by providing a timed block of activity, and a fun way to move. And, you certainly can’t get a more non-threatening coach than Dora. Content includes thirty exercises, featuring five characters. Each has a specialty. You can bike with Dora, river raft with Diego, run with Kai-Lan, and jump rope with the Backyardigans. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Five sports — for 1 to 4 players — are designed specifically for Microsoft’s Kinect controller. After you sign in, you can choose from skiing, horseback riding, hang gliding, football, soccer and boxing. As you play, commentators evaluate your progress, and your photo is taken, displayed on billboards after each challenge. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Diego comes to the small Nintendo DS screen, in this one player game. As you explore five different animal habitats, each with three levels, you help the animals find their way home. The more you play, the more content you unlock. Games are automatically saved into one of three player profiles. Created for 2K play by Black Lantern Studios. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
About the size of a shoe box, the plastic toy talks, tells jokes and sings. Stinky will also ask questions, initiate sing-a-longs and play games. If he’s not played with for a few minutes, he’ll eventually snore and then go to sleep. Stinky can say 80 phrases, and stand up on his hind wheels. Requires four C batteries (included). Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This animal simulation experience for one player takes the Nintendogs concept to the big screen, with “extremely cute” realistic-looking tiger cubs and plenty of opportunities for jumping, throwing, driving and dodging. After you watch an introduction that can’t be skipped, you get to adopt one of five pet cubs (all giant cats), who will lead you through different areas of a remote island, full of movement challenges. Content includes an obstacle course (move through a maze, balance logs, duck to crawl through a tunnel, and so on), and a copy-cat experience where you teach your cat tricks using motions or voice commands. Created by Frontier Developments Ltd. for Microsoft Game Studios. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
One of the original set of Kinect games available at launch, this a collection of six sports: soccer, table tennis, volleyball, track & field, bowling and boxing. There are both one and multiple player modes, including a Party Mode. Developed by Rare for Microsoft. See also Kinect Motion Sports from Ubisoft. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Designed for 1 to 4 racers (in split screen mode, if necessary), Kinect Joy Ride is a classic driving simulation where you “drive” by holding an invisible steering wheel in your hand. The more you drive, the more tracks and cars you unlock. Five games include Race, Stunt, Dash, Trick, and Smash. You control your car by steering with your hands, throw your hips into it to drift through the turns, and move your body while flying through the air to perform tricks. Developed by BigPark Inc. for Microsoft. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This is the collection of 20 fast paced Kinect activities that comes bundled with the Kinect Sensor ($150). After you sign in and choose your profile, you pick an activity by waving your hand left or right. By holding your hand over an activity icon, you can start playing. Games include Rallyball (swat at balls and hit targets), River Rush (stand up rafting), Reflex Ridge (a high altitude fitness course), Space Pop (fly around the room, waving your hands to pop bubbles) and our favorite, 20,000 Leaks (move your hands and feet to stop leaks in a glass wall). Developed by Good Science Studio for Microsoft. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Great news for Macintosh owners. Kid Pix, the popular drawing program used in many classrooms during the 1990s, has been updated for OSX. Like the first version, the program makes it easy to experiment with colors, paints, markers and water colors, along with a full library of animated stickers. It is also easy to narrate your creations, using the built in microphone or import your own images using the computer’s built in camera or photo library. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Want to sing along with the cast of Glee? This one or two player karaoke-style game awards you with points for staying in key. Content includes 30 songs, including Smile, Can’t Fight the Feeling and Sweet Caroline. If you have two microphones, you can sing a duet with another player. All the songs are from season one of the show. Extra content includes unreleased show moments. You can play in an interactive Shooting Star Mode with up to six players. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
The size of a regular Hot Wheels Car (about an 1.5 inches long), these clever cars fit inside a case that doubles as your remote control. So the entire toy is not larger than a deck of cards. To use, you slide the vehicle out of the case. There are two controls (forward/back, and left/right), so operation is simple. There are four varieties (each $25); two with caterpillar treads, designed for gripping and climbing. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Based on the classic game “Spot the Difference” and featuring Heathcliff, your goal is to find and identify the differences between two almost identical classic Heathcliff comic cells before the time runs out. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Featuring a darker theme and limited game play, this mostly one player action adventure lets you explore a beautiful 3D rendition of the Deathly Hallows, as Harry Potter. Content includes 12 levels, with eight types of spells. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This mini-golf simulation can be played alone, or with up to four players on the Wii or two players on the Nintendo DS. As you play, you collect achievements, purchase Gummy Bear merchandise, and customize nine holes using the Gummy Bear course customizer. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Designed for one or two players, FlingSmash is a combination of tennis and pinball, with perhaps a bit of Boom Blox (EA) mixed in. By “flinging” a round ball-like character with a Wii Motion Plus enabled Wii Remote (required), you clear a path through a sidescrolling tropical island called Suthon in order to save the island from the evil Omminus. The ball, a yellow round critter named Zip, will bounce around like a pinball to smash through barriers and enemies. A second player can join in using an additional Wii Remote Plus or Wii Remote/Wii MotionPlus combo (sold separately) to control Zip’s friend Pip. There are three game save slots. Designed by Artoon for Nintendo. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This one-player game for Microsoft Kinect (required)features fights inspired by illegal free fighting tournaments to compete against opponents who are trained in different fighting styles. Fight settings include rooftops and alleys and content contains 70 moves that can be mixed and matched. The more you win, the more you unlock; and progress is saved automatically. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Help Dora get ready for the Favorite Foods Festival by chopping, stirring, and mixing different food ingredients, using the touch screen on the Nintendo DS. There are recipes for enchiladas, pizza, salad and so on, as well as 30 minigames designed to reinforce early math concepts such as counting, matching and measuring. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Help Dora and Boots get out of Wizzle World and make it to Dora’s birthday party on time. In the Wii version, you hold the Wii controller like handlebars to jump, climb, swing through a forest and slide down a mountain. In the DS version, you will trace, tap, shout and scribble your way through challenges, such as riding a unicorn over the rainbow, floating in a magic bubble across Sea Snake Lake and traveling through mystical lands including the Dancing Forest. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Borrowing from techniques pioneered in games like Super Mario Bros. and Kirby Epic Yarn this one player adventure breaks new ground in the way it uses classic Disney characters, who have never been inside a video game before. After an ornate introduction, you choose one of three game save slots, and become Mickey. Traditional weapons have been replaced with a paintbrush and paint thinner. The goal is to turn the world (Wasteland) back into a colorful, happy place. As you explore, you meet Oswald the Lucky Rabbit as you collect pins, film reels or medals. The game autosaves during each level, and there are multiple profiles, making it possible to jump in and out of the game. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Ten fun, typical sports games come to Kinect, but are buried behind a frustrating setup menu. The sports include boxing, skating, skiing, tennis, snow boarding, volleyball, fencing, archery and shooting. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
See yourself on the stage, as you try to keep up with a cast of experienced dancers in this dancing program. Content includes 30 tracks of music, each with a dance, from a variety of genres including Hip Hop, R&B, Pop and Techno. In order to know how to move, you have to first learn a system of markers, step ripples, poses and streams. There are four levels: Light – one or two markers per bar; step ripples and posing, and occasional streams; Standard – one or two markers per bar; step ripples and posing, with moderate normal ripples, front ripples, rock ripples and streams; Extreme – two or more markers per bar, markers in eighth will appear, and entire variation of the ripples will appear; and Stealth – hardest of all levels with extreme mode with markers off screen, just follow the model’s movements. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
After you log in, choose a song and a difficulty level, you see yourself represented on the screen by a male or female dancer. Your goal is to follow along, copy-cat style. The better you match the moves, the higher your score. Content includes 90 dance routines for both beginners and experts, plus 650 dance moves and a soundtrack of 32 songs from current pop, hip-hop and R&B artists. You can choose from one of eight characters to dance in one of ten venues including a school cafeteria or a mansion. A Dance Battle mode lets you compete against another dancer to see who wins. Other features include tracking calories burned as you dance, the ability to download additional songs and routines, and an open-ended photography mode where your picture is taken, in a variety of poses. Developed by Harmonix/MTV Games. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This inventor’s toolkit lets you mix various objects such as basketballs, ropes, ramps and rockets in order to reach a goal, such as to get an ice cream truck through a flaming hoop. Like “The Incredible Machine,” each puzzle has multiple solutions, and increases in difficulty as you play. The goal is to earn spark points by solving mechanical puzzles. Each set of puzzles is found on a themed island that is floating on a cloud. For example, on the transportation island you use a ramp and a rocket to get a moving truck across a bridge. Other islands deal with outer space or a circus. The program was made by EA’s UK-based Bright Light Studio. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This football edition of Backyard Sports on the Wii continues the legacy of providing an easy-to-use and kid-friendly experience, although the controls can be initially hard to learn. Unlike previous Backyard Sports titles, there are no famous names on the roster, but that doesn’t decrease the play value in any way. After you choose one of the four player profiles, you use a well-designed main menu to select a mode of play. You can jump directly to a minigame, or start a long-term tournament, with a customized roster. The team rosters have been refreshed, and there are a dozen themed fields, along with nine power-ups with such names as Banana Peel, Twinkle Toes, and Stinky Pants. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
One of two toy helicopters released this year from Spin Master (the other is the Air Hogs R/C Hawk Eye), this “Sharp Shooter” has two tiny foam missiles that are about the size and weight of a Q-Tip. Six missiles are included. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
One of two new remote control helicopters released this year from Spin Master, this bird-sized toy contains a tiny camera that can capture five minutes of 240 by 320 resolution AVI video (web cam quality), or take many 640×480 still photos. Designed for indoor use, the Hawk Eye uses two-channels, and can move up and down or left and right. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This snowboarding simulation for 1 or 2 players contains a good tutorial and up to seven themed courses. As you move down the hill, you can do tricks, leaning left or right to steer. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review.