Holiday 2010 Giveaway: New Carnival Games (Wii Game) [CLOSED]

I just recently received 2K Play's New Carnival Games for the Nintendo Wii for review. New Carnival Games has over 30 games and attractions, all the stuff you would expect to see at a real carnival and more. This game does a great job capturing the sights and sounds of a carnival. The graphics are charming and all ages will enjoy the personalities of the “carnies”. The game is set up very intuitively and players of most ages will have little difficulty navigating from venue to venue.

Once inside one of the 5 themed venues, there are a variety of games and activities to try. Some are free to play and earn tickets while others cost tickets. Each game or activity has the opportunity to win prizes, over 300 total! In each venue there is at least one game that can be unlocked as well.

I found most of the actions required to perform each game or activity simple enough with just one or two motions or buttons required. I do want to mention that there were a number of games where I simply couldn’t discern the difference between a winning motion and a losing one. Swinging the remote in different ways produced the same result regardless. I think over time I may have been able to figure out the difference (if there was one), but I fear a child would get frustrated (or bored for an adult). Yet there were some games that just felt great and it was easy to learn exactly what motion resulted in positive results.

(Click any image to enlarge)

Over all 2K Play's New Carnival Games Wii game is fun and engaging for the entire family. I imagine there are enough games and variety that most will find a few they love and have fun even if some are hard to master. The MASSIVE prize system is very appealing to kids and it would not be hard to see kids being addicted to collecting them all promising hours and hours of play.

You can purchase this game, which retails for $39.99, at many major retailers of Wii games, such as Best Buy, GameStop, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, Target, and more.

Thank you to 2K Games for sending us a complimentary product sample to base this review upon.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a copy of the "New Carnival Games" Wii Game.

Limitations:

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Browse the selection of children's video games offered by 2K Play. Then leave a comment telling me the name of another 2K Play video game you think would be engaging for a child to play. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2)

For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, sign up to receive Newsletters at Nintendo. Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments telling me you did.

4)

For 1 extra entry each, if you are a Friend of mine on Facebook and/or if you have "liked" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here telling me so with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 1 extra entry each, follow 2K Games on Twitter and/or "Like" 2K Games on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment for each with the link to your Twitter or Facebook profile.

6)

Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7)

Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8)

Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9)

Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10)

Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

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(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, December 20th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Holiday 2010 Review: Disney Pixar Cars Toon "Mater's Tall Tales" (Wii Game)

My family has loved the Disney Pixar Cars movie and themed toys for years so it is a treat to review a copy of Mater’s Tall Tales from Disney Pixar for the Nintendo Wii game system.

The game is themed after the Mater’s Tall Tales television show and will be instantly recognizable to anybody who has watched the show. All six sections of the game are based on actual Tall Tales episodes; you get to play through missions as Lightning McQueen with Mater as your guide.

I was very impressed by the variety of methods you need to control your car in each section. You are required to change the controls for each event so you are never bored. Each section has clear and understandable animated instructions as well. No reading is required to learn how to play.

My favorite section was "Monster Truck Mater". This section has plenty of variety and the goals of each episode were fun and engaging. The graphics for all sections was amazing and very pleasing to look at.

My seven your old son Jake also logged quite a few hours with Mater’s Tall Tales. He has a different idea of fun and spent all of his time in the "Free Play" area that allows you to play any of the unlocked sections that you choose. Once Jake realized that each event yielded money you could spend on fun upgrades for your car, he couldn’t stop playing. The idea of customization was just up his alley.

Overall Mater’s Tall Tales is a fun game and it varied enough to keep even an adult entertained. The difficulty was low enough as not to frustrate but not so easy that it was boring. The replay value for me is light, but for my seven year old son the game is the perfect mix of adventure and progression promising countless hours of fun.

Mater’s Tall Tales from Disney Pixar will make a great stocking stuffer for any kid this holiday…Even if that “kid” is in his 40’s… You can find this game at the Disney Store and most places where current Wii games are sold.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Disney Interactive Studios and received the Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales Wii game to facilitate my review.

Review: "Galactic Taz Ball" Game (for Nintendo DS)

A Looney Tunes favorite character, the Tazmanian Devil or Taz, returns to battle Marvin the Martian in Galactic Taz Ball. Marvin and his army of Martians are at it again, this time abducting Earth’s landscapes. This is why the game takes place on floating platforms. Taz wakes one day and sees a giant chicken leg in the distance so he takes off after it, completely unaware of what’s happening around him. It’s his mission to stop Marvin, and that’s the basis of the game. The beginning storyline isn’t what’s important or fun about this game, it’s the wandering around smashing and destroying and being a tornado!

My 8 year old, Avery, and I loved this game. Taz is a favorite of mine from my childhood, so getting to “be” him and play was really fun. We particularly enjoyed the spinning, which was hard to get on screen shot, and just the overall idea of the game. Avery really liked all the Martians and how it started simple, but got harder as the levels went on. He has not beat it yet, but really wants to. Also, all the younger kids enjoyed watching, even though they couldn’t play. We all had fun sitting around with the Nintendo DS and making Taz move with the unique “roller ball” style of play, pictured.

Galactic Taz Ball for Nintendo DS is rated E for Everyone and can be found most places where Nintendo DS games are sold.

Thank you to FortySeven Communications for sending us a complimentary sample game to base this review upon.

Giveaway & Review: Backyard Sports Sandlot Sluggers (Wii Game) [CLOSED]

As I may have mentioned in the past, the main reason I agreed to purchase a Nintendo Wii for our household is because it seemed like a great way to keep my family active, especially during the hottest days of summer and the coldest days of winter. Although, we have tried some excellent exercise-based games, Backyard Sports Sandlot Sluggers allows my children to be active without a formal exercise routine.

We already had a baseball bat attachment for the Wii remote that came with an accessory pack we had previously purchased. Although it definitely is not necessary to have this attachment to play this baseball Wii game, it certainly adds to the realism of the role playing.

My children are 6.5, 3.5, and 3.5, so the Mini Games mode is the one that best fits their attention span. Each Mini Game is fairly short and allows the player or players to choose the activity they happen to be in the mood for at that time.

My children enjoyed being able to choose their team and their character. It really makes the game go faster having set choices rather than creating a completely customized character. In other games with that feature, my 6 year old can spend quite a long time just designing a character, which is fine when he is playing by himself, but not when there are multiple players.

Out of all the Mini Games, "Break Out" is the one that all our children enjoy. It is focused on only batting. Since we do not usually allow our children to swing big sticks around in the house, they really enjoyed this activity. I never realized how much giggling and laughter from delight could come from swinging a pretend bat until my 6 year old son played "Break Out" for the first time.

The great thing about Backyard Sports Sandlot Sluggers is that even preschoolers can enjoy the different activities. Our twins actually do not care about their scores or who wins. They just love playing this interactive baseball game and being able to affect the character on the screen.

Even though batting is clearly one of their favorite activities, I think the one that my 6 year old enjoys the most is Pickle. In this game, the player needs to shake the Wii remote to make their character run between the bases and try to tag the opposing runner's team out. I have never seen him laugh so much. Plus this game gives him quite a workout.

Needless to say, this game was a huge hit with our children. My husband did not like how much he had to adjust the way he hit in order to time his swings correctly, but such things were not an issue for the children. They cannot wait until the next game Backyard Sports Rookie Rush comes out this November.

To learn more about Sandlot Sluggers for Wii, DS, or XBox 360, visit BackyardSports.com . This game retails for just $19.99 and is currently available at Amazon.com, GameStop, Best Buy, Target, Toys R Us, Walmart, and other major video game retailers.

Thank you to Backyard Sports for sending us a sample game free of charge to base this review upon and for providing another game for our contest prize.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive Backyard Sports Sandlot Slugger (for the Wii).

Limitations:

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Browse the selection of Sandlot Sluggers characters. Then leave a comment telling me which character you or your child would like to play the most. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2)

For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND BackyardSports.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4)

For 1 extra entry each, if you are a Friend of mine on Facebook and/or if you have "liked" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here telling me so with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 1 extra entry, "Like" Backyard Sports on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Facebook profile.

6)

Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7)

Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8)

Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9)

Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10)

Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

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(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, September 6th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Review: JumpStart Pet Rescue for Wii (Rated Early Childhood)

The selection of console games with an Early Childhood rating is so small that I am actually using the word "selection" loosely. I have to commend JumpStart, a well-respected source of both online and boxed PC learning games, for bringing us the much-needed Pet Rescue for Wii.

Early Childhood rated games are suitable for children as young as the age of 3. That is perfect for us since our "3 Garnets" just turned 3, 3, and 6. Although the twins are not as tech-savvy as their older brother, they thoroughly enjoy watching him play this game, especially since their big brother is nice enough to make special characters for his little brother and sister. Plus he also lets them choose which pets he should adopt.

Here is a character that our 6yr old made for his little sister. He also let her choose a pet to adopt. This part of the game falls right in line with the popular trend of virtual pets and it is the part our children seem to enjoy the most. I think it is great that JumpStart was able to create a game in which younger children can experience owning a virtual pet. Many other console or online games are meant for older children who can read and type.

The map feature is very user-friendly. Although our 6yr old can read the signs, there are images on each sign for the younger users who cannot yet read. Some of the places and attractions your child can visit are the beach, the jungle, and Petland, which is my 6yr old's favorite. There are also learning activities found in places like the library and the supermarket.

There is an area where your child can teach his or her pet to do tricks. I very much like that their is a mini practice session where your child can grow accustomed to the wrist movements required to get the pets to jump, turn, and do flips.

I would like to show you my 6yr old's favorite part of the whole game. This is where he is able to choose a pet to adopt. The player can only have one pet at a time, so he often goes back to adopt a new one. All the pets are pre-named to make it easier for younger players.

After my son adopts a pet, he immediately gives it some food and water. Not every pet likes all the available food choices, so he must use trial and error to figure out what that particular pet likes to eat. Here he learned that pandas like to eat bamboo stalks. Next he likes to take his pet to the park to play fetch. Again there are many choices of toys.

After the park, he takes his pet to be washed. He will select the shampoo and create the lather. Then he will rinse off his pet. Sometimes the game will tell my son that he did not use enough shampoo and must wash his pet again.

I have to say that the actual rescuing of lost pets and earning rewards, such as gold stars, a virtual CD, and a red apple seem to be secondary to my son for the moment. He is thoroughly enjoying exploring the main parts of town. I think that after he has seen every nook and cranny, that he will be more interested in exploring the beach and the jungle. I also want to point out that the learning activities have not been challenging to our 6yr old thus far. We have not come even close to finishing the game, so I do not know if their are more difficult activities ahead.

Here is our 6yr old training his virtual pet to do tricks . . .

Pet Resuce for Wii certainly lives up to the expectations I have for a JumpStart product. To learn more about this game, visit Jumpstart.com . You can find this game at most major retailers of Wii games, such as Amazon.com, Walmart, Toys R Us, GameStop, Best Buy, and BJ's Wholesale Club.

Thank you to Jumpstart for providing a copy of this game for us to experience and for us to base this review upon.