Gaming For GIrls

It seems as though almost all the good games are either on the Nintendo Wii or the Nintendo DS these days and Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas is no exception. It is rated E for everyone and produced by DSI Games and Black Lantern Studios for the Nintendo DS. The game presents the classic Christmas tale of the always-happy Whos, who like Christmas a lot and live down in Whoville and the grumpy old Grinch who does not. In the video game version of Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas, you will play the Grinch himself and set out to ruin Christmas for those loveable Whos. You play the role of that Christmas-hating, gift-stealing Grinch with the goal of just stealing each and every little thing related to the holiday that you possibly could. Whatever you do, you mustn’t get caught. The layout of Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas is pretty simple and easy to follow. If you know the story and who doesn’t, then you are all ready to play. The game has a level-based scroller format, in which each level gets more and more difficult and longer. Each new level also has more presents and Christmas decor to steal than the one right before it. In Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas the Grinch must scurry down the chimney of an unsuspecting Who on Christmas Eve. In fact, every level begins the same way. All of the houses down in Whoville look so much like the ones in the movie that it seems like you are jumping right into the film rather than playing a video game. The scenery is filled with bright colours, funny shapes and familiar Who music, just to set the tone. The main goal of each level is to steal all presents and decorations, which is fairly easy to do. Once you find something you want to steal, you simply tap the A button. It gets a little more challenging when you want to steal the Christmas tree, garlands or anything else for that matter. But, you will want to steal everything, since doing so unlocks special features throughout the game. Don’t think that just stealing presents and decorations is all there is to Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas, because there is much more. There are plenty of ‘enemies’ attempting to thwart the Grinch’s plans, including four different types of Whos to watch out for, all trying to stop you from stealing everything, just to ruin their Christmas. These include Cindy Lou Who, sleeping Whos, elderly sleepwalking Whos and Sentry Whos, they like to stay up and watch for Santa. Although this is a fairly repetitive game, it certainly sets the mood for the holiday season and can be played by just about everyone, no matter what age, who loves the story behind the game. It is a game filled with fun adventure, fun Who music and great visual graphics.

Diner Dash is one of the most appealing action puzzle games out there and is actually an award winner. The game has a restaurant theme and was named one of the best and most loved online video games ever. When you play Diner Dash you take on the role of Flo and try to build a strong restaurant career. Flo used to be a corporate executive, but now she wants to run her own diner. It is she who serves the food, drinks and friendliness to all of her customers. She has to deal with the nicest and the meanest customers and you will too in Diner Dash. Remember to keep the tables clean, pass out menus and keep a smile on your face. You will need to seat, serve and take care of restaurant customers throughout each level of this game. Remember, just like working in a real restaurant, the better the service you provide, the bigger tips and the more money you will make. Making more money turns into more customers and a better diner. Diner Dash starts out very easy and you have lots of time for each restaurant customer. But, as you move to each higher level, a lot more hungry people will show up and the pace of the game can get quite dizzying. You will need to take care of many customers at a time and still give good service, if you are to advance to the next level. Next time you play a game of Diner Dash you may think twice before you take that restaurant job. Diner Dash is an action packed puzzle game that is totally addictive and adds a completely new taste to the puzzle game genre. In each level, you need to guide customers to their seats, serve good food and provide good service if you are to earn tips. The better service you give, the more money you make and the further you advance in the game. The game has are forty different levels and four different restaurant themes. The controls for Diner Dash are extremely easy to learn, so you can pay more attention to the tasks at hand. As you progress through the game, you will unlock new diner themes in either of the two modes, endless or career. As you get better at serving the restaurant rush, you will get bonus points for piling similar actions together, which is a very advanced move. You will also get points for treating different types of customers in certain ways. Diner Dash is one of the first downloadable games created and continues to be one of the most popular online. It is an ideal way to practice and hone your time management skills and there are five different customer types to deal with. You get to serve food and manage the diner, all with a cool visual backdrop and cute animations. In order to enjoy Diner Dash you must have a computer with an Intel Pentium III 600 MHz or higher processor and run on either Windows 98, 2000, ME or XP. This game is one of the easiest to learn and the most addictive to play.

The PC game, Solitaire Pop, is just another game to add to the long list of computer card games. Solitaire is one of the most frequently played games in the world, whether it is online, on the computer, on a video game console or the good old fashioned way, with real cards. However, Solitaire Pop is not your average run of the mill solitaire game, because the folks at Say Design have added a bunch of new twists and challenges to mix it up a bit. The main goal of the game is to make your way through five different archaeological dig sites, collecting ancient pieces as you go. Each piece that you retrieve from the sites at Delphi, Petra, Xi’an, Tikar and Birka, will eventually be put back together. Solitaire Pop comes from the same team that brought the world Poker Pop World Tour and is filled with so many challenges that you may not believe you are playing a game of solitaire. Throughout the game play you will see a grid displaying random cards from a regular deck of 52. In this game, the aces can be played either as low or high cards, it is up to you. You need to click on cards in numerical order in an effort to make a hand of two or more. The traditional game of solitaire has the ‘red card on black card’ formula, which is also present in Solitaire Pop. However, in this video game, you will get bonus points for staying with the traditional formula throughout the game play. Don’t worry, despite the traditional elements, there is plenty of new fun to be had. Of course, the game has the standard solitaire layout throughout, but it also has two game play modes. Even though the layout remains the same, the goals of each mode vary greatly. The two modes are expedition and challenge. In the first, you play through each of the dig sites, which have ten levels each and remove all 52 cards from the deck. You cannot move on to the next level until you do so. In challenge mode, you need to create a deck of 52 cards in the correct order, rather than remove them all. Don’t forget that Solitaire Pop is not without game hazards. There are smoking cards that can end your game in an instant if they reach the bottom of your playing field. There are also cards that will prevent the use of any other cards of the same rank. You also run into ice-covered cards and burning cards. Who would have thought that there was a risk fire when playing solitaire at home? Although you may want to skip them and head right for the game play, Solitaire Pop offers a little bit of history and information about each of the dig sites. As you uncover items, by winning hands, you will learn a little bit about each relic you uncover and what its importance is to the archaeological community.

Cookie Jar Entertainment’s, Magi-Nation: Battle for the Moonlands, is definitely one of those PC video games that breaks the mould compared with others of its genre. This game offers up quite a challenge as you play it, which is refreshing after seeing so many PC games meant for ‘babies’. Although it is rated E for everyone and targets youngsters from 8 to 14, it might be a little better for the older kids, who are up to the challenge of this awesome game. If you didn’t already figure it out, Magi-Nation: Battle for the Moonlands is named after and based on, the WB television show of the same name. This is actually a PC game that is played online and has a lot of role-playing in it. The game is played on Flash, so you might want to check with your parents to see if your computer can handle it. In Magi-Nation: Battle for the Moonlands you become a Magi hero who is very much like Tony Jones, the 15-year old star of the television show. The goal of the game, as you move through the Moonlands’ multiple realms, is to try and defeat as many different creatures from the Dream Plane as you can. All these creatures have different shapes, appearances and powers. At the start of Magi-Nation: Battle for the Moonlands you spend a significant amount of time creating your character’s details. You will be able to set your character’s skin tone, hair colour and hairstyle. You also get to choose your specialty and which of the four schools you will have an alliance with. At the very end of the character creation screen, you will be given your first Dream Creature. Later in the game this Dream Creature will be used as an ally in battle. At this time, you are also given your first spell or Aegis. You will be learning plenty of more spells as you progress in the game. As with most video games, Magi-Nation: Battle for the Moonlands offers a brief tutorial section. During this time, you will learn the basic controls of the game and all about your character. You also learn a little bit about the back-story of the game, which will help set the tone. Near the end of this section you will be assigned a mission, but you actually get to choose which one you would like to start with. The different missions can be played at anytime, but it is in your best interest to try some before others, just so that you can build your strength and magical powers. Overall, Magi-Nation: Battle for the Moonlands is a great game, especially for one that is based on a cartoon television show. Usually, video games based on movies or television shows leave a lot to be desired. This game will appeal to young kids, older kids and even the parents. Even though it is a little repetitive, it provides plenty of challenges and lots of fun.

Anyone who has never heard of Donkey Kong must have been living under a rock for the last couple of decades. Even us young people know who Donkey Kong is. Since it was originally released all those years ago, when our parents were kids, Donkey Kong has been made into what seems like a million different games. Donkey Kong Barrel Blast is one of the latest versions. It is always interesting to know that a video game may be called one thing in the United States and something else in the United Kingdom and then something altogether different in Asia or Europe. Donkey Kong Barrel Blast is a game that has had many different names, all over the world. It was known as DK: Bongo Blast, Donkey Jet, and even Donkey Kong Jet Race. Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, believe it or not, is actually a racing game that features our good old pal, Donkey Kong. It is a game meant for Nintendo’s Wii video game console, but also had versions made for Nintendo GameCube, when it existed. Using Nintendo Wii, it is very easy to control Donkey Kong Barrel Blast with the Wii remote and the Wii nunchucks. Since DK Bongos play such a large role in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, players simply shake the Wii nunchucks to hit the drums. Jumping is also pretty easy, all you need to do is raise and lift the nunchuck and remote and your character will lift off. When you want to hit objects and punch opponents, you simply carry out the action, making sure that the Wii controller stays safely in your hand. In the game, you need to collect a variety of items, which will affect your ability to win. Some items will help you attack enemies, while others will simply speed up your character. The main two types of items are the power-ups and the offensive items. You can tell power-ups, because they look like friendly red balloons, while offensive items are blue balloons. Red balloons help Donkey Kong while the blue ones help the Kremlings. Balloons are not the only special items you will need to look out for. Other power-ups that will help Donkey Kong out include Sqwawks the Parrot, Qwawks the Parrot, Banana Fairies; which are our favourite, Blazing Banana, Tasty Watermelon and Crystal Coconut. The offensive items, aside from the blue balloons, include Backward Barrel, Banana Bunch, Pineapple Launcher, Mega TNT Barrel, Neckys, Whirlwind, Wild Elixir, and Zingers. Donkey Kong Barrel Blast has sixteen challenging stages and seven exciting worlds. There are several different themes throughout the game, which we love for the variety they offer. There are three jungle levels, three volcano levels, three beach levels, two snow levels, two temple levels, two desert levels and one outer space level. While Donkey Kong Barrel Blast will not necessarily appeal to older and more advanced gamers, it will be perfect for playing with your little brother or sister.

Disney Friends is a Nintendo DS game, which is produced by Disney Interactive Studios and Amaze. This is a fun game that is rated E for everyone and brings some very familiar faces to your Nintendo DS touch screen. The game will appeal to anyone who truly loves all things Disney and that includes video games. Disney Friends allows you to interact directly with some of your favourite Disney characters, from some of your favourite Disney movies. In the game, you play the role of an aspiring guardian. Your main task is to take care of the different Disney characters that you have grown up with all your life. Tinkerbell, the little fairy from Peter Pan, is your guide and she will lead you through training at the beginning of the game. In your first training session Tinkerbell and the cute little green globby aliens from Toy Story, will explain your main goals and missions to you. It is here that you will learn how to pet, feed and play with all of your new friends. Your first assignment is to take care of Stitch, everyone’s favourite outcast alien. Although the game play seems pretty much simple and straightforward, it can get a little complicated at times, so it is important that you pay attention. In your role as a character guardian there is a lot more to be aware of than meets the eye. Of course you need to provide the right kind of food and shelter for your Disney friend, but you must also make your pal happy and satisfied. Remember that every one of your Disney friends has different requirements. To control your actions you need to use both the touch screen and the ABXY buttons. You will also need to use the menu on a regular basis, to get to all the items in your backpack, including different games and special activities that will be required throughout the game. As you take care of Stitch and later, other Disney friends, you will unlock different places to explore within the game. Remember, you are rewarded for taking extra special care of your Disney friend. Disney Friends has a real-time day and night cycle, which means that each new day in your real world will also be a brand new day in the game. This makes Disney Friends a truly interactive and challenging video game that you won’t want to put down, because there will be something different every new day. Stitch may be the first Disney friend you need to take good care of, but there will be more. The better you care for him, the sooner you have access to other famous Disney characters, including Winnie the Pooh, Simba and even Dori. Overall, Disney Friends is one of the cutest Nintendo DS video games out there. The graphics are pretty impressive and they have to be, with such famous friends taking part. It is one of those games that you may not want to admit you would like, but secretly love.

If you really like Diner Dash you will probably also like Dairy Dash. This PC game by Merscom is rated E for everyone and can provide hours of fun, even if you weren’t expecting it. The main story behind the game is that there is an urban family that must learn all about how to run a dairy farm. The family has to learn all the ins and outs of Uncle Bill’s farm. The game itself starts out very simple, but if you think that Dairy Dash will stay like that for very long, you couldn’t be more wrong. At first you just have to feed and water the chickens, cows, goats and other animals, while reaping the benefits of their care. That means you get plenty of eggs and milk to sell to the local restaurants. This is where Diner Dash comes into play, since Flo owns the restaurant that buys your eggs and milk. The majority of the game play is based on your ability to successfully point and click. Once you have mastered that, you will point and click some more. All this time, while you are pointing and clicking, your Dairy Dash character will be running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Nothing could be funnier or more entertaining. Just like in Diner Dash, you will have customers, but this time they are not grumpy restaurant patrons. Your customers in Dairy Dash are your plants and animals on the farm and its your job to watch their heart meters, which will be on the screen at all times. If the heart meter of any animal goes too low, you will hear its cries for help, like a lot of mooing or clucking. If you are easily impressed with computer graphics, feel free to get excited. The graphics are cute, with a few glitches, but they are easily overcome. Overall, the game looks cute and is a lot of fun to watch. The sound is also great and the background music throughout the game is pretty much an orchestra with a little banjo thrown in to remind you that, yes, you are on a farm. Despite there being more than fifty levels to Dairy Dash the game never really gets that hard. While it is thoroughly enjoyable to watch, listen to and play, it is not that challenging, especially for a seasoned gaming pro. However, there are a couple of mini-games that let you escape the fun of farming for just a little while. You can’t lose any of the mini-games, but they are a lot of fun. Overall, although the game is not as challenging as it could be, there are small increases in difficulty as you progress from level to level. It is fun to watch your character run around, handle a farm, listen to the music and enjoy the cute graphics. While Dairy Dash may not be the best game ever, it certainly is not the worst. Check it out and see for yourself.

If you are a fan of trivia games, like Trivial Pursuit: Silver Screen edition or quiz show game, then Buzz: Hollywood Quiz could be the game for you. It is a Sony PlayStation 2 video game that comes with four special controllers, which also work on the PlayStation 3, for the price of about £20. Don’t let the price or the controllers put you off, the game isn’t half bad. Buzz: Hollywood Quiz is designed to fit in well with any of the trivia games out there. The scenario of this game is that you are on a game show, not playing a boring old board game at home with your parents. When you play a trivia game that is designed to feel like you are on a TV show it makes for much more entertainment, fun and excitement. When starting the game, you can choose your own special animated avatar. There are several to choose from and some will be quite familiar to anyone who loves the movies and if you don’t love the movies, you probably shouldn’t be playing a Hollywood-based trivia game in the first place. You can also name your avatar and customise its colour scheme. There are a couple of different modes for Buzz: Hollywood Quiz, single player and multiplayer. When you play in the single player mode, you answer a ton of movie-based questions, many of which are accompanied by video clips, audio questions and photo stills. When you answer these questions correctly, you earn more time in the hot seat in the second round. However, you don’t really earn any points until you get past the first round. In the second round you can make bets and gamble a little to earn even more. When you choose the multiplayer mode, there are actually a few different options. This is great for when you have friends over or your parents actually want to play a video game with you. You have a choice of modes, team, free for all or you may customise your own trivia game show. Buzz: Hollywood Quiz supports up to eight players per game. Just remember, when you play with eight people at home, it can get a little confusing. Why not try sticking to just a couple at home and eight when you play online? There are more than 5,000 different questions in Buzz: Hollywood Quiz, which makes for great game play and if you use a memory card, you can eliminate the risk of repeated questions for a while. This game provides entertainment for younger players, as well as those even older than your parents. Buzz: Hollywood Quiz is bright, colourful and lots of fun and its pleasing pastel palette is a soothing yet stimulating backdrop to the trivia game. The overall design of the game isn’t going to break any video game barriers, but it is excellent for what it is, a simple and straightforward trivia game.

BestGameEver’s PC game, AudioSurf, has a tag line of ‘Ride Your Music’ and the game definitely lives up to that. Any gamer who loves the rhythm video game genre is likely to love AudioSurf. The game is fun, challenging, refined and flexible. Unlike similar games, AudioSurf does not require players to purchase additional songs to add to the library. With AudioSurf you are able to add and play any song that you already have in a digital format. You may have some slight problems with certain songs that are copyrighted heavily, but with most you won’t. Before a song is played, the AudioSurf software will analyse the music. If you have already played a song, the analysis will be quick, but if it is new to the system, it may take a few minutes, but be patient, it is well worth the wait. You will be able to choose from a variety of avatars that all have different power-ups and abilities throughout the game play. As you play AudioSurf you guide your avatar across several rails and pick up coloured blocks. These blocks represent beats to the song, so the faster the song, the faster the blocks will come down. You need to collect all the blocks to complete a certain shape in order to progress through the levels. Just remember to pick up only coloured blocks. The grey ones should be avoided at all costs, as they deduct points. It sounds more complicated than it actually is, so just go ahead, try it out and get ready for a challenge. As you progress through the game you will either earn a bronze, silver or gold rating, depending on how many blocks you pick up and how many shapes you are able to build. The songs you choose will also affect the rating that you get, but remember, the bigger your combo and the more points you end up scoring, the better you will do. AudioSurf allows you to save your score, so you can compete against your friends and set goals. Just remember that the game will only save your highest score on any given song. You can play this game online and compete with your friends down the street or in another country, which adds to the excitement. It is also a great way to hear new songs and be exposed to a whole new musical experience. The graphics and animation of AudioSurf are both amazing. The game allows for a free play mode, where you can just sit back and watch the animation as you listen to your favourite songs. However, the great graphics definitely add to the excitement of the game play. AudioSurf is a game that was designed by a single programmer and some of his friends. Perhaps because the design job of this game took so long or was so close to their hearts, AudioSurf is a brilliantly produced piece of work. Even if you are not totally into the music video game genre, you should definitely give AudioSurf a try.

If you have not already gone out and seen the new movie ‘Wall-E’ you had better make it your priority to do so. The movie tells the story of a fun-loving little robot and his adventures far in the future. The same goes for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game, Wall-E, which is produced by THQ. The game is rated E10 for everyone 10years of age and over and is really one of the cutest games ever seen. Don’t worry; it is not one of those movie-based video games that turn out to be a big let down. While you will probably know a lot about Wall-E by seeing the movie, the same cannot be said when you begin the game. If you have seen the movie, great, but if you haven’t, you will only find out a little bit about Wall-E and his situation. Don’t let that put you off buying the game though, it won’t spoil your enjoyment at all. Wall-E is one of the best and most fun video games based on a feature film. Pixar/Disney released the film this past summer, 2008, and it has met with as much critical acclaim as people who have seen it love it. By the way, if you are wondering, Wall-E stands for “Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class” and is the little robot’s name. Throughout the movie and the game, Wall-E seeks to end his loneliness. It is important to know, from the movie, that Wall-E is the very last robot of his kind and he was around when people lived on Earth. The movie then turns into a cute little love story between Wall-E and Eve, (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) and an adventure, as the two of them deal with more technologically advanced robots that don’t want Wall-E around. Wall-E, the game, is quite exciting, despite it being based on a movie. It has 27 levels that have all the basic elements of a typical platform game. That means that each level has things like crate bashing, item collecting and battling. You can be completely sure that the game never really does get boring. What is really cool about Wall-E is that the camera angles change as you move through the game and this really gives you the feeling of living in Wall-E’s world. You will sometimes see an over-the-shoulder camera angle or even a bird’s eye view, in some cases. These various camera angles are accompanied by different scenes, which have been cut directly from the movie. Advancing from level to level is totally a blast. Seeing Wall-E on your television screen may make you think you are really watching an animated film, the graphics are so good, but of course, what else would you expect when the game is a product of Pixar? Although there is very little dialogue you can figure out what is happening just by looking at the expression on Wall-E’s face. All the different robots, Wall-E included, are so completely cute; you just want to take them home.