Hey folks, here’s another blog with links to game reviews I’ve written recently.  Please click on as many as you can and maybe even leave a comment or two.  I’d really appreciate it.  At this time of year it’s also a tradition of mine on this blog to do my Pretend Present Christmas Party.  Those who remember this from 1up know how this works, but if you don’t, I’ll explain it anyway.  In the comments section, leave a message with a pretend present for me, something that you think I would like.  It can be anything you want.  It’s the thought that counts—literally!  Best part is, it won’t cost you anything!  Then, when I reply to your comment, I’ll post a pretend present for YOU!  It’s a silly game, but it’s fun when it’s fun.  Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!  And now on to the reviews!

National StreetPass Weekend 2013

But first, an announcement about the next StreetPass Meetup I help run. OK, NOW onto the reviews!

DuckTales: Remastered (PS3)

Back when this first came out, I requested a review code for this game when it was a download only title.  But I never got one.  However, I liked the game so much that I reviewed it anyway!  Recently, Capcom made physical disc copies of DuckTales Remastered, and they sent me a review copy of that!  So I re-posted my review again, announcing that you can now buy it as a disc in stores.  If it weren’t for Animal Crossing: New Leaf, DuckTales Remastered might’ve ended up being my Game of the Year!

Toki Tori (Wii U)

Last spring I reviewed Toki Tori 2.  It was a fantastic puzzle game and a sequel to a Game Boy Color title released about ten years prior.  Since then they’ve updated the original’s graphics and released it on platforms like Steam and Wii.  And now you can download it on Wii U.  It’s a pretty traditional Lolo-like platform puzzler, but still fun if you like those kinds of games.  And the price is right, too, at only two bucks.  Plus, Toki Tori is just an adorable little bird.

Edge (Wii U)

This was also made by the same folks who did Toki Tori, and it plays like a more angular Marble Madness, as you guide a cube past mazes without falling off.  You can climb up one cube higher than you, but as you ‘roll’ up, you can ‘hang’ onto the edge of the corner to do things you wouldn’t think you could do normally.  Easier said than done, though.  Like Toki Tori, this one’s only two bucks as well.

Super Mario Spaghetti-O’s!

I saw these at the grocery store and decided to pick them up and write a little bit on them.  I like it when companies make video game based food products.  I’m weird that way I guess.  Aside from this, I don’t remember too many video game characters that got to be pasta.  I know we had Sonic Spaghetti-O’s, and when I was a kid I ate tons of Pac-Man Pasta.  But other than that, I don’t know.  What video game characters would YOU like to see in pasta form?  How about Zelda, Pokemon, Mega Man, or Kirby pasta?  Let me know what you think.

Dead Rising 3 Strategy Guide (Book)

I may not have an Xbox One, but that still won’t stop me from reviewing strategy guides!  My brother Jeff loves the Dead Rising games.  And even though I’m not a big zombie game fan, I actually like to watch him play those games, too.  They’re really more silly than scary anyway.  I imagine if or when I ever get an Xbox One, Jeff will probably want to get Dead Rising 3 for it.  Hopefully by then it’ll be pretty cheap.

Zumba Kids (Wii)

I’ve given past Zumba fitness dance games fairly favorable reviews, mainly because you don’t have to know how to dance well to play them.  But I just wasn’t as impressed with this ‘kids’ version.  Motion controls weren’t as responsive, it had less features than the others, and I didn’t like the music selection.  Maybe I didn’t like it as much because I’m not a kid.  Who knows?  If I were a kid, I think I’d just rather play the grown up Zumba games.

Doodle Jump Adventures (3DS)

Most people with tablets are probably familiar with Doodle Jump, as it is a fairly prolific game on those platforms like Angry Birds and Candy Crush.  You tilt the device to guide a jumping critter higher and higher without falling off.  The 3DS version’s motion controls work surprisingly well.  The game gets pretty hard, though.  Personally, I prefer a Doodle Jump rip-off on my iPad called Pac N Jump.  It stars a jumping Pac-Man and the backgrounds, obstacles, and music are from classic Namco arcade games like Pac-Man, Galaga, Dig Dug, etc.

Girls’ Fashion Shoot (3DS)

Last are a couple of games geared toward girls.  In this one you get to dress up your character and get her picture taken for a magazine that you design the layout for.  Even though I’ve never played it, I imagine it’s a rip-off of Nintendo’s own published fashion game: Style Savvy.  Funny story about that game: when Animal Crossing: New Leaf was about to come out, Nintendo did a promotion for it with downloadable content for Style Savvy called the Gracie Collection.  With it, you got clothes with a giraffe pattern as well as ones with Animal Crossing’s Gracie the Giraffe’s dotted pattern.  It almost made me want to play Style Savvy for that!  But not really!  When I told that to one of my brothers who likes Animal Crossing, he said the same thing; that he wanted to play Style Savvy, too.  Then we both laughed because we knew neither one of us would play that!

Barbie Dreamhouse Party (Wii)

Last is this multiplayer Mario Party style game with Barbie characters and themes.  Ladies, I have to apologize for your childhoods.  Boys’ toys are way cooler than girls’ toys.  With that said, though, most of this Barbie game is actually fairly playable.  But probably only enjoyed by young Barbie fans.  I’ll tell you why I play and review these kinds of games.  When I was little I played and completed a game on my Apple ][+ called Mickey’s Space Adventure.  It was kind of a mix of a text adventure and point and click game.  When I beat it as a kid, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment.  Granted, I only beat a kids’ game, but I was a kid, too!  I never forget how I felt when I beat that game, and ever since then, I’ve had a strong interest in games geared toward kids.  That’s why I like writing for GamerDad and reviewing kids’ games.  I want to bring attention to these kinds of games that most other game sites won’t even touch.  You don’t see places like IGN, or even PixlBit, review these games.  So that’s why I do it.

Conclusions

And that’s all for now! Thanks for reading my reviews and posting comments.  And don’t forget about my Pretend Christmas Present Party!  Next time on my blog, we’ll look at my favorite games on the Xbox 360!  Later!  --Cary