In this week’s Power Up gaming blog, Glen Ferris attempts to keep boredom at the Christmas family get-together at bay by listing the best Christmas games of 2011…
The (Extra) Life Of The Party…
The holidays are just around the corner and, for most of us, that means having to do ‘fun’ stuff in the name of family bonding. To many, Christmas Day ‘entertainment’ usually involves blowing the dust of that 20-year-old box of Trivial Pursuit or performing lacklustre charades.
Luckily, technology is here to save the day with some really-and-truly enjoyable party starters. Assuming that Saints Row is not going to suit everyone, which ones should you put in the disc tray? Well, you could do worse than getting into these Christmas crackers...
Mario Sports Mix
What better way to work off the turkey than with a vigorous round of volleyball? Nintendo’s stereotypical Italian plumber mascot is here to help shed those extra pounds before they’ve had a chance to take hold with this wacky workout. Light on realism but heavy on approachable fun, this is a safe bet to get everybody on their feet.
Kinect Sports Season 2
If Mario’s not your bag and you can get your hands on Xbox 360’s Kinect, then this flawed but fun game may well be right up your virtual alley. Multiple players can get their hands on baseball (great), golf (very good), American football (decent), tennis (not bad), skiing (fair) and darts (pretty ropey). How much fun you’ll have depends on what you go for, but stick to games involving bats, clubs and funny shaped balls and you’ll be onto a winner. More on Kinect Sports Season 2 here
Rayman Origins
Up to four players can co-op on a single screen in this colourful, compelling and crazy side-scrolling platformer. Featuring more Gallic charm than an army of Serge Gainsbourg clones, this fantastical effort is great with just one player but even better with four. Take advantage of the various characters’ multitude of skills and you’ve got a party game that just keeps on giving. More on Rayman Origins here.
The Gunstringer
Twisted Pixel’s Kinect-exclusive wacky western may only accommodate up to two players, but it’s such a fun game to watch as well as play that it earns a place in this list. Use your left hand to control your Marionette With No Name and you right hand to line up your aim and take your shot and then saddle up with a pardner to roam this cartoony land in search of the gang what done you wrong. It’s rootin’, it’s tootin’, it’s mental and it’s great. What’s more, it comes packaged with the ace Fruit Ninja too! More on The Gunstringer here.
Dance Central 2
If your dancefloor moves resemble a sloth in a tree eating a handful of leaves, then you may want to give this title a swerve. If, however, you think you’ve got a few moves and aren’t embarrassed by sweating profusely in public then Dance Central 2 is perfect for partying. From the studio that gave us the original Guitar Hero and Rock Band, the game features a two-player, single-screen multiplayer mode so you can dance cooperatively or in a head-to-head battle. What’s more, if you’re feeling a bit rusty, then a cool teaching mode which breaks down the individual moves is on hand to get you into the groove.
Cars 2: The Videogame
Most movie franchise tie-in games are so appalling they don’t bear thinking about. Cars 2: The Videogame, however, is one of those rarest of creatures, a cash-in that’s actually really good – and the multiplayer is great fun too. Up to four players can partake in the Mario Kart-aping split-screen action as they career around some beautifully animated environs firing off a host of inventive offensive and defensive weaponry. Get your hands on a copy of this and a 3D TV and you’ll need nothing else all Christmas long, except maybe drinks and nibbles. More on Cars 2: The Video Game here.
Byte-Sized Bits…
- With more than 600 million games played and 4.5 billion crashes recorded, online game Uphill Rush is becoming a bona fide phenomenon. Grab a rubber ring, give yourself a speed boost and try to pull off some mid-air moves - or, if you’re like us… crash, crash and crash again. Give it a shot here, if you’re in the mood for some quality pre-Christmas time wasting.
- After an all-too-long wait, the much-loved mobile game Stick Cricket has arrived on Android. Non iPhone owners can now get involved in the likes of World Domination and All Star Slog when they download the game from the Android market - now there’s no excuse for not being able to master spinner smashing.
- If an iPad wasn’t at the top of your Christmas list already, it will be now as Disney Publishing Worldwide releases its newest interactive storybook app, The Amazing Spider-Man: An Origin Story. It’s supposed to be aimed at younger readers but the narration by Stan ‘The Man’ Lee makes it an essential purchase for wallcrawler fans of any age. It’s available to download for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch from the App Store now.
Comments
Add a comment