Donkey Konga
System: Gamecube
Type: rythym
Howsitwork? - You use a special bongo controller
to play in time to the music. There are several levels of play
to keep it interesting for those who get really good at it. It's
a great party game that even younger people can play. You can set
it up to play competitively or just for fun. If you want the harder
modes unlocked, then this is a game where you will need to have
all the extras unlocked. |
MarioKart Double Dash
System: Gamecube
Type: Racing
Howsitwork? - MarioKart is a fairly simple
racing game. The characters are cute and the courses are nice
and bright. This game has two distinct features that make it
a really fun racing game. First, you can pick up items that
will help you win. It could be a boost mushroom that makes
you go faster, or a turtle shell that knocks other players
around. These items make it so that even the last place racer
can still be a part of the race. The other feature that
separates
this game from
other racers, is the ability to have two players cooperating
together in one car. One player is the driver, while the other
player controls the items you pick up. It's a very enjoyable
game that is truly fun for all ages. If you are running a tournament,
there is a Grand Prix type mode that will work. Otherwise,
if you are running a free play day, there is a mode to race
just one race at a time. This is a game where you will want
to have all the extras unlocked.
|
Metal Arms
System: All
Type: First Person Shooter (FPS)
Howsitwork? - You are a robot running around trying
to kill the other robots. Lots of interesting vehicles and weapons
to use. This game is good
for those who don't like realistic violence but would like to include
a FPS in your game day. This is a game where you will want
to have all the extras unlocked. |
Super Mario Smash Bros.
System: Gamecube
Type: fighting
Howsitwork? - Super Mario Smash is fairly straight
forward. 4 players are on a single screen, and they need to use
whatever it takes to knock the other players off the edge of whatever
platform they are on. It's King of the Hill with Nintendo characters.
It's a very popular game that our teens love. There is a tournament
mode, and a single fight mode. You will want to experiment with
what works best for your library's situation, but the settings
we use for free play is life based turns. Each player gets 3 lives.
It seems to work just as well as time based for us. This game may
frustrate players under 6 who aren't used to button combos. This
is a game where you will want to have all the extras unlocked.
|
StarFox Assault
System: Gamecube
Type: First Person Shooter (FPS)
Howsitwork? - You start this game out flying in
a fighter jet-like flying vehicle. You can also land and take on
your foes on foot with a variety of laser guns. This game is good
for those who don't like realistic violence but would like to include
a FPS in your game day. Players play as one of the StarFox team
members, including a frog, a fox, a rabbit and even a robot. Flying
is always tricky for younger players, so this one is recommended
for teens and up. |
Super Monkey Ball
System: All
Type: party game - includes racing fighting
and challenge levels of varying sorts.
Howsitwork? - Monkey Ball is a party game,
meaning it is a lot of little games in one package. You play
a monkey in a plastic ball, similar to a hamster ball, and
you roll your monkey around to do certain things. The games
included depend on the version of Monkey ball you are playing.
This one includes a racing game, a fighting game, a bowling
game, a billiards game, a golf game and some challenge
games. The racing and fighting games are pretty short an
can be run fairly well in a game day setting. The other games
can take a long time for each set of players to complete.
This game is requested often by our teens and is simple enough
to be played by most ages.
|
WarioWare: Smooth Moves
System: Wii
Type: party game - lots of wacky mini games
Howsitwork? - WarioWare has a proven formula - give the player 10 seconds or less to figure out how to complete a weird mini game. It may be swatting a fly, or racing a car. It may be balancing on a board or playing an old school Nintendo game. This game does a good job explaining how to hold the Wiimote to play each game. This game has a one player game that you must play to get to the four player version. We brought the Wii to non gaming events where multiple activities were going on and had the teens open up the four player version for us. A lot of fun and requested by our players. Only requires the Wiimotes, no nunchucks required. |
Mario Party 8
System: Wii
Type: party game - all kinds of mini games that take a short time to play.
Howsitwork? - Players choose a character for themselves and move around on a board game like screen. They collect coins and stars. The player who has the most stars at the end of the game wins. The end of the game is determined by a preset number of turns. There is also a mode just to play the mini games, but you have to play the regular mode to open up mini games, and it can take a while to do this. The difficulty with this type of game at a game day is determining the length of a turn. Do they get one mini game, or one turn? If the mini game a player gets ( they are assigned randomly) is really short, do they get to play again? I was also surprised at how difficult certain aged players found it to play this game. Though each game shows you how to use the Wiimote during play, some games stymied our under 10 set. Recommended for a smaller setting, perhaps a lock-in or some other event where attendance may be smaller and you have a variety of activities. Only requires the Wiimotes, no nunchucks required. |
Naruto Clash of Ninja
System: Gamecube
Type: fighting game.
Howsitwork? - Similar to Super Smash Bros. only Naruto themed. This is very popular at our events. Each player chooses a character from the Naruto series and they fight until one is left standing. Right now there are only 2 versions in the U.S. Our players prefer the Japanese import, Naruto Clash of Ninja 4. If you buy the import you will also need to buy the Freeloader disc that lets you play it on your U.S. Gamecube. All the screens will be in Japanese, but that doesn't seem to bother our players. A memory card is suggested, as characters can be unlocked. You may find it harder to find someone who has a save game of the import title. |
