Club Penguin Rocks…literally

So, have your spawn been keeping cool at Club Penguin this Summer? (If you don’t know what Club Penguin is – think ‘Second Life’ for kids.)

Incidentally, Knucklehead spent some significant time playing there last night, and I happened to notice a couple of things that I thought I should mention here.

Using your musical instrument:

Are you wondering how your penguin can play a musical instrument? If so, try purchasing a backstage pass. (With your arcade winnings, of course). The backstage passes can be found in the lighthouse section of Club Penguin, at the t-shirt booth.  Once you equip the backstage pass, head over to the ice castle section and there will be a rock-n’-roll stage with the backstage door on the right.

Once your backstage, go to the box of instruments on your left and buy your instrument. If you want to play it, you’ll need to remove everything your penguin is wearing and equip only the instrument.

Afterwards, select the option that you would normally use to ‘dance’ and your penguin will start playing the instrument. If you have drum sticks, find a drum set around the various sections of Club Penguin, get behind it, and then select your ‘dance’ option. Your penguin should start banging away in no-time.

(Please, don’t ask how long it took us to figure that out. lol!)

If you’re looking for a free instrument; head over to the sandy beach and you’ll find a box of free maracas. And if you look hard enough near the main Club Penguin strip, you’ll find a booth giving out free rock t-shirts for your penguin as well.

Free Chat Option

Secondly, the super-regulated chat feature of Club Penguin got old really quick with Knucklehead, so with my parental blessing, I unlocked the option that allowed him to chat a little more freely.

That being said, it took all of 5 minutes for me to report someone. This person was basically a penguin terrorist; mouthing off and making the other kids miserable. I watched the shenanigans go on for a while, but finally wrangled the mouse away from my son long enough to report the menace.

Interestingly, within a minute of the complaint being filed, the bully penguin disappeared. I don’t know if he went away, or if he was pulled out of cyberspace by the moderators, but either way – he was, thankfully, nowhere to be found.

Incidentally, I spent the rest of my son’s session moderating the conversations, and I have to say I was very impressed with what I saw. There was only one other penguin that acted a fool, but overall, the rest of the penguin population played and chatted very nicely.

Overall, it was a nice experiment, and I think as long as a parent is lightly moderating the conversations, the open chat is fine. The Club Penguin moderators seem to be doing a very good job of weeding out the bad apples and allowing the rest of the bunch to have a fun time.

Parent Tip: If you want an easy way to moderate the dialogue in Club Penguin, click the blue arrow in the top, middle area of your screen. It will show you exactly who is saying what, and will keep you from having to look at all the speech bubbles in the room.

Until next time, happy gaming!

- Mommy DX

RooGoo

Don’t let the rainbows and brightly-colored shapes fool you; this game is not just for kids. Sure, RooGoo may look like a title fit for pre-schoolers, but after playing a few rounds of this 3-D puzzle game, you AND the rest of your family will be hooked.

The RooGoo are cuddly, little creatures who need help stopping the evil, purple MeeMoos from taking over the world. To do this, players must guide colorful shapes through matching holes until they stack and fall through the lowest disc.

Sounds easy, right?

Well, try adding a time limit, spinning discs, and holes that close intermittently, and players have themselves quite a challenging game. Throw thieving butterflies and bats who steal your shapes, on top of pesky MeeMoos who won’t leave until their given a ‘headache,’ and you’ll be wondering why you thought this was just a kids game in the first place.  

Overall, RooGoo, which is ESRB rated ’E’ for ’Everyone,’ is a surprisingly fun and challenging game fit for the whole family. It is available for 800msp at the Xbox Live Marketplace, and with 45 levels of 3-D puzzle action, and lots of fun achievements, gamers will definitely get their money’s worth with this little gem.

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Kung Fu Panda

Xbox 360’s game of the month is Activision’s, ‘Kung Fu Panda.’ Kung Fu Panda is rated E 10+, for everyone 10 and under, and a demo is now available in the Xbox Live Marketplace for free.

In the demo, gamers can play as ’Po’ the cuddly Kung Fu Panda, and can explore colorful locations throughout the East. There are chances to battle enemies, collect coins, eat dumplings, and build up chi. After gamers collect enough coins, there is opportunity to dress up characters, earn new moves, and even upgrade weapons.

In the full-length game, players can play as Po, Shifu, or the Furious Five, and can play locally, or with friends on Xbox Live. The Multiplayer action allows gamers to battle one-on-one, against a large group of fighters, and even play a multiplayer puzzle game.

Kung Fu Panda is available on Xbox 360, Playstation, Wii, Nintendo DS, and the PC. And if gamers want to get a little more Kung Fu Panda action, head on over to kungfupandagame.com to play Kung Fu Fireworks Toss, build up skill in the Training Hall, download videos, grab icons, wallpapers, and more!

- Mommy DX

Club Penguin

Summer is here, and if parents are looking for a chilly place for their children to play this summer, then hop on over to Disney’s coolest MMO, ‘Club Penguin.’

Club Penguin is an icey virtual world which includes a whole host of fun activities for kids. Children choose and name their very own penguin, and can join the hundreds of other kids online to play games, earn coins, adopt pets, chat, shop, dance, and even customize their own igloo. 

Everyone can play the limited membership for free, which includes a multitude of games as well as the ability to chat and play with others. There is limited access to servers with free membership, so depending on the time of day, there may be some rooms that are full. However, there are three levels of paid membership that allows for full customization of characters and igloos, as well as greater access to servers.

As with all online Disney applications, Club Penguin is a safe place for kids to play. The site is live moderated, and parents choose the chatting restrictions on each account. 

Overall, Club Penguin is a ton of fun, and is a great way for children to familiarize themselves with online play. And with everything there is to do on this site, kids will be largely entertained this Summer for a very small price.

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Run, Indy, Run!

I love viral advertising ALMOST as much as I love YouTube. Can you guess the video game these guys are promoting?

Indiana Jones – The Original Adventures

June 3rd! June 3rd! June 3rd!

That is the release date for THE family game of the year – ‘Indiana Jones – The Original Adventures.’ LucasArts and LEGO, the duo that brought you both ‘LEGO Star Wars’ and ‘LEGO Star Wars II,’ team up once again to bring the building block version of the Indiana Jones movies to your console.

According to LucasArts.com, ‘Indiana Jones – The Original Adventures’ will include all the features gamers love about LEGO Star Wars, such as mix-and-match characters, LEGO building ability, an authentic soundtrack, and extensive humor that makes players Laugh Out Loud. And as with previous LEGO titles, the game can be played cooperatively, which means the gameplay is even better when shared between friends.

Incidentally, ‘Indiana Jones – The Original Adventures,’ is rated E 10+, and will be available June 3rd on the Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PS2, PS3, PSP, and the PC. For those who like to try games before they buy; there is a downloadable demo available at gamesforwindows.com, or if gamers want to get their hands on some virtual LEGO Indiana Jones goodies, head over to LucasArts.com to hunt for treasure that unlocks Treasure Points. There, points can be traded for Indy-themed wallpaper, avatars, stickers and more.

Happy hunting!

- Mommy DX

Wii Fit!

People are always looking for new ways to incorporate fitness and fun, and Nintendo’s Wii Fit  is one of the most anticipated family games of the year. Luckily for the U.S., Nintendo had its big Wii-Fit launch in New York City’s Central Park yesterday, and people from all over got the chance to workout their bodies Wii-style.

Incidentally, this revolutionary exercise game can be purchased in the United States for about $90.00, and includes a battery-operated balance board that detects body movement and weight. Players create personal profiles that include information such as height, age, and body mass index, and can practice their skills in strength training, Aerobics, Yoga, as well as other various balance exercises.

Consequently, the game that promises to get kids off the couch is already a huge hit with parents, and is sure to be THE family game of the Summer.  However, with spotty shipping and sell-out predictions on the horizon, finding the game on a retailer’s shelf may become the first challenge Wii gamers take this week.  

For more information about Wii Fit, please visit Nintendo’s official Wii Fit website.

- Mommy DX

SEGA Superstars Tennis

 

 

The Xbox 360 family game of the month is SEGA Superstars Tennis. This title is rated E 10+, for ages 10 and up, and according to Xbox.com, includes several mini-games that can be played on ten-brilliantly themed tennis courts.

 

Additionally, Sega Superstars Tennis also features four tournaments that can be played by up to four people simultaneously either locally or on Xbox Live. Sonic, Shadow and Tails from the Sonic the Hedgehog series, AiAi from Super Monkey Ball, and Alex Kidd – SEGA’s unofficial mascot of the late 1980’s, are just a few of the familiar characters from which children can choose, and there are a total of 16 playable characters in each game.

 

Parents can download a demo of Sega Superstars Tennis from the Xbox Live Marketplace, or view a trailer for the game here. However, this game is not limited to just the 360; it can also be played on the Wii, Nintendo DS, Playstation 2 and Playstation 3.

 

- Mommy DX

Speed Racer

By: Mommy DX

The movie Speed Racer is coming out in theatres this weekend and CandyTracks.com has created five, new Speed Racer games just for kids.  Children can immediately play in demo mode, where they can choose a car and speed down their choice of five different tracks. Alternatively, if parents set up an account, children can compete for prizes that include a Speed Racer game for the Wii, or a trip for four to the Bank of America 500 race in Charlotte, NC.

 

 

 

Spring Break Savers, Part III

 

By: Mommy DX

Choosing video games that are age-appropriate for children is not always easy. If your child is an avid gamer, you may have your game-choosing criteria all figured out, but what do you do if you have to make game choices for other people’s children?

Usually, Spring Break means a house full of friends and classmates, both ranging in age and maturity. And if you have forgotten to ask the parents what games are acceptable for their kids to play, then you are often left to make the choice alone.

Of course, the no-brainer is to stick with titles that are ESRB rated ‘E’ for Everyone. However, the majority of these games are single-players, which means children will have to share a console, and that almost always ends up something breaking, or someone getting hurt.

Incidentally, a great way to avoid the next Wrestlemania being held in your living room, is to let the children play in the Xbox Live Arcade. (XBLA) There are so many great, multiplayer games to choose from, that are not only fun, but challenging and youth-friendly. Most games will cost a few Microsoft Points, or about $5.00, (Microsoft Point Converter), which can be purchased right from the Xbox 360 console, or with a pre-paid card from the local game store. Some of the titles that are sure to be kid-favorites are Bomberman Live, Feeding Frenzy, Boogie Bunnies, and one of XBLA’s newest releases, Mr. Driller Online. However, there are many more titles from which one may choose.

Additionally, one of XBLA’s greatest features are the game demos. Parents can easily preview most game content, and children can play a sample of each title before buying, which is great if you want to make sure the game will hold your child’s interest. And if you’re very fortunate,  the demos might actually keep the kiddies entertained a while for free.

Overall, XBLA is a huge resource of family-friendly entertainment, and the next time you have a houseful, spread out the controllers, select the Xbox Live Arcade, and enjoy a little fun gaming between friends.

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