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Video games provide fun for the family
Updated: January 23, 2012 8:19AM
We at the Oak Park Public Library are very excited about our new video game collection. There are so many games available — it can be hard to sort through them all.
Try some of our favorites for the entire family:
Scribblenauts/Super Scribblenauts (Nintendo DS)
The only limit to this game is your imagination. Play with leveled challenges to give Maxwell what he needs to get out of a variety of situations or just free play by adding items to a scene and seeing how they interact. Maxwell is on one side of a river and needs to get to the other? You could use the game dictionary to summon him a bridge or get a pterodactyl to fly him across. Only then you have a pterodactyl roaming the skies — and they aren’t always friendly. What will capture it? The dictionary has tens of thousands of items at your disposal (which means players have to work hard to stump it). There’s no end to the scenes you can devise, so do your worst and your creativity will surely save the day.
Just Dance (Nintendo Wii)
There are now four games in this series, including a kids’ one that comes with preschool popular songs like “Old MacDonald” as well as hits from bands like the Wiggles and family favorites like “YMCA” and “ABC.” Games 1-3 include edited versions of upbeat pop songs from the ‘60s through today, with enough variety to appeal to every family member. Up to four players can grab a wiimote and start following the dancers on the screen, which makes it a great family night game. Words are provided for those with the breath support to sing along as they dance. The newer games have the best tracking for point earning, but the real fun comes from picking your favorite songs and just letting loose.
Disney Sing It! (Playstation, Nintendo Wii)
Most of the songs in this six game series are aimed at the tween crowd — “High School Musical,” Demi Lavato, Taylor Swift, Hannah Montana and others like them make up a good portion of the songs available. The exception is Family Hits, which branches out to their popular animated films. All are your basic karaoke game — up to two players can sing together and there are modes that let you sing without pitch guidance or let you predict how well you’ll do and earn points based on how accurate you were. Parents may not love all of these songs but, chances are, they still know all the words — embrace it.
Visit oppl.org with your Oak Park Public Library card to place holds on these and other video games in our collection.
