Tag Archives: video games

VTech V-Motion

  By Amy | December 1, 2008 - 9:59 pm | , ,
381 Comments

UPDATE: CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR V-MOTION WINNER!
*Sarah (#206)

Our winner has been notified via email

We’ve been playing around with the V-Motion for several months and have lovingly deemed it our “Vii” or “Wii for kids”.  This educational gaming system is geared toward the 3-7 year old age range.  Our three year old easily grasps the concept of moving the controller up and down or side to side to get the characters to move where she wants them to go.

It’s all pretty simple, really.  Place one of the Smartridges (over 40 popular titles to choose from) into the V-Motion, start up the game.  Watch your child move and play.  When he or she is done playing, take the V.Link (like a USB flash drive) and plug it into your PC’s USB port.  Track your child’s progress and scores and access more online games at VSmileLink.com.

We’re giving away a V-Motion along with two popular game titles: Wall-E and Wonder Pets

To enter: leave a comment on this giveaway post (comment section is located below the post, under “Category” and “Tags”.  In your entry comment, let us know if you own any VTech products and if so, which one(s).

A winner will be chosen at random and emailed the day after the giveaway closes.  Last day to enter is Friday, December 12, 2008 at midnight PST. Be sure to check your SPAM folder so you don’t miss the email notification.  This post will also be updated with the winner’s name and blog/website (if provided).

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*Take me back to the Holiday Giveaway Guide so I can enter more giveaways!
*Hosting a giveaway or posting a gift guide at your site?  Make sure you link to it on Mr. Linky HERE
*Do you “Twitter“?  We’d just adore you if you would “Tweet” about this giveaway!

PopStar Guitar for Wii and PS2

  By Amy | November 20, 2008 - 8:34 pm | , , ,
1 Comment

UPDATE: CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR POPSTAR GUITAR GAME WINNER!
*Taj K.

Our winner has been notified via email

I have anxiously been awaiting this game to arrive on store shelves and now it’s finally here!  Similar to Guitar Hero, this game lets you play along to your favorite pop songs like; See You Again by Miley Cyrus, Since You Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson and It’s Not Over by Daughtry just to name a few (more than 50 songs included).

PopStar Guitar retails for about $60 and comes with the “AirG”, a peripheral that turns the Wii Remote™ into an air guitar.  Here is some more info about the game:

PopStar Guitar features a single player Career Mode and two-player Co-operative Mode, along with single player and multi-player mini-games.  The game takes the player on a musical journey that starts with forming a garage band to playing at 25 unique venues and eventually performing in the worldwide “Battle of the Bands” contest. Twelve playable characters are featured in the game and can be customized to give the band its own unique look. PopStar Guitar features over 50 pop songs, including several masters performed by the original artists.

We’re giving away a PopStar Guitar bundle for the Wii system.  The bundle includes two AirG peripherals.

To Enter: Fill out the giveaway entry form below and click “SUBMIT”.  If you have successfully entered, you should get an auto email response (Check your spam folder).

A winner will be chosen at random and emailed the day after the giveaway closes.  Last day to enter is Friday, December 12, 2008 at midnight PST.  Be sure to check your SPAM folder so you don’t miss the email notification.  This post will also be updated with the winner’s name and blog/website (if provided).

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*Take me back to the Holiday Giveaway Guide so I can enter more giveaways!
*Hosting a giveaway or posting a gift guide at your site? Make sure you list it HERE
*Do you “Twitter“ ? We’d just adore you if you would “Tweet” about this giveaway!

LeapFrog DIDJ gaming handheld system

  By Amy | November 19, 2008 - 7:30 pm | , ,
1 Comment

UPDATE: CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LEAPFROG DIDJ WINNER!
* Sarah H.

Our winner has been notified via email

I’ve “played” with enough LeapFrog toys over the past three years to tell you my honest opinion of this brand.  I think they make phenomenal products.  Any LeapFrog product that we have owned has more than exceeded my expectations for children’s toys.  They have been made with quality craftsmanship and I love that as my little girl grows, there is a LeapFrog product that she can grow into, year after year.

We are entertaining the LeapFrog Leapster2 right now but the next gaming handheld (for school-aged kids, 1st through 4th) is the LeapFrog DIDJ (ages 6-10).  What do I love so much about LeapFrog’s handhelds?  They make educational games for them!  Fun and education, hand-in-hand.  As a parent, I like the ring of that.

We’re giving away a DIDJ gaming handheld system of the winner’s choice, along with these three games:

The brand new Hannah Montana custom-learning game (8-11 yrs), the brand new Indiana Jones custom-learning game (7-10 yrs) and the brand new Nicktoons Android Invasion custom-learning game (7-10 yrs).

To enter: LeapFrog’s Learning Path is an online experience that lets you see and shape your child’s learning.  Include the answer to the following Learning Path question in your entry form:

“What are the three steps of LeapFrog’s Learning Path?”

(Hint: Click HERE)

Fill out the giveaway entry form below and click “SUBMIT”.  If you have successfully entered, you should get an auto email response (Check your spam folder).

A winner will be chosen at random and emailed the day after the giveaway closes.  Last day to enter is Friday, December 12, 2008 at midnight PST.  Be sure to check your SPAM folder so you don’t miss the email notification.  This post will also be updated with the winner’s name and blog/website (if provided).

–
*Take me back to the Holiday Giveaway Guide so I can enter more giveaways!
*Hosting a giveaway or posting a gift guide at your site? Make sure you list it HERE
*Do you “Twitter“? We’d just adore you if you would “Tweet” about this giveaway!

Wii is way cool.

  By Amy | September 2, 2008 - 12:02 am | , , , , , , ,
1 Comment

Nintendo’s Wii made its debut in our home earlier this summer and I must say, it’s just so cool. We love it. I have played my fair share of video games on various different systems but Wii takes the cake, hands down.

I have always thought the original Nintendo game console made a great family pastime, and now that I’ve experienced Wii, my love for Nintendo has been rekindled. I have already downloaded several old favorites from the Wii Shop Channel. Connecting to the internet from my video game console? Seriously? How freaking cool.

I love it that you actually have to get off of your butt to play some of these interactive games. Believe me, the first time I played tennis and boxing on Wii Sports, I broke out into a huge sweat and my legs and arms were sore the next day. I know, that says a lot about me, right?

We haven’t even used the Wii to its full capability yet, so you can bet this will be a product that is revisited many more times in the near future.

In the meantime, go get a Wii. It will not disappoint.

GoPets: Vacation Island (for Nintendo DS Lite)

  By Amy | June 2, 2008 - 1:37 pm | , , ,
3 Comments

GoPets Logo

I have a Nintendo DS Lite and have been trying out some new games on it. One I’ve been playing lately is GoPets Vacation Island. It’s basically a kid-friendly introduction to social networking by way of virtual pets. My toddler is a bit too young to really understand the concept yet but she had fun creating her “pet” with me. We are the proud adopted parents of a purple puppy. In the game, your adopted pet roams around the island and meets other pets and plays games. If you connect using the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection, you can meet other pets on the island and exchange “Iku” messages. These are picture-coded messages that you send back and forth with other virtual pet-owners. A game like this also teaches basic responsibility, because the child needs to care for his or her “pet”, as well as take initiative to care for someone else’s pet.

GoPets

This is a really cute game – perfect for the pre-school to grade school-age kids. The game is rated E for everyone and makes a perfect road trip/vacation companion. We really just started playing around with it and I realize there is so much more to explore. Playing a game like this just brings me back to grade school when we used to WRITE (with pencil and paper) to pen pals across the world, or even send balloon messages with a letter attached. Funny how things change. Now you have pen pals on your handheld game console.

Oh, one thing my toddler LOVES to do on the GoPets Vacation Island game is play the balloon popping game. She’s figured out how to use the stylus pen and shoot the darts up into the viewing screen to pop the balloons and get prizes. I had a hard time getting her to put down the game after she figured that one out. :)

GoPets

Overall, I think this game is worth checking out. It provides a way for your child to use his or her imagination and become social in a safe and friendly setting.