Motion controlled consoles and add-ons seem to be perfect for a full variety of family friendly games, but there are plenty of others that are just right to play with a controller. Join me as I count down my top ten family games on the current consoles.
10. Viva Piñata - Xbox 360
Developed by Rare, Viva Piñata was originally released as an Xbox 360 launch game. The bright, colourful visuals and cute game play earned this a Universal rating, with casual gamers and children being the target audiences.
Likened to the free-choice aspects of games such as The Sims, Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon, Viva Piñata tasks the player to create their own garden out of a bare plot of land. Missions pop up from time to time which the player can choose to complete. This can range from breeding new piñatas, to growing a particular plant in your garden. The game is open-ended, meaning, like The Sims, players can keep going back to tend their garden, time after time.
One of the best aspects of Viva Piñata is discovering new species of piñata’s. Every so often a new piñata will wander into your garden, which may stay in your garden permanently after a bit of persuading. It may be incredibly simple, but there is so much charm in Viva Piñata that it is hard to play this without a smile on your face.
9. Rayman Raving Rabbids - Wii
A spin-off in the Rayman series, Rayman Raving Rabbids is the first of a host of successful games based on these crazy white rabbits. The series debut consists of over 70 mini-games, which range from frantic wii-mote shaking, button bashing, and the occasional race.
There are two game modes to choose from-story mode and score mode. The story mode follows Rayman during his fifteen day imprisonment from the Rabbids. In order to progress with the story, players must complete a range of mini-games. The score mode is a more competitive, multi-player orientated experience, where the fast and frantic part of the Rabbids series really comes into play.
Children will love the cute and crazy Rabbid characters, and these silly mini-games are enjoyable by anyone. They’re easier enough to get to grips with, and the gameplay is rather addictive at times.
8. Dance Central - Xbox 360
Dance games have been around for a while now, with the Dance Dance Revolution series being amongst the most popular. However, Dance Central has made it into the list instead. The motion censoring capabilities of the Kinect are in play here, which work really well. Dance Central accurately tracks your movements via the Kinect in order to record how well you are dancing along to a particular routine. Also, this is hands free, so you’ve got no danger of a controller flying off whilst you’re grooving away.
Not only is this an enjoyable way to up your fitness, it’s great to dance in your own living room along to a host of great tracks. You don’t even have to be a fantastic dancer to give this a go!
7. Wii Sports - Wii
Bundled with the Wii console, Wii Sports offers a variety of sports orientated games which encorporate the movement aspect of the Wii. Up to four players can play through sporty mini-games such as golf, tennis, bowling, boxing and more.
The bowling game is the most enjoyable game in the collection, with any player being able to take their own run up (if you wish!), pull the wiimote back, and bring back to the front again, in order to aim for a strike. It’s a fun game to play with a few family members or with some friends during a gathering.
Wii Sports is a brief little collection, but an enjoyable one at that.
