droolicious : pc games

Game Review: Neopets Puzzle Adventure Hits Stores for Wii

Aaron Burgess — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Remember that classic Othello slogan, "A minute to learn, a lifetime to master"? Apply that to videogames, add a slew of whimsical, well-drawn characters and the expansive online universe that spawned them, and you're pretty much talking Neopets Puzzle Adventure, which just hit stores for Wii after prior releases on PC and Nintendo DS.

The game's whimsical characters and comic-style art should be instantly familiar to Neopets.com visitors.

You start the game by personalizing one of 12 different Neopets and selecting your play mode: Instant Action, which throws you right into the game's titular puzzles, or Story Mode, which puts you into the three Lands of Neopia (whose landscapes should be instantly recognizable to kids familiar with Neopets.com) and lets you compete in a series of challenges against other Neopets. Minigames -- including a fun, easy memory game that will delight young players -- also abound and help to break up the story-based play.

The Neopets' main challenges revolve around deceptively simple, Othello-style puzzle gameplay.

The game's puzzle challenges may be called "battles," but there's nothing in the way of violence here: Instead, Neopets Puzzle Adventure finds players taking turns laying down tokens on a grid, with the winner being the one who can convert the most tokens to his or her color. If you're thinking it sounds a lot like Othello (or Reversi), good call: The similarities aren't just limited to a slogan, and if you're looking for a simple game that requires kids to put some strategic brainpower behind their onscreen actions, even grade-schoolers can rule in this conquest.

There's plenty of room to explore in the Lands of Neopia.

Also, while it may seem easy to breeze through, Neopets Puzzle Adventure has several features that'll keep kids engaged outside of the puzzle challenges. As your Neopet proceeds through the game, it can collect 150 different PetPet companions, each of which packs powers that can help you back on the game grid. The game also generates codes to unlock special items on Neopets.com, so if your kids haven't already set up camp there, they'll have plenty of incentive to do so now. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, by the way -- though the site has many immersive, community-oriented features and boards, all kids under age 13 must have a parental-consent form mailed or faxed to the company before they can use the interactive content.

Neopets Puzzle Adventure is rated "E" for Everyone by the ESRB. Get it at Amazon in any of the following formats:

Wii ($39.99)

DS ($29.99)

PC (from $19.99)

DigitalLife Expo: Net Jet Online Gaming System

aprilpeveteaux — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 17:36:00 GMT

Before your kid gets too sophisticated and starts camping outside the Sony store for days, take advantage of his electronic naiveté and get the Net Jet, retailing for a mere $24.99. And what do you get for that bargain basement price you might ask? A hand-held, self-contained player that plugs into your USB port (PC compatible only) that sends the player directly to the website and hooks into the chosen game. With the purchase of the player, one game is included, with credits to unlock three more games of your choice. Want more games? Buy additional ‘key cards’ that unlock codes on the site, for $14.99. The beauty of the Net Jet is that it works on any PC, so you can pack up the hand-held device and take it Grandma’s. But honestly, the real reason I love Net Jet is because when the lady in the video game clapboard suit explained it, I totally got it on the first try. - April Peveteaux

U.B. Funkeys: One Geek Toy to Rule Them All

Aaron Burgess — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:32:00 GMT

Despite the kid-friendly allure of vinyl figures, older collectors tend to dominate the toys' audience. Radica's new U.B. Funkeys, however, introduce a world where little ones can get their vinyl-toy fix without worrying about shelf appeal or future market value -- although, with some of the 40-plus figures more limited than others, there's also plenty of room for serious collectors to get onboard.

The best part: Once the figure is out of the box, you're only halfway to enjoying it. Install the included software, plug your U.B. Funkey into a computer's USB port ("fun key" -- get it?), and you've got access to Terrapinia, the online world where Funkey owners come together to play games, explore different zones, earn credit toward in-game prizes, and customize and show off their Funkeys' virtual cribs.

Priced at $19.99, the U.B. Funkeys Starter Kit includes a hub, two figures and PC software; additional characters can be purchased separately for $4.99 each.

Check out the clip below for a glimpse at the addictive little buggers in action, and camp out at the premier Funkeys fansite for more videos, as well as forums, images, tips and tricks, once you've gotten started.