Finding games for kids can be a bit of a challenge. A lot of "kid" games are low quality, quick and dirty movie and TV licensed games that just plain aren't very good, so sorting the games that are actually good from the flavor of the week can be tough. With Microsoft's Kinect motion controller, however, a lot of the games released for the device are kid and family-friendly, which makes finding kid games a lot easier. Of course, they do require a Kinect but we think it is worth it especially if you have kids. We present our picks for the Ten Best Xbox 360 and Kinect games for kids. Note - Games marked as (Kinect) require the Kinect sensor. Skylanders combines video games with a line of physical toys to form one of the most interesting gaming experiences available today. The toys are shockingly well made, and the games are actually really good and getting better with each new release. Skylanders: Swap Force is the newest entry in the series and is genuinely a solid game for both kids and adults.
Even better, all of your older Skylaners toys work with it. Kids will go absolutely bonkers for this game. Exploring the Disneyland theme park. Going on mini-game versions of all of the rides. Hanging out with Mickey Mouse. If there were ever a perfect kids game, this is pretty much it. All the fun of Disneyland - every kids dream - without actually going there - every parents dream. See our Kinect Disneyland Adventures review for more. Kinectimals in general is a fun game even for adults, but put a kid in front of the cute fluffy cats (and now bears) and let them interact with both motion controls as well as voice and Kinectimals suddenly becomes something truly special. The graphics are fantastic, and the Kinect controls for all of the minigames and taking care of your pet are really spot on. Dance Central 2 might be the technically better dance game for Kinect, but for kids the Just Dance series is the way to go. The dance moves are simpler and easier, the visual presentation is a little easier to follow than DC2, and the track list (especially if you go for the guaranteed to be kid-friendly Just Dance Kids) is a little better for kids.
The LEGO games are kind of confusing as kids games because they are simple to play and ESRB rated "E10", but not always based on content appropriate for kids and some of the puzzles can be a bit much for kids to figure out. You don't necessarily have to have seen the movies the games are based on to have fun, but they won't make much sense if you haven't. Of course, kids probably won't mind. Especially if you play along with them to help them through any tough spots. There are Harry Potter, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Batman, and Pirates of the Caribbean LEGO games available. Playing music is awesome, even if you're just using little fake plastic instruments, and teaching kids about music and experiencing it with them is one of the special joys of being a parent. Any of the Rock Band games will work here, but LEGO Rock Band gets a special nod because of the fun LEGO aesthetic and because the song list is kid-friendly (and any Rock Band DLC you might have is trimmed down to just kid-friendly songs), which make it good for kids.
It took a couple of years, but a competitor to Skylanders finally appeared, and it was a doozy. Disney Infinity mixes the addictive toy collecting of Skylanders with the huge number of great Disney characters to create an unstoppable force of consumerism. The game is actually pretty good, too, and focuses more on customization and building worlds rather than straight platforming. The toys are really cool, too, and more are coming out all the time. Maybe not for really young kids (10 and up seems to be best), PowerUp Heroes is a superhero simulator where you throw fireballs and use super powers and fight invading aliens. It is very simple and relatively short and pretty easy and good for kids. You might think a game focused on fighting is bad for kids but, really, they are going to do it anyway* (roughhousing, I mean) and PowerUp Heroes is so over the top and cartoony and unrealistic that it isn't any worse than most kid movies and TV shows. (*I was a kid once, I know) A somewhat ignored title from the Kinect launch, Adrenalin Misfits is a snowboarding game featuring bright colorful graphics, goofy / funny character designs, and surprisingly solid controls.
We liked it quite a bit, but kids will really dig it. Sometimes good games come in surprising packages. We had low expectations for Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, but it turned out to be a remarkably solid platformer. It isn't the deepest or most challenging game ever, but as a way to introduce kids to platforming games, we highly recommend it. Adults won't get much out of it, but this is a list of kids games, after all. This page either does not exist or is currently unavailable.You can also search for something on our site below. Platforms: Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Genre: Music and Dance About our ratings and privacy evaluation LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures LEGO Batman: The VideogameINTRODUCING ROCK BAND RIVALS a major expansion to the best party game on the planet. The Rock Band Rivals expansion brings brand new features to Rock Band™ 4. Play songs with friends online in Online Quickplay, join a Crew to compete in weekly online challenges in Rivals mode, perform your way through a rock documentary about your band in Rockudrama, plus get new songs, new rock shop items, and access to future updates.
Guardians of the Galaxy 2's release in May should be a great opportunity to add some more great classic rock songs to Rock Band. Matt Sayer had a great article on why he’s a fan of the LEGO video games as a space (and money) saver over the real thing. Like him, I’m totally onboard with Traveller’s Tales’ series of licensed games. I’ve played at least some part of most of them, and own almost all of the ones released for consoles/PC. (If only I had infinite time to do nothing but finish all of the ones I already have...) I love some more than others (LEGO Star Wars III, for instance, and LEGO Rock Band, and most recently, LEGO Jurassic World left me wishing there was even more of it), but they’re all good fun. And like Matt, I too have tubs of physical LEGOs still stored away, in my case, at my parents’ house. Various sets from when I was a kid (space, pirates, castles, the first LEGO space shuttle set, Technic sets, etc), plus a few of the Star Wars sets from around the time Revenge of the Sith came out.
As an apartment-dweller sharing space with a wife and almost-four-year-old son, I *very* much know the problems of lack of space. We have Duplos, and some basic LEGO sets for my son, and we haven’t even opened the LEGO sets yet, as we know they’ll just be scattered to everywhere...Anyway, I remember reading about LEGO Dimensions last year before it came out, and thinking “that sounds interesting” until I got to the part where I learned that you’d have to buy all the individual sets separately. I was like, no way am I gonna go down that route. I’ve watched friends go crazy trying to get Amiibos, and how many of the blasted things there are, and how hard they could be to get. My resolve was put to the test when told there would be a Portal 2 set, a Back to the Future set, and most tough, the Doctor Who set. But I held fast. I would not sink outrageous amounts of money into this game! It would be a sacrifice, but I would spend that time working on the *rest* of my TT LEGO games backlog instead!
And then I saw this in a video:And that was it. I was addicted sold. I asked for the various level packs and a couple key “fun packs” for Christmas. I got many of them, and picked up a few more when I found that the packs were all on sale (I even purchased a Best Buy Gamers Club Unlocked membership to get even more of a discount). Just a few packs. I spent much time one weekend, and got through all but the Ghostbusters, Simpsons, and Back to the Future level packs. I was making progress! I was filling only a little tub with the characters! And then a few weeks ago, the most recent sale hit. This time, I used some gift cards from Christmas. And I got a few more. Just... you know, a few. Yeah, I went and bought the rest of the ones I didn’t have yet. I did manage to get through the Ghostbusters level pack. But I still need to go through all these. And finish the regular part of the game. But at least there’s only like, three more sets still to come, right?