Remember earlier this summer when my youngest and I had the chance to attend X11 Canada? You know, a serious afternoon of playing the latest and greatest video games coming to market from XBox? I highlighted a few of my favourite family picks here.
Well, recently we had the chance to attend the holiday preview event for two of these games from Disney Interactive Studios: Disney Universe and Disneyland Adventure (both were highlighted in my family picks list).
What a great event (which by the way was hosted within Xbox’s new store on Queen Street West; a store designed specifically for checking out and playing the latest games from XBox). The game consoles attached to wall mounted large screen TVs, were filled with either the Disney Universe or Disneyland Adventure Kinect game and Disney princesses were everywhere. My youngest had a chance to play both games before but this was the first time for my older two.
We arrived early so the kids had first pick of the playing screens. And once they were there, it was hard to get them away. I can understand why after I convinced my son to share his gaming time with me (they’re really fun games).
Of course no video gaming event is complete without snacks. There were plates of bite sized tasty morsels moving around the room, including pizza, hamburgers, chicken lollipops, and beef spring rolls. My favourite was the s’more pies. These just melted in your mouth. Good thing these were small so I could grab another and another. But even with all these tasty treats, the food item that most of the kids were interested in was the candy bar. Imagine a table full of gummies and sugar bracelets and large — no huge — pixie stix. The little paper bags encouraged loading up. My son had a hard time deciding between the candy or the video games.
There were some cool special guests in attendance too: Hatch Dano and Adam Hicks (better known to my kids as Zeke and Luther from their Disney Channel TV program). My son took up skateboarding after catching their shows. The guys were great too, hanging out with the boys playing video games (and the star struck pre-teen girls). My oldest daughter was the only one with enough courage to get her photo with the guys (my son eventually talked to them about boarding but didn’t want to do a picture). Plus she got a copy which the guys more than willingly signed for her.
Disney Universe ($49.99 Cdn) is a traditional console controlled game and my son’s favourite. Disneyland Adventure ($49.99 Cdn) is designed for the free-form game play of the Kinect. Both games are available now, just in time for the gift giving season, and we’re looking forward to trying them out for EverythingMom. I wonder if my kids give me a chance to play?
I never tire of kids cartoons (well, there are a few purple dinosaurs and backpack carrying girls I could leave behind). When we were on a road trip in the US, we stumbled upon Disney’s Phineas and Ferb cartoon series. I love it. I’m sure I know all the words to the theme song.
In Disney Alice in Wonderland, players journey down the rabbit hole into a whimsical world of immersive exploration. The objective is to protect Alice from the angry Red Queen and you do so by playing various characters like the White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, March Hare, Cheshire Cat, Dormouse and more.
There will also be a DS version of Disney Alice in Wonderland and although it is based on the movie, the game itself is different from the Wii version. The graphic design is a flatter, 2-D cartoon like feel, but from what I’ve seen, I think it works really well. Like the Wii version, you role is to protect Alice and you can play one of the various characters in the story.
Sonny with a Chance for Nintendo DS™ allows players to experience random and humorous events inspired by the hit Disney Channel series with the “So Random” cast. Fans can play as their favourite character and take their chance in a board game loaded with mini-games, random events and wacky power-ups to get the most fan mail. Players compete in more than 40 mini-games, including pie throwing, puzzle solving, races, and more, with two designed exclusively for Nintendo DSi. Navigate through five different game boards inspired by familiar locations in the show as well as customize your characters with costumes. Sonny with a Chance will launch in 2010, timed to coincide with the second season premiere of the Disney Channel series. You can 
In Disney Stitch Jam, Stitch must embark on rhythm-based missions that take place in stunning locations, from tropical beaches to outer space, and defeat Dr. Hamsterviel in an epic galactic showdown to save his kidnapped girlfriend, Angel. Disney Stitch Jam is also equipped with two-player co-operative play via download, which means two players can play with one game and play as Stitch and Angel. You can 
