Sonny With a Chance and Stitch Jam - Disney Interactive Studio DS Games

When we pack for a family road trip some things are a must to make the journey more enjoyable: iPod for music, DVDs for movies, and the Nintendo DS to entertain the kids. On our last trip we had the chance to try out 2 new games from the folks at Disney Interactive Studios.

Sonny with a Chance

Fashioned after Disney's show So Random, you can choose to play the games as on of the 5 cast members (Sonny, Tawni, Nico, Grady, and Zora). The game is designed like a board game. The object is to be the player with the most fan mail and you get this by moving around the board and landing on special squares. Some squares contain mini-games like balancing hot dogs, delivering mail, or maybe even tossing pies. Playing the mini-games will earn you more fan mail but they're also a lot of fun.

Up to 4 people can play using the wireless feature, which I love. This means my 2 oldest kids could play a game together off just 1 cartridge. But try as I might, I just couldn't get the wireless feature to work from my wireless network. If you play on your own, the game plays 3 other players for you, meaning 4 people are actually playing and you are working toward beating the other 'virtual' players. I thought this would be annoying, waiting for 3 virtual players to have their turn, but it seems to be a feature my 8-year-old daughter loves. She loves that it feels like she is playing against her friends even if she's really just playing on her own.

My daughter loved playing Sonny with a Chance (she's even playing right now as I write this). On our last 3-hour road trip I don't think she changed game cartridges once. The length of game play can vary since it keeps going until someone's fan mail pile reaches the top of the screen. In options you can choose to set your game play as easy, regular or hard. My daughter tried hard but found the games too fast and hard. She's much happier at regular game play.

Along with getting fan mail you also earn points which you can use to buy costumes for your character. No surprise my daughter loved this feature too.

Disney Stitch Jam

Angel has been captured by Evil Dr. Hamsterviel and Stitch needs succeed at a variety of musical missions to rescue her. This reminds me a lot of Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Groves (except you tap your stylus on screen instead of tapping your feet on a mat). To help Stitch complete his missions, you're required to tap the musical notes at just the right moment in the song. As you accomplish levels harder challenges occur (jumping up and sliding the stylus). You can also adjust your skill level in the options area (easy, regular, hard).

My daughter is a big fan of Disney Groves so she was excited about trying Disney Stitch Jam. I found the story aspect before each mission a little long (I wanted to get right into the game), but my daughter didn't seem to bothered by it. You could skip click through the pages if you wanted too and it didn't detract from the game play any.

Disney Stitch Jam also has the wireless option option (meaning more than 1 player can play using just the 1 cartridge). My 5-year-old son played this game a bit but it was my 8-year-old daughter who really got into it. You have to be quick, following the requests on screen. Even the normal level was a challenge for me but I think that's what makes it addictive.

About the Author Managing Partner and Editor-in-Chief at one of the best social networking and lifestyle sites for moms, EverythingMom.com. Trying to balance life at home with my 3 kids (all under 8), while building my business, working at EverythingMom.com and developing my writing. Oh and throw a load of laundry in and a dinner that isn't burnt. Wasn't working from home suppose to be easier? Posted by Carrie Anne in toy reviews on April 24, 2010 More from this author  |  Author Website Follow Carrie Anne on:  |  |  |

Comments  

 

0 # ennsee 2010-04-27 15:29

Thanks for the great review!

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0 # tracyo 2010-05-02 19:49

That's a great review! Looks like a fun game, thanks for sharing it!

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