GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

And because I love mayhem, mini-things, trivia (big into trivia, check out the momspective radio show) and giveaways, I have a set of questions below that will win TWO people a copy of this new game for the DS…

Here’s how it works:

Watch the video below as it will feature Nintendo’s new North Bend facility overrun by mini-Marios… then I’ll ask you a few questions, and pick two correct answers at random… beware though, the questions are extremely tricky – here’s the video:

Ok, and now – brace yourself – here are your questions:

· What tune is Ken Darling humming?

· Where can you see a Piranha Plant in the video?

· What would the authorities use a last resort?

· What is the address of the facility Ken is reporting from?

All you have to do is leave a comment below with the correct answers and YOU may actually win a copy of this game!!

The story behind the game is this: with the busy holiday season approaching, Nintendo was looking to find new ways to improve speed and efficiency at its always-busy distribution facility in North Bend, Wash. In the past, the company has tried a number of solutions, including having Donkey Kong roll packages down a set of girders into waiting trucks or expediting deliveries through warp pipes.

This year one of the suggested innovations included the use of wind-up Mini Mario toys…

Bad idea.

Initially the use of the helpful Mini Marios seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately, they were not guided appropriately and soon marched non-stop throughout the entire building, climbing girders, riding conveyor belts and causing a bit of mayhem.

They overran Nintendo’s facility for a short time, but operations have since been returned to normal, thank goodness…

The incident was caught on camera and shared with the area’s local television news station,
DK-TV, who was the first to cover the news. Reporter Ken Darling covers the story in this video above.

Have fun with the contest and leave us comments so TWO people can win this fun and hilarious game!! Contest rules as follows:

• Giveaway is open to US and Canada shipping addresses only.
• Giveaway ends on January 19th, 2011 . and a winner will be picked using Random.org. We will not be emailing winners, so please make sure you subscribe to our feed or check back here for the winner announcement post.

Disclosure of Material Connection : http://cmp.ly/2

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

Her Interactive has recently added another Nancy Drew game, which is available for the Mac as well PC. I received my review copy via the downloadable purchase option which is available on Her Interactive’s website. Nancy Drew: Shadow at the Water’s Edge is the third of three Nancy Drew titles – to celebrate her 80th Anniversary this year. It’s definitely one of the scariest games amongst the ones I’ve tried out so far.

In this adventure, Nancy Drew travels to Japan for a vacation, to meet up with some old friends as well as teach young students English in order to fund her trip. While staying at a traditional Ryokan Hiei (inn), strange encounters seemed to point to the possibility that the inn was haunted. Reports of ghost sightings and paranormal activities were scaring guests away and our young sleuth decided to uncover the mystery behind the haunting.

The game starts with a choice of Junior or Senior Detective level which sets the level of difficulty. As with its predecessors, the point and click function enables the player to inspect clues, pick things up, explore the surroundings and select Nancy’s choice of interaction as well as respond to other characters in the game. Once more, Nancy’s cell phone plays an important role in the game as players can use it to take pictures and call Bess and George for advice when needed. There’s also the usual checklist to help the player keep track of things to do.

Similarities aside, Shadow at the Water’s Edge provided better quality graphics and more life like 3D characters than its last installment. The voice over and sound effects were just as good. I have to admit though, that some scenes were quite dark, which made it harder to see but I guess this was unavoidable due to the night time scenarios. If you are a person who enjoys learning about other country’s culture, then you will be delighted to know that this game gives player the opportunity to learn about origami, Japanese tea ceremonies, bento and calligraphy. Players also get to explore a wider environment in different areas around Kyoto, Japan via the subway system. I personally enjoyed the lovely and unique Japanese garden settings the most.

As far as solving the mystery is concerned, there are puzzles popping up all over and they feature a variety of matching games and number challenging Sudoku, Pachinko, Renograms and Nonograms. I seriously wonder if players who are weak in numbers would be turned away by them. But then again, perhaps those like me who enjoys number and logic puzzles may find them more appealing.

Shadow at the Water’s Edge does have some spooky scenes with eerie music which may not be suitable for the younger and more timid kids. However, as an adult, I enjoyed the horror story and the beautiful graphics was a definite plus. Overall, this is one gaming experience fans of Nancy Drew would not want to miss.

BUY IT : You can buy the downloadable version, boxed game via http://www.herinteractive.com or even call 1-800-461-8787 to order your copy of Shadow at the Water’s Edge.

WIN IT : Thanks to the good folks at Her Interactive, we are giving away a boxed game of the above title valued at $19.99 to ONE very lucky reader. Now, here’s how you can enter for a chance to win this giveaway:

Disclosure of material connection : http://cmp.ly/2

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

Before a child enters into kindergarten there is a large list of things they must know. Whether they learn it in preschool or at home it doesn’t matter, as long as they know how to count, tell colors, write their name, differentiate between letters and be accepting to social interaction.

We all know that a child does not learn by being forced into a chair and studying until their eyes cross, they learn through play, through touch and smell. They learn with all their senses, so outdoor play is tantamount to their success but when you live in places where the weather does not always permit outdoor play, there is another option.

Games like the Moo and Baa game by Haba are a great way to help your child learn color, shapes and memory. It is a fun game that is easy for a three year old to understand. When my daughters and I sat down and played we separated the wooden animals into color, then mixed them up and put them into the separate pouches. The girls then had to pull (without looking) the animals out one by one and try to beat the other child by putting them on the color coordinated card and get ALL the animals in the barn first.

My 3 and 4 year old really enjoyed it, and the colors Red and White now have new meaning to them. It’s a fun way to teach them color coordination and tactile skills while they are putting the matching animal on its mat.

BUY IT : If you are looking for a fun game for children between the ages of 3 and 5, you can find Moo and Baa game by Haba at Maukilo http://www.maukilo.com/moo-and-baa-game-brightly-colored-tactile-game.html

WIN IT : Want to win a set for your stocking stuffer?  Here’s your chance to enter this giveaway. One lucky reader will get a set of the Haba Moo & Baa game.

• One Mandatory Entry- go visit our kind sponsor, http://www.maukilo.com/ and pick one item you would love to include in your Xmas shopping list.
• One Additional Entry- if you’re our subscriber! Easy! If you’re not a subscriber, click here to subscribe!
• Two Additional Entries- follow us on twitter and tweet this giveaway “Win HABA Moo & Baa Game at Parentreviewers.com” with a link back to this post once a day. Leave an additional comment including your twitter id and the tweet url. You can tweet on a daily basis.
• Three Additional Entries- Share on Facebook about this great giveaway! It can be done on a daily basis too! Please leave your FB id.
• Giveaway is open to US  shipping addresses only.
• Giveaway ends on December 1st, 2010. and a winner will be picked using Random.org. We will not be emailing winners, so please make sure you subscribe to our feed or check back here for the winner announcement post.

Disclosure of Material Connection : http://cmp.ly/2

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill Remastered is a remake of the 1998 version of the game under the same title. This game celebrates the 80th anniversary of Nancy Drew’s book which debuted in 1930.

Meant for ages 10 up and available on PC as well as Mac, Secrets Can Kill Remastered is a point and click game which features Nancy Drew going back to school to investigate a murder. The game commences with the option to select the level of difficulty from “Junior” to “Senior”. The teen sleuth makes a visit to her Aunt Eloise in Florida and was asked to help solve the murder of a student who was mysteriously murdered the night before at the local high school. Nancy goes undercover as a transfer student to get to the bottom of things before the killer has a chance to strike again.

For parents who are worried about this game featuring a murder in the plot, have no fear as there are no gory scenes involved. Though there are some spooky music and scary sounds, the fear factor was pretty mild to me. My only caution to parents is to be aware that the game does make reference to drugs.

Comparing my earlier experience with Nancy Drew’s Trail of The Twister, I am pleased to see that there are no petty chores required to be done by our young sleuth. Instead, Nancy Drew gets to solve a number of pretty easy and straightforward puzzles in the game. This of course, is the point of view of an adult. I honestly doubt my 10 year old son have the capability to solve these puzzles by himself as some of the clues are harder to decipher, for example, the coded message which involved 18 steps. Thus, I would recommend this game for older kids.

Location wise, it was somewhat limited as the bulk of the game was played in the local high school, Maxine’s diner or Aunt Loise’s home. As for the story,  it is rather short but there are plenty of interesting turns to keep you on your toes. One thing’s for sure, you will definitely be surprised by the ending. It was absolutely brilliant how the mystery was solved. I don’t want to divulge more but trust me when I say it’s worth all your patience and effort *winks*.

As far as visual was concerned, I thought that HER Interactive did a wonderful job. This remastered edition of the game had beautiful graphics of the characters and environment. On top of that, the enhanced soundtrack was great and the voiceover was equally impressive.

Overall, I would recommend it to older kids of age 12 and above and for fans of Nancy Drew games, this is definitely a classic you would want to have in your collection.

BUY IT : Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill Remastered is available now at Target and Wal-Mart stores for a suggested retail price of $19.99. The game is also available to order online, or for those who can’t wait, as a digital download exclusively at www.HerInteractive.com. The game is a dual format disc, playable on both Windows PCs and Apple Mac computers. Secrets Can Kill Remastered is rated E10+ with Violence, Drug Reference.

WIN IT : Thanks to the good folks at www.HerInteractive.com, we are giving away a copy of Nancy Drew’s Secrets Can Kill Remastered DVD to a lucky reader. Here’s how you can enter for a chance to win:

Disclosure of material connection : http://cmp.ly/2

Did you know that Nancy Drew debuted in 1930? I practically grew up with Nancy Drew stories in my teen but NOOOOO, I am NOT THAT OLD.  Today, Nancy Drew is still going strong from the popular book series to interactive gaming.  I was excited when Her Interactive offered me the chance to review Nancy Drew : Trail of The Twister game.

Nancy Drew goes undercover when a team of storm-chasing researchers is mysteriously plagued by a number of equipment failures. Since this Oklahoma research team is competing for a $100 million prize to discover a formula to predict tornado touchdowns, it has raised suspicions amongst them that this was not just pure bad luck. Was someone trying to sabotage them? Nancy Drew’s role was to get to the bottom of it.

The game starts with an option to choose either “Junior” or “Senior” Detective which sets the level of difficulty. Nancy arrives at the farm research base to find out that she has just missed the team. However, she is presented with a list of mundane tasks like file papers and folders, take a quiz about tornado, fix an LCD display in a car, shop for stuff at a corner store, etc. And that’s just the start! Arguably, these tasks are given to her because she is supposedly a replacement intern but I would have loved to see her spending less time doing these simple chores.

As we move along, we get to meet Scott Varnell, the head of the research team and his members, Debbie, Chase and Frosty. Another important character in this game is Pa, the owner of the general store. Each character has some kind of secret which makes them a possible suspect. But who is the real culprit? That’s what you need to find out yourself.

I haven’t reviewed other Nancy Drew games but I have to say Trail of The Twister focuses a lot on puzzles to help solve the mystery. Don’t get me wrong, I love these puzzles. They actually made the game more challenging and fun. What I hated was the driving part in the game. The loose controls made it pretty hard to drive….soooo difficult that I actually crashed six times!!!  Oh and did I mention the part about catching mice over and over and over again *rolls eyes*. So, other than these frustrating parts, I have no complains *grins*. If you’re one of those people who do not like to start all over again after making a “fatal” mistake, you’ll be happy to know that Trail of The Twister automatically returns you to the point before that mistake. 

Overall, I thought that the voice quality was superb and the character animation as well as the background looked great. I think one has to understand that  Trail of The Twister is meant for those age 10 to adult, thus, explains the reason for its simple storyline. Trail of the Twister comes in two discs and is also the first Nancy Drew game to support the Mac OS.If you are a Nancy Drew fan, this is definitely one game worth investigating (pardon the pun).

 Disclosure of material connection : http://cmp.ly/2

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

My children are ones who love to play video games and although we strictly monitor the time they spend playing them, a product such as My Virtual Tutor: Reading takes much of the worry out of that idle play time on the DS. My Virtual Tutor: Reading, created by Mentor InterActive, is a children’s educational game that concentrates on five reading areas including Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Comprehension, Fluency, and Vocabulary- all recommended by the Department of Education to improve reading proficiency.xx

My daughter, age 5, is one of the most advanced readers in her kindergarten class. We chose to review the Kindergarten through 1st grade version of My Virtual Tutor: Reading, and it was a bit of a challenge for her. The game itself is fabulous with great graphics and a wonderful, clear voice directing the game. Each version includes eight interactive books with four modes of play:

• Read to Me- Virtual tutor reads the story with exciting animation
• I Can Read- Beginning vocabulary word-based activities
• Interactive- Clickable animations with interactive quizzes to test reading and vocabulary comprehension
• Paint- Unleash creativity and illustrate scenes while listening to a story.

Buy It! “My Virtual Tutor: Reading” for the Nintendo DS is available at mass and specialty retailers such as Toys R’ Us, GameStop, Best Buy, and Amazon.com.

Win It! We have been given one copy of “My Virtual Tutor: Reading” to share with one of our lucky readers.  Here’s how to enter:

• One Mandatory Entry- visit the My Virtual Tutor website and try the demo version.  Leave us a comment telling us what you enjoyed about it.
• Two Additional Entries- Follow us on twitter and tweet this giveaway.  Please leave an additional comment including your twitter id and your tweet url.
• Five Additional Entries- Read one of our Parenting Articles.  Leave a comment about it on the post and return here to leave a comment including the article’s URL.
• Giveaway open to US shipping addresses only.
• This product is for use with Nintendo DS (US region only), which is not supplied.
• Giveaway ends 3rd May 2010 and a winner will be picked using Random.org. We will not be emailing winners, so please make sure you subscribe to our feed or check back here for the winner announcement post.

Disclosure of Material Connection : http://cmp.ly/0

Good luck!!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

Our family are huge board game fans and we often host “Family Fun Nights” consisting of pizza, ice cream, and our favorite board games. When I received our copy of Mastermind to review, I knew that it would be a great fit for our next “Family Fun Night”- and I was so right!! This fun, colorful game is great for kids and adults of all ages. It was challenging enough that my husband played again and again, yet the rules are simple enough that even my five year old darling enjoyed it.

It’s the code maker vs the codebreaker in this classic board game of logic and deduction. In order to win, players must use strategy and problem solving skills to outsmart their opponent. One player is the codemaker and sets a code of colored pegs. The other player is the codebreaker and attempts to break the code with help from clues given by the codemaker.

Players take turns being codemaker and codebreaker and whoever breaks the code in the least amount of moves wins!  For 2 Players. Ages 8 to adult.

Buy It! : There are seveal Mastermind game versions available at Pressman Toy Corporation website or anywhere Pressman Toys are sold.

Win It! : The Pressman Toy Corporation has generously donated a Mastermind game to one of our lucky reader. Here’s how to enter:

• One Mandatory Entry- visit the Pressman Toy Corporation website and leave a comment letting us know which of their fabulous and fun games are your favorite (other than Mastermind).
• Two Additional Entries- follow us on twitter and tweet this giveaway. Please leave us a comment including your twitter id and your tweet url.
• Three Additional Entries- blog about this giveaway and include a link. Please leave us a comment including the blog post url.
• Giveaway is open to US shipping addresses only.
• Giveaway ends 29th March 2010 and a winner will be picked using Random.org. We will not be emailing winners, so please make sure you subscribe to our feed or check back here for the winner announcement post.

Disclosure of Material Connection : http://cmp.ly/0

Good luck!!