I’ve always appreciated the idea of combining exercise and fitness with video games, so after Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix was released, it quickly earned a coveted spot in our game collection.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Dance Dance Revolution line of games, suffice it to say, they’re basically dance simulators for the living room. Instead of using a standard game controller, you play the game using a large dance pad on the floor. The gamer, standing on the pad, steps on arrow sensors (pointing up, down, left and right) in synch with moving arrows shown on the television screen, which are timed to co-inside with the background music.

The concept works wonderfully, and it’s not uncommon to play a DDR game until you’re physically unable to play any longer. It certainly qualifies as exercise, akin to a basic aerobics program.

Upon startup, it’s immediately clear Mario Mix is designed for younger gamers, with the game’s difficulty initially optimized for DDR novices. Dance steps are simplistic (early modes use the left and right arrows only), and while the routines do become challenging eventually, the game never does reach the insane difficulty levels found in other Dance Dance Revolution games.

In my household, this has proven to be both a good and bad thing. Good, as my son - never having enjoyed mainstream DDR games - is now quite the Mario Mixer. I’ve noticed his coordination has improved considerably, which I credit to the game’s accessibility. Bad, as his teenage sister (a Mario fan since age three) played the game only once or twice before going back to her Playstation 2 DDRs. She’s since warmed up to the game, but scoffed at the easy gameplay early only.

For whatever reason, higher difficulty levels in Mario Mix must be unlocked by playing through easier routines. Until her brother had unlocked these harder settings, my daughter didn’t consider the game much fun, as it was far too easy for her skill level. I can’t help but think, if these higher difficulty levels had been available initially, her first impression would have been far more positive. At the very least, the game would have had a broader appeal.

Unwieldy difficulty levels aside, Mario Mix is a very fun game. The Mario theme is embellished throughout, with a host of characters including Mario, Toad, Waluigi and Bowser. The music consists of remixed Mario music from other games (Dr. Mario, Paper Mario, Super Mario Bros.) along with heavily remixed nursery rhymes. The game features a unique Story Mode, composed of numerous dance challenges and mini-games. It works well, but having to scroll through screens of text during the intermissions can be annoying, especially considering you’re probably standing during the process. (Obviously, reading skills are a benefit for any child playing the game, though there isn’t any real need to understand the story text in order to play.) A Free Mode is also available, similar to other DDR games, where the player can choose the music routine they’d like to play. A mini-game selection makes for a fun distraction (envision Whack-The-Mole via dance pad), and while the game doesn’t sport a workout mode like other DDR games, it does provide calorie tracking, counting the number of calories you’ve burned while playing.

Mario Mix is packaged with a dance pad, which obviously is fundamental for a child’s enjoyment of the game. Thankfully, the pad has been manufactured well, with large, accurate sensor pads and a non-slip bottom. It may slip slightly with fast paced routines on carpeted floors, but overall, it’s of a far better quality than many third party pads. The game can be played with the standard Gamecube controller, but really, where’s the fun in that?

If you’re looking for a healthy activity for the kids – something fun, something fitness – Mario Mix fits the bill.

Summary: Better suited for young players and DDR newbies, Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix is recommended for any family looking to, ahem, mix exercise and video gaming.

View a Slide Show of Screens

As much as I love Star Wars, the games have not always been up to snuff. Let's be honest - some were real stinkers. While I enjoy all the Star Wars movies, almost all the games I encountered for episodes 1-3 just didn't excite me. I may be showing my age (and bias) though towards the "Classic" trilogy. However, my godchild really liked Lego Star Wars for the Gameboy, so I thought I'd get the game for my son and see what he thought. (We played it on the XBox.) What a great great decision!

Lego Star Wars is basically a 3D platformer. It is set in the Star Wars universe of the second trilogy (episodes 1-3). While these weren't exactly the most light hearted of movies, the game takes a very light view of the movies, adding lots of humor where the movies were overly serious. Everything in the game, from the people to the ships and the environments is built with Legos. So when you blow something up, you see a lot of Lego blocks break apart. That by itself is fun as I'd never smash my own Legos in real life. (Although my son has no qualms about doing so.) Get killed by a droid? Instead of seeing a morbid dead body you see a bunch of little Lego pieces.

The game takes you through the movies, each movie being broken up into chapters. As you play, you gain access to new characters and can purchase them for use elsewhere. There is a setting outside of the movies where you can simply run around and have fun. As more characters become available, you will see them running around, having fights, etc. You can run up to any of these characters and take them over. My son and I had great fun fighting each other as Jedis, or simply goofing off.

Characters are generally divided into three groups: Droids, "Shooters", and Jedis. The droids don't typically do much - but are required for certain puzzles. Shooters are characters who just have a blaster. They are pretty good for getting through large groups of enemies and can also use a grapple to move over obstacles. Jedis are, as expected, the most fun group. Along with being able to swing a lightsaber around, they can also use the Force. The Force is used in various places to get solve puzzles, or sometimes just as a way to get extra money.

What made the game most enjoyable though is the multiplayer aspect. My son and I played the entire game together, each of us using different characters. At many points during the game we had to stop and think about how to proceed. The puzzles don't normally take long to solve, but it was fun to work on them with my son. There were a few parts of the game that were a bit hard for my six your old, but the cool thing is that he could simply drop out - let me handle it - and then jump right back in once the hard part was over. Also - my son took great joy in "accidentally" shooting me every now and then. (I still think he was out to get me...)

One final note. The third movie of the prequels had a few elements that were a bit "intense" for younger kids. These scenes are (in general) not carried over to the game, and I do not think a parent needs to worry about them here.

View Slide Show of Screens

Summary: Out of all the games I've reviewed at KidGamers - I think this is the one I would recommend the most. The light hearted approach - the setting - the multiplayer - are all well done and come together to create a great game for both kids and parents alive.

The Tony Hawk skateboarding game franchise now has multiple titles available for just about every gaming platform. Recognizing that the atmosphere, intensity, and language of these games if often inappropriate for younger players, the Tony Hawk team and Disney paired up to create Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure. The combination of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater engine and known loveable Disney characters is a sure win, right? Well, maybe not.

Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure allows kids to skate around worlds, earning points and solving puzzles so as to open additional worlds and unlock additional skaters and accessories (skateboards, apparel, and so on). Worlds are based on Disney themes, Buzz and Woody skate around Andy's Room and Pizza Planet, Pumbaa and Timon skate around the jungles, Tarzan and Jane skate all over Clayton's ship, and so on. The worlds are vast, and there are lots of them. Skating and exploring the worlds will entertain kids, at least initially. To complete worlds puzzles must be solved. These are usually a series of objects to be retrieved by skating up to them.

Each skater (both kid skaters and Disney character skaters) have different skill-levels, although there seemed to be no real difference between them in actual game play. It is also possible to create your own character, with extensive control over clothing and body characteristics (this feature was a big hit).

Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure is definitely targeted at the pre-teen crowd. The screens, the animation, the characters and their catch-phrases, and the rather juvenile humor are all designed to appeal to the young (as opposed to the young at heart).

Taking this into account the game has several real problems.

For starters, game play tends to be too difficult for young players. Not being able to complete missions will really frustrate kids, and my kids really did have a hard time completing missions. The skateboard moves have cutesy names (which differ based on the character you are playing as), and the characters responses to falling flat on their faces or butts will amuse (the first dozen or so times), but learning those moves will likely be beyond the capabilities of the players that this game will most appeal to, by which time those amusing responses will have started to become downright annoying.

In other words, the players who would have the skills to master the moves so as to complete missions and advance in the game won't want to play this game because it really is juvenile. And kids who know and love the characters and worlds will find the game too troublesome and frustrating.

The other aspect of the game that is highly inappropriate (considering the target demographic) is the amount of in game advertising. And there is nothing subtle about it. One mission involves obtaining Nokia ring tones in a specified amount of time (going so far as to provide the exact phone model number), and another involves delivering food for MacDonald's to win a pair of red clown's feet. Product placement is one thing, this goes way beyond what I'd consider acceptable.

Ironically, the youngest players in our household were the ones who liked this game the most. No, they've never completed a mission, and no, they don't even care to. They just like pushing buttons on the controller to make Andy and Tarzan skate around and fall off, and laugh hysterically at the silly one-liners.

If you are looking for a serious skateboarding game, this is decidedly not it. If you are looking for simple entertainment using well known Disney characters, then this may fit the bill initially, but kids will get frustrated by it quickly, and it is sure to join the stack of games they don't play.

Summary: This is one of the worst gaming investments we've made. We'd not recommend it at all, unless you find a used copy going cheap.

Note: This game is also supported on PS2 and GameCube. As per company provided product details the game should be identical on all platforms, however we've only played it on Xbox, and this review is based only on the game as played.