HIT PICK #6: A PLATFORM ADVENTURE WITH NO STRINGS ATTACHED... Puppeteer offers some of the Best Platforming on PS3!!!

PUPPETEER

PS3
Single & Multiplayer
Rated: PG

Guru's always been a big fan of videogames that offer something a little bit different, and Puppeteer is the perfect example. On the surface, this game is your typical platform adventure. But it goes way beyond that with a unique visual style, some truly great ideas, and a whole lotta charm. The result is anything but, your standard platform action game!

Inspired by set changes in Japanese Kabuki theatre, this awesome platform adventure transports players to a world that exists on a stage and is inhabited by marionettes. Puppeteer is brilliantly bizarre, wildly inventive, and totally amazing - it's right up Game Guru's alley!

The storyline has a dark-fairytale flavour, taking place in a magical puppet theatre. It’s the tale of a boy named Kutaro, who after a run in with the Moon Bear King literally loses his head! Transformed into a puppet and armed with a magical pair of scissors, Kutaro embarks on an incredible adventure to recover his head and find his way home. 

All of the action plays out on a single stage, which using an ingenious series of set changes pushes the story through numerous locations and environments. It one of the more inventive features of the game and Guru totally dug it!

Better still, our hero can also switch heads to utilise unique special abilities. During his quest, Kutaro will find a series of new noggins to help him overcome the increasingly challenging obstacles and enemies he'll face. This is a way cool twist on the platform genre, which puts Puppeteer up there with the best of them!

HIT PICK #5: SWAP TILL YOU DROP... The Newest Skylanders Game has Swap Force Characters Which Allow You to Mix 'n Match Abilities!!!

SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE

PS3 / Wii U / Xbox 360 / Wii / 3DS
Single & Multiplayer
Rated: G

When it comes to kids games, Skylanders is one of the biggest and baddest blockbusters over the past couple of years. 

It's a hugely entertaining mix of collectible character figures (toys) and action orientated adventure videogaming, which has become extremely popular with kids. 

Swap Force is the third installment in the series, and following on from Giants which had cool XL characters and figures, it introduces an awesome army of new interchangeable Skylander character figures. 

There are 16 of these groovy ‘swap’ figures to collect, with new heroes like Wash Buckler and Magna Charge being added to the already extensive roster of characters. 

The top and bottom halves of these character figures can be switched (coming apart at the waist), allowing players to create over 250 totally unique ‘appearance’ and ‘power/ability’ combos. 

Swap Force also introduces another 16 standard figures and a whole new region to explore called the Cloudbreak Islands. 

All in all, this is another action-packed addition to the series which Guru wholeheartedly gives two big thumbs up - Skylanders Swap Force is a must play over the holidays!!! 

HIT PICK #4: DO YOU WANNA DANCE? Get Down and Boogie in the Latest and Greatest Dance Game Around!!!

JUST DANCE 2014

Xbox One / PS4 / Wii U / Xbox 360 / PS3 / Wii
Single & Multiplayer
Rated: G

If you wanna dance or just love those dancing party games, they don’t get much better than the Just Dance series! This latest instalment, Just Dance 2014, is bringing its smooth moves to every motion control platform, including the latest and greatest next-gen consoles, PS4 and Xbox One.

Featuring over 40 of the hottest dance tracks around and including artists like Christina Aguilera and One Direction, Just Dance 2014 adds a fresh dose of cool new moves and game modes into the mix, making it the perfect party starter for all you dance fiends out there!

For the first time ever, players can own the spotlight and lead back-up dancers in On Stage Mode, or dance with anyone, anywhere in the World in the online multiplayer mode - World Dance Floor. If that wasn’t enough, there’s even a Custom Sweat Mode for fitness fans, where they can customise playlists for their own personal workout, making this one of the best dance games around!!!

HIT PICK #3: TO INFINITY AND BEYOND... Disney Infinity gives Guru a glimpse at the Future of Kids Videogames!

Disney INFINITY

PS3 / Wii U / Xbox 360
Single & Multiplayer

Rated: G

It's really unfortunate, but the truth is, a lotta kids games totally suck!!! The good news is that Guru hand-picks the games that make it onto his website, so you'll always find something worthwhile playing here!!! 

Now every once in a while, something really special comes along, a truly exceptional kids title that goes the extra yard... When this happens, Guru tries his best to spend some extra time on these games, giving them some well deserved extra coverage. 

If you're a regular visitor to G@MER 4 KIDS, you've more than likely already seen my Disney Infinity features over the past months. Infinity is truly is one of the most impressive kids games of recent years!

Taking the best ‘creative’ parts of titles like LittleBigPlanet and Minecraft, and then mashing them up with Skylanders style ‘figurine’ tech, Infinity goes way beyond anything Guru's ever seen before. 

The game is broken up into two parts. There are Playset levels which are themed (eg. Monsters U - which is all about pulling off pranks) with traditional action/adventure gameplay, and then, there’s the incredible virtual Toy Box, which allows kids to play any which-way they’d like to.

Players can mix and match characters and worlds, build their own games, and share their creations - the possibilities are truly endless! Disney Infinity is a must play for anyone with kids, who is a big kid themselves, or is a fan of the Disney/Pixar films – in a word, AWESOME!!!

HIT PICK #2: THOSE PLAYFUL PIKMIN RETURN... The Third Installment comes to Wii U and it's Totally Outta This World!!!

PIKMIN 3

Wii U
Single Player
Rated: PG

Originally released back in 2001, Pikmin’s story of a shipwrecked astronaut surviving on an alien planet with the help of strange plant-like creatures, made for one of the most unique strategy games ever made. 

It instantly become a cult classic and has grown a huge following with Nintendo fanboys/fangirls over the years.

It's been ages since we've had a new Pikmin game to play, although Pikmin 1 and 2 were re-released on Wii a little while back. Now the third instalment in this awesome series comes to Wii U, with innovative GamePad controls and gorgeous visuals - Pikmin has never looked better!

Fans can now experience a whole new way to control those weird little plant creatures and their different abilities. Featuring a story where a famine has hit a planet known as Koppai, Pikmin 3 sees, not one, but three space travelers (Capt. Charlie, Alph, and Brittany) landing on planet Pikmin, to search for life-saving food that will help them rescue their starving homeworld.

Once again, the trio of astronauts must enlist the help of the strange Pikmin creatures to overcome the many dangers they’ll face on their mission. 

Featuring awesome visuals, and brand new Pikmin to enhance the team’s ability set, this is a must play for anyone who enjoys strategy games or is a fan of the original Pikmin games - brilliant stuff!

HIT PICK #1: GTA meets LEGO ACTION FLICK... An 80's flavoured Free Roaming Actioner that would've starred Arnie back in the Day!!!

LEGO CITY Undercover

Wii U
Single Player
Rated: PG

Incredibly, Lego City Undercover is probably best described as Grand Theft LEGO!!! It's got a big open world to explore, in which you can cause all sorts of carnage and mayhem. That said, parents needn't worry too much, as there’s only ‘Mild Violence’ in the game in which all the characters, vehicles, and environments are totally created with digital Lego.

Additionally, the protagonist is actually an undercover cop not a criminal, so you'll be cleaning up the streets stopping crime, rather than causing it. Undercover is one of the most highly anticipated Wii U exclusives, and should not me missed!

It ditches the typical movie licenses the Lego series of games are best known for, but easily holds its own as an explosive free-roaming actioner, inspired by crazy 80’s action flicks starring the likes of Arnie, Sly, and Chuck… You know what I’m talking about. Over-the-top cop antics that borders on silliness, but is a whole lotta fun!

Lego City Undercover is jam-packed full of humour and visual jokes, and in Guru's view should sport a tagline like, “He’s a good cop, having a bad day!” Players take control of undercover detective Chase McCain as he embarks on a series of missions to stop a massive crime wave spearheaded by criminal mastermind Rex Fury. Cool vehicles, disguises, and tons of Lego collectibles make this a must-play on Wii U!!!