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Luigi's Mansion 2
With his special, ghost-sucking vacuum cleaner - the Poltergust 5000 - in tow, Mario's brother Luigi, the lean, green screaming machine, gingerly sets foot in to a number of haunted mansions in Luigi's Mansion 2. Searching for the mysterious Dark Moon pieces, a bunch of powerful gems which have been scattered all over Evershade Valley turning the once-helpful ghosts hostile, it's up to you to explore the mansions (essentially haunted houses) as you find secret passages, pull mysterious switches, and solve a load of physics and/or common-sense based puzzles as you uncover each mansion's secrets. With the mischievous ghosts doing their best to get in your way, you'll be putting your vacuum cleaner to good use as you flash your torch to stun them, before sucking them up with your hoover - although the ghosts likely won't go down without a fight. Whether they're hiding in a chest of drawers, chucking books at you from a distance, or simply donning a pair of sunglasses to hide from your torch, each requires a slightly different strategy to defeat, and helps keep your child on their toes. While the lack of anything in the way of hints or prompts during boss fights means those in the lower end of this age category may find this a tad frustrating, there's more than just the single player game on offer here too, as Luigi's Mansion 2 is another game that features 3DS Download Play, letting a group of four friends work together to clear a tower of ghosts, even if only one of them owns the game - something which has gone down a treat with our own Dep Ed's 8 year old cousin.
Buy this if they like: Non-scary ghosts, Vacuum cleaners, M-M-M-Mario-oooo?
For more, read our full review, or for more on the game's suitability, check out our Parent's Guide
Buy Luigi's Mansion 2: Dark Moon from Amazon
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Stepping off a train into a village inhabited by friendly animals, Animal Crossing: New Leaf is a game that lets you lead another life. After a mix-up results in you being named the town's new mayor, it's up to you to do your best to make the town a better place to live, whether you're commissioning benches, plucking weeds, or simply making friends. A game that puts a huge emphasis on your relationships with the villagers, the townspeople in Animal Crossing each have their own personalities, interests, and idiosyncrasies, and getting to know your neighbours by simply having a chat every now and then is a huge part of the fun here. When you're not busy with your mayoral duties, you can kick back and relax, go fishing, hunt for fossils or deck out you and your house with all manner of funky clothes or furniture - with no rules, no time limits and no objectives, you're free to do pretty much as you please. Perhaps the only thing to be aware of is that the game does use a real clock, so 7pm in real life is 7pm in the game, meaning you'll only be able to do certain things at certain times of day - although it's possible to change the opening times of shops, and even when your villagers wake up and go to sleep, so you can make the game work around you, not the other way around. For those who prefer a slower pace to their games, and with plenty opportunities for customisation and socialising, Animal Crossing: New Leaf may be right up their street - although they will need a decent reading ability to get the most out of this.
Buy this if they like: interior design, making friends, money-obsessed raccoons
For more, read our full review, or for more on the game's suitability, check out our Parent's Guide
Buy Animal Crossing: New Leaf from Amazon
Pokemon X/Y
There's a reason the Pokémon series is still going strong. After all, who wouldn't like to catch and raise their own team of cute little creatures, as they travel the world, discover new Pokemon, and rise through the ranks on a quest to become the best Pokémon trainer the region has ever known? Still every bit as addictive as it ever was, Pokemon X and Y keeps the winning formula pretty much same while adding on several huge new features. While you'll still be wandering around the long grass, getting jumped on by wild Pokemon before engaging in turn-based battles, the Pokemon you come across are all now rendered in 3D - and are incredibly well animated, too. With a whopping 718 Pokemon to collect, budding Pokemon trainers will have their work cut out here, as they find, catch, and raise the Pokemon up by using it in battles, as it gains experience and levels up to grow stronger, or even evolve. With a new world to explore, new bosses to beat, and a hugely intuitive menu that makes sharing and battling with your friends easier than it's ever been before, this is a game that'll keep them busy for a long, long time. It's worth remembering that X and Y are both pretty much the same game, just with a few Pokemon that are exclusive to each version (to encourage trading) - and with a heck of a lot of reading to get down, they'll need to be a strong reader to cope with this.
Buy this if they like: Pikachu, turn-based battles, collecting things
For more, read our full review, or for more on the game's suitability, check out our Parent's Guide
Buy Pokémon Y from Amazon Next: 3DS Games for 11+ year olds > >
