The essential PS3 party games for that perfect family Christmas 2009
Now in the ‘olden days’ (back when telephones had wires attaching them to walls, and you could count the number of television channels on the fingers of one hand), family fun would generally have been limited to board games, card games and charades (note to younger readers – ask your parents about the last one).
Now though, with a spot of planning, and some careful purchase of pre-Christmas shopping, your versatile PS3 can actually provide you with myriad ways to amuse the family, be they young or old, and thus assure a stress-free Christmas for all. What follows is Gamesweasel’s recommendations for a fun-filled PlayStation 3 Christmas – get your PS3 Christmas deals in now, before they all sell out.
- Buy a Playstation 3 120 GB from Amazon – $299.99
- Buy a Playstation 3 250 GB from Amazon – $349.99
Singstar
Suitable for: Family members of all ages
Singstar started on the PS2, and is still going strong on the older platform, but next-gen PS3 owners benefit from a few extra tracks on each new release that PS2 owners miss out on. Should you be really into your Singstar, then it’s worth noting that the backwards compatibility of the PS3 also means that owners of the new console can still use the older Singstar games too.
The list of Singstar titles now available is literally too numerous to list all of them here, but particularly recommended would be the most recent release, Singstar: Take That, a compendium of the most popular hits from the well-known boy band; Singstar: Motown, also recently released, and featuring a range of tracks which will keep mum, dad and probably the grandparents happy too; Singstar: Queen, featuring, as the title suggests, the well-known hits of Queen; Singstar: ABBA, one for the ladies; Singstar: Boy Bands vs Girl Bands, something to keep the kids happy when they get bored with Take That; Singstar: Singalong with Disney, something to keep the younger kids amused (and all those ‘big kids’ who’ve watched too many Disney movies); and last but not least, Singstar: Anthems, which contains a selection of those songs that for one reason or another, everybody knows! With so many different styles of music available to keep everyone happy Singstar is one of the top PS3 games for Christmas 2009.
- Buy Singstar Bundle including 2 microphones from Amazon – $56.99
- Buy Singstar ABBA from Amazon – $39.82
- Buy Singstar Pop from Amazon – $17.25
- Buy Singstar Pop 2 from Amazon – $28.89
- Buy Singstar Queen from Amazon – $36.99
- Buy Singstar Singalong with Disney from Amazon – $26.99
- Buy Singstar 80’s from Amazon – $29.82
- Buy Singstar 90’s from Amazon – $26.50
EyePet
Suitable for: Keeping the younger kids quiet while the older relatives are busy
Using the PS3’s EyeToy camera, the EyePet shows you a live image of your room, on TV, then inserts the pet into the room, where you can interact with it. It jumps around the floor, climbs onto your shoulder, lets you pet it, feed it and play with it, and kids are going to absolutely love it.
It worth pointing out that the EyePet isn’t perfect – it’s a little tricky to start with, getting used to trying to touch something that only exists on the TV screen, and the interaction is sometimes a little iffy as you find yourself putting your hand through your pet, but on the whole it’s extremely well-realised, and even adults will find themselves sucked into thinking of the little fellow as real as he bounces around on the screen, responding to ‘almost’ your every move.
EyePet is a reminder that long before Nintendo released a controller that you have to wave around, PlayStation owners were enjoying motion-sensitive, controller-free gameplay through the innovations of the EyeToy camera.
- Buy EyePet – game only from Amazon – $39.99
- Buy EyePet Bundle including camera from Amazon – $56.99
- Buy Playstation 3 Eye from Amazon – $29.99
Buzz!
Suitable for: Family members of all ages
Again a Playstation game which started on PS2, Buzz really came into its own on Playstation 3 where the addition of wireless buzzers and better graphics and sound made things that much more fun. Most recently, Buzz! Quiz World was released for the Playstation 3, but also available is Buzz! Quiz TV and Buzz! Brain Of The UK. In addition to the quiz options there are a variety of games available aimed at younger gamers who perhaps aren’t quite coordinated enough yet to manage a proper controller. Buzz! Junior Monster Rumble was popular on PS2, and should now be available for download for PS3 from the PlayStation Store.
- Buy Buzz! Quiz World – game only from Amazon – $36.99
- Buy Buzz! Quiz World bundle with 4 wireless buzzers from Amazon – $59.99
- Buy Buzz! Quiz TV bundle with 4 wireless buzzers from Amazon – $59.99
- Read and watch our Buzz! Quiz TV review
Guitar Hero, Band Hero and Rock Band
Suitable for: All but the youngest family members, and those with zero coordination
The concept is simple: you hold the dedicated controller, and use the fret buttons (or the drums in the case of the drum kit) to create the notes as they race towards you on the screen. Hit the buttons at the correct time and the tune continues, hit them at the wrong time, and that part of the track, be it lead guitar, bass guitar or drums, stops until the next note appears. A virtual crowd cheers or boos your efforts on the screen, and good performances are rewarded with new tracks to tackle and other bonuses while lousy performances earn you insults and leave you with your ‘Rock God’ reputation in tatters.
An idea that started with the awesome Guitar Hero, ‘Band Hero’ is the most recent release for the PS3, and one with a rocking track list which should offer something for most family members to try.
The Beatles: Rock Band, meanwhile, is a must-have for those fans of the Fab Four with the cash to afford the complete kit, and family get-togethers are probably one of the only times when you’re going to have enough people available for an entire band. If you can’t quite stretch to the newest games, then it’s well worth taking a look at some of the older Guitar Hero titles which are still available (Guitar Hero 5 has not been out long and for more tracks it’s worth checking out Guitar Hero III and Guitar Hero World Tour). Even if your cash can’t stretch to enough instruments for an entire band, it’s well worth just trying a version of the game with the guitar only, as strumming along to your favourite rock tracks is great fun, and can be almost as much fun to watch – get your uncoordinated uncle to have a go at it on after lunch on Boxing Day and you’ll see what I mean.
- Buy Guitar Hero 3 Legends of Rock from Amazon – $39.99
- Buy Guitar Hero World Tour from Amazon – $39.92
- Buy Guitar Hero 5 from Amazon – $56.99
- Buy Guitar Hero Aerosmith from Amazon – $15.99
- Buy Band Hero from Amazon – $59.99
- Buy Rock Band from Amazon – $17.95
- Buy Rock Band 2 from Amazon – $99.00
- Buy Beatles Rock Band from Amazon – $49.96
- Read and watch our reviews of Guitar Hero 2, Guitar Hero 3 Legends of Rock, Guitar Hero World Tour, Guitar Hero 5 and Guitar Hero Aerosmith
- Read and watch our reviews of Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and Beatles Rock Band