Is Cookie Monster really cooler than Mickey Mouse?

Gamescom is a huge event with hundreds of gaming companies presenting a mind boggling number of games. As you stroll from huge room to huge room you are bombarded by game after game, after game. However, it’s not long before certain games begin to stand out from the crowd and after a couple of hours it starts to become clear (from queues!) which games are going to do well.

For me the crowds alone suggested that Gears Of War would be giving Call Of Duty a run for its money, though Battlefield 3 was creating its own buzz. Dance Central 2 was attracting a lot of interest (rightly so), as was Skyrim (the follow up to Oblivion). However, for me personally three games stood out as potential hot sellers come their launch in the lead up to Christmas.

FIFA 12

I have a bit of a confession to make about FIFA. Up until a few years ago I was a die hard Pro Evo fan (I know – don’t judge). At the time I was not into FIFA’s arcade style and preferred the ultra realism of Pro Evo, but that all changed with FIFA 11. That year, G had bought both Pro Evo and FIFA 11 and had pestered me to give FIFA a chance. Reluctantly I gave in and fired up FIFA 11, within minutes I was blown away. It turns out that because I was ignoring them, the FIFA team had decided to work hard to produce a great and realistic football sim. Their hard work to attract my attention was not wasted and I was converted.

FIFA 12 takes over where FIFA 11 left off. They have added more features to increase the realism, such as more realistic injuries, but as any football game fan will know, it is the ‘feel’ of the game that really counts. So with this in mind I went on a mission to play the FIFA 12 demo. Well, I can tell you that after an hour on the demo (thank you guys on the Xbox stand for not kicking me off, that Xbox ID badge really is magic). I can report that the ‘feel’ is just great. I am also glad to report that the stupid handballs are now gone and the wild sliding tackles had been replaced by realistic defending. But perhaps even more exciting, it seems that they have tweaked the engine so that tactics actually work. I even played the long ball system and found the target man holding up the ball (4-5-1, not a new newfangled 4-3-3 for those that care).

So if you are a FIFA fan then this will have you squirming in your seat with excitement, if you are not a FIFA fan but fancy a footy game then FIFA 12 is my recommendation.

Sesame Street v Disney

I must admit that it makes me a sad inside to even have to choose between Sesame Street and Disney. My love of all things Disney is well documented and the fact was have a dog called Oscar says all that you need to know about the importance of Sesame Street. So, you can imagine my horror as I came to realise that Littlest (8) had fallen in love with two games: Disneyland Adventures and Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster. Both for the Kinect, both very, very cool.

Now I know what you are saying, and yes I think Santa will probably bring a copy of each game, but the mischievous mum in me (this is the same mum that leaves messages on Eldest’s Facebook wall) can’t help but compare the two games.

Let’s start with Disneyland Adventures. The concept is pretty simple. They have mapped out Disneyland in California and allowed players to stroll around the virtual park, with each ride acting as the gateway to a different mini game. It seems to me that this is just the excuse the developers needed to put their own Disney fantasies into reality, but who is complaining? You can ride Thunder Mountain on a roller coaster cart thingy that requires you to pump the hand mechanism like a loony (something that is far too much fun), you can fly with Peter Pan over London (yes, I did hit Big Ben but it just sneaked up on me) and even fight with pirates thanks to the Pirates Of The Caribbean ride.

This is all great and I loved this game, but it came to life when I saw Littlest playing. She jumped straight in and was instantly enchanted. Xbox have managed to transfer the ‘magic’ of Disneyland into the game and I only needed to see my child hugging Mickey to know I (sorry, Santa) will be buying this game!

Next up is Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster. I was lucky enough to chat with the developers about this game and they where quick to point out that they wanted a game that expressed the ‘cool’ of Sesame Street. They also wanted to make the game appeal to both adults and kids. It seems that they are truly passionate about creating a game that will be a shared family experience.

So did they succeed? Well, from what I saw it’s a big YES.

My first experience of this game was Littlest ‘flying’, arms flapping with a bright blue Cookie Monster. As she flapped like a bird, she rose up the screen, followed closely by the Cookie Monster. This would probably have been enough, but once I saw that Elmo was helping guide the virtual characters I, of course, had to have a go.

It turns out that Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster is a story book experience designed to engage the child in both storytelling and action. They do this by using the virtual book as a framework for countless mini games that allow your child (or you) to dive in and out of the Sesame Street world. All the popular characters are there, but the developers are pretty tight lipped over some of the game’s details. The only thing they would tell me was it was all ‘cool’. I have begged them for a Count mini game, so fingers crossed (1, ha, ha, ha…).

So which game is best?

To be honest this is not really the correct question. The games are different and will appeal to children from about 4+. However, I suspect Sesame Street will be slightly more appealing to a young child, and Disneyland to anyone who has visited a Disney park (or just dreams of visiting).

What these two games do (thanks to the Kinect) is make gaming for young children both accessible and stimulating. They also create safe gaming environment that can be shared by all the family. I know this sounds like an advert, but after having a sneaky look behind the scenes this really and truly is the goal of Xbox. I have always felt that the Kinect was the board game of our generation — on a rainy Sunday afternoon the Scrabble stays in the cupboard and the Kinect is broken out for a family game of Kinect Sports (which I know will make some people squeal in horror!)

Thanks to the Kinect and the passionate work in development, we now have games that all the family can play and enjoy together. And I, for one, think that deserves a hooray!