XBOX-one-games
family,  Technology

Five Fantastic New Family Games for XBOX One – XBOX One Media Showcase

games_xbox

A couple short weeks ago, before school started up again, I was invited to a Toronto event called XBOX One Media Showcase. I was interested to see which of the new game launches would be appropriate for families. Happily I found quite a few and I spent a few hours testing some out. There were dozens of great games for adults and the new Halo was a huge draw. But I was more interested in the likes of Skylanders Superchargers.

These are my Five Favourite New Family Games for XBOX One Platform. (shown clockwise.)

    • Plants versus Zombies – GW2 -(Garden Warfare 2) everyone is familiar with Plants versus Zombies on their handheld smartphone devices. But of all the games I played at the XBOX One Media Showcase, this was my absolute favourite. I was hooked from the start. Imagine all those zombies in extremely high resolution so that they are almost three dimensional as they are attacking you. Loved this and must have it. Here are a few key details that make this game different: Six New Classes: Six new character classes from the past, present and future join the fight and bring with them new abilities and powers. Switch it up between Super Brainz, a zombie super hero who thinks he’s an 80’s action movie star, or play with Citron, a bounty-hunting orange from the future.
    • Over 100+ Character Variants: Combined with the new character classes, PvZ GW2 will feature over 100 playable characters at launch, so you can conquer Zomburbia with familiar favorites or explore what’s possible with new characters.
    • 12 New Immersive Maps: From a Time Travel Theme park to the Final Frontier, PvZ GW2 will feature 12 new maps, each one more alive than ever before and detailed with hidden secrets that combine to tell bigger stories about the PvZ universe.
  1. The Flame in the Flood – This is a survival game that kicked my butt. But here’s what I liked specifically about this one. It’s a post-apocalyptic survival game geared towards tween and teen girls and the whole family could play together. It’s not overly girly nor overly graphic either. I could see any of my family members playing this one. You start out as a character called Scout, who has a goth anime feel…so right there my kids are already hooked. (they weren’t with me because they were at camp that week, but I have already sold my older daughter on this game and she’s itching to get her hands on it.) The Flame in the Flood is fun and there is no graphic violence but I wouldn’t recommend for anyone under about 9. The Flame in the Flood is by the art director of Bio Shock. Help Scout venture by foot and by raft down a river while searching out and foraging for what she needs to stay alive.
  2. Skylanders Superchargers: If you are a parent then you’ve probably heard of Skylanders. Now, take all those other Skylanders games that you and the kids love to play and add a racing component with vehicles too. Skylanders Superchargers is all about the vehicles. And the best part for me as a parent was that all the previous Skylanders figures will still work with this set. All 300 plus toys work on this now. On line multiplayer has not been available for Skylanders before and now it is. Available on Wii as they also have a partnership with Nintendo, XBOX One and XBOX 360, all major platforms. This will be a huge hit this holiday season. Completely inoffensive and family friendly.
  3. The Long Dark – also a survival game but different than The Flame in the Flood. The Long Dark places you inside the game and you have to navigate and smartly figure out which tools you need to get through the wilderness in winter.A first person open world-survival game by Hinterland.
  4. The Avengers, by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developer TT Games is expected to be out any time now. Expected rating of E10+. This is an Action-Adventure game available for these platforms: Xbox One®, Xbox 360®, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®3, PlayStation®Vita, Wii™U, Nintendo 3DS™, Windows PC. The best-selling LEGO Marvel videogame franchise returns with a new action-packed, Super Hero adventure. Join the LEGO Marvel’s Avengers team and experience the first console videogame featuring characters and storylines from Marvel’s The Avengers, the blockbuster sequel Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, and more. Play as the most powerful Super Heroes in their quest to save the world.
    • Diverse roster of Marvel’s Avengers characters – Play and unlock more than 100 new and returning characters with an array of exciting capabilities, including fan favorites like Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America and Thor, new characters from Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, and more.
    • New and enhanced powers and abilities – Battle in new ways with enhanced powers and character abilities. Team up with core Avengers to execute incredible combo moves.
    • Free Roam Gameplay – Enjoy LEGO Marvel’s Avengers’ unique take on open world gameplay as you assume the roles of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to collect gold bricks, studs, and unlock additional characters.

The XBOX One Media Showcase was a free event open to media and gamers. There were so many more games I was interested in as well, but they were definitely not ones I’d share with my kids yet. The new Rise of the Tomb Raider looked mysterious and a bit awesome as well.

Mom of two beautiful active girls, traveller, fitness junkie, social media consultant, and keeper of the sanity.

25 Comments