Gift Giving Guide: Top Ten Hottest Kid-Friendly Video Games of the Holidays

The latest in the Mario franchise is Super Mario Galaxy. This video game is on our HOT HOT HOT Holiday list and is predicted as being the hottest video game of the Christmas season. The innovative design of the Wii makes Super Mario Galaxy a high tech adventure beyond any video gamer’s expectations.

Little girls who wish to own a horse can do so, at least in a virtual sense, thanks to Horse Life for the Nintendo DS. The 3D graphics on this game are stellar and while some of the movements during the initial training can be a little annoying the ultimate result is worth the effort. As players lead their horses through national and international championships, they can become the grand champion just like their grandfather who gave them their horse in the beginning.

The latest Legend of Zelda video game took well over a year to be released. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass was well worth the wait. The game continues where Wind Waker left off. In it, Link arrives on a strange island, where the adventure continues and Tetra is missing. As Link tries to find Tetra, there is plenty of danger and adventure. All of the fun occurs on the touchscreen and moving Link is easier then before thanks to this innovative new form of game play. Despite coming out in October, this makes our HOT HOT HOT holiday list.

The popularity of sports oriented games has made Madden NFL 08 and all its predecessors some of the most played video games on the market. Kids who love football will love Madden NFL 08, with all new features associated with the various systems on which the game can be played. Madden NFL 08 is available for XBOX 360 and XBOX, Nintendo Gamecube, Wii, and DS, PSP, and Playstation 2 and 3.

Fishing Master is one of the latest games by Nintendo Wii. Fishing Master allows players to compete against each other in four player fishing tournaments, discover new fishing locations, and catch up to 100 different types of fish. The innovative Wii remote allows for actual casting of the line in a unique form of game play. Players can relax the day away and catch fish leisurely or catch competitively against other players.

MySims is the latest Sims game. It’s available for Nintendo Wii and DS. The more cartoonish characterizations just add to the fun of MySims. In it, players get the chance to make their own Sims character, build a town, customize it, and socialize with the local residents of the town. New features allow for the customization and creation of furniture to add to businesses and homes in town. This is one hot game so it just has to be placed on our HOT HOT HOT list.

Everybody’s favorite character from the hit Pixar movie, Cars is back in his very own video game. Mater rolls his way through Cars 2: Mater-National Championship, developed for Playstation 2. Mater’s best friend, Lightening McQueen is hosting the second annual Mater National Championship in Radiator Springs. The competition has gone international allowing for competition with a whole new cast of cars. There is also the chance to play in the super charged Monster Mode. This game is the kid-friendly version of GTA with a Cars theme, and we love it!

The first meeting of Mario and Sonic occurs at the Olympics in this HOT HOT HOT holiday pick. Available for Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS is Mario & Sonic: Olympic Games. In it, players compete against classic Nintendo characters including Mario and Sonic as well as Luigi, Yoshi, and Tails. Each player competes in an Olympic event. The events include such popular Olympic events as gymnastics and track and field. This is one athletic game so we recommend playing it on the Wii for the added effects!

The latest Pokemon Battle has arrived, for Nintendo Wii. Pokemon Battle Revolution has better graphics, better action, and fantastic battles! As players travel through Poketopia, they can go to one of ten stadiums. After winning at all the Coliseums, players go on to be the Champions of Poketopia. This game allows for online dueling, transfers of Pokemon from Pokemon Diamond and Pearl and so much more!

We’re Avatar – The Last Airbender fans, so it was exciting to hear about the new game, Avatar: The Burning Earth for the Nintendo DS, XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii, and Playstation 2. In this game, you can experience air battles with Appa and Momo, firebending as Zuko and Uncle Iroh, multi-levels of play, and exciting arena battles. This is an exciting edition to the Avatar family of games and is a part of our HOT HOT HOT holiday list.