Games for Young Kids? (4 and 6, Xbox or PS3)

Maybe this isn't the perfect site/forum to ask this, but I'm sure I'm not the only "seasoned" gamer here who has, err, procreated or whatnot. I have 2 young kids and of course I've been trying to get them interested in games from the beginning. It sure helps when Dad always wants to fire up the Xbox or PS3 when he has the chance. ;)

Anyhow, it seems like they are finally starting to get it together from a coordination perspective to move up the gaming ladder a bit. They both play the flash games on Nick Jr, Disney Jr, etc. They also have played a LOT of Hamster Ball on the PS3.

They can both kinda play simple platformers, at least a bit. I found out that Mega Man was too much though. :) The problem is, if a game is too complex for them, they lose interest almost instantly. So what are some games I can use to usher them along?

Lego games.

Little Big Planet might be a good pick.

Lego games

Little BigPlanet

Condemed 2 (Because your a fucking cool dad, that's why)

That Cars 2 game seemed cool

Viva Pinata

Banjo Kazooie (nuts and bolts probably)

If you have a not terrible PC, Spore maybe

I can't think of more off the top of my head.

@Irishdoom said:

They can both kinda play simple platformers, at least a bit. I found out that Mega Man was too much though. :) The problem is, if a game is too complex for them, they lose interest almost instantly. So what are some games I can use to usher them along?

haha its too much for me too tbh, honestly i have kids at 10 and 4 and while they have wildly varying tastes i can tell you that the lego games go down a treat, especially the star wars ones, in a less gamey sense if you can get your hands on a udraw (THQ i miss you already) my kids love theirs and they spend a ton of time just doodling and playing the little games that come on it, got mine for the equivalent of about $20

Minecraft for the 360.

These are my two recommendations:

Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet:  

LittleBigPlanet 2:  

• Toy Story 3 (I hear it's pretty darn good for a licensed game)
• Skylanders
• Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts

Rayman Origins might not be bad, although the later levels can get pretty brutal.

Apparently, The Maw is a good one.

My niece (5) likes TMNT and The Avengers coin-op games on XBLA. The games only use 2 buttons and the joystick so it's easy to figure out and button-mashing any button automatically continues the game. Simple controls are paramount at that age. The two games can be played local co-op, too which is a lot of fun.

LEGO Games

Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition

Ni no kuni!

My 3 and 5 year old are big fans of LBP and LBP racing.

If you're willing to pick up DSes, I'm sure you can find tons of games. Stuff like Pokemon, Mario 3D Land, the WarioWare games...I'm pretty sure that they'd turn 18 before you'd run out of games for them to play on original DS. I know when I was that young I spent a LOT of time playing on my GBC (I was like 6 or 7 when I got it). And I think there's probably a good amount of games with local co-op as well. It's at least something to look into.

I haven't played a lot of DS games, I spent most of that time where I played a lot of that stuff on GBC and GBA, but I'm sure there are people around here who can provide recommendations, if you chose to go that route.

de Blob 2 would be a good choice. A little too simple to hold an adult's attention for too long, but I think it would be great for young kids. It's sort of a platformer, but it's more about mixing colors and painting buildings. I think it's $20 on PSN.

Maybe they'll like Ratchet and Clank games? The Collection (first three games in HD) is available for fairly cheap through Amazon or PSN. You might be better off going with All 4 One though, since it's a got a heavy co-op focus. A Crack in Time is the best game in the series though.

I wouldn't be surprised if a young kid ended up really liking a game like Journey. There's no fail-state, so you don't have to worry about it being too hard for them, and the online communication is so limited that you don't have to worry about them encountering inappropriate partners. Might be worth a try?

I would highly suggest Dust: An Elysian Tail. My nephews came around and wanted to play this very flashy, colorful action platformer. That art style is perfect for kids, and there's enough good writing for them to maybe learn something.

Adventure games are great for kids, like recently The Cave. In fact, I like to play adventure games like Broken Sword with the entire family where everyone tries to figure out the puzzle.

Also Rayman Origins.

IF you have a Kinect get Kinect Party / Happy Action Theater, my 4 year old nephew has a blast playing that.

LEGO games (for the hundredth time.)

Skylanders

The Maw

Splosion Man

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 & 2.

Toejam and Earl Collection, Streets of Rage 2, Minecraft xbox360, Rayman Origins, Journey, Flower, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 and 2, Sonic All-Stars Racing. My niece loves all of these games.

@Sumbog said:

Condemed 2 (Because your a fucking cool dad, that's why)

Marble Blast Ultra uses camera control so maybe not that but maybe because it starts out preposterously easy.

Sonic 4 Episode 1 might be too hard or it might not be. Sonic 4 Episode 2 will let them play together.

I haven't played Nights HD but if that's as good as the original, then that's good (even better than the above 2 suggestions. probably.)

maybe pinball games. It's just flippers, how much simpler can it get. I thought Pinball FX was good.

Some good recs so far, thanks all. I do have a couple lego game demos downloaded already, I'll have to check them out. And I am a PS+ member, so of course I have LBP2. :)

Puppeteer!

@hollitz said:

It's a trap, this thread is 2 years old. I don't know how it appeared on the main site.

But hell yes Puppeteer!

I think you probably want to make sure they aren't just appropriate, but also good quality.

As for direct suggestions; how about Broken Age? I'm sure it would go down well if you have a girl and a boy.

Catherine.

Brutal Legend - When the kid hits puberty he'll thank you in spades.

My friend's 4 year old really enjoyed Steamworld Dig.

My daughter has a few games in her rotation:

Tomodachi Life (this is by far her favorite)

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Disney Magical World

Minecraft

Goat Simulator (she goes nuts for this game. Just be sure to turn the cussing filter on, if you don't want them hearing that sort of thing)

Super Mario 3D World

Nintendoland

Kinect Party

Kinectimals

The Sims (this one might be questionable to some people, but I usually keep the 'risque' bits off-screen)

LittleBigPlanet 3

Costume Quest 2 (she only wants to play the trick-or-treating parts though)

She can play most of these by herself (she just turned 7), but we do play a lot of them together. Minecraft is usually our go-to 'together' game. I like to make her LBP levels and then watch her go through them too.

The Lego games seem like they would be great to play together, but weirdly we've never really played them.

@irishdoom: I have a 3 year old that sometimes manages to catch me playing games. So I try to encourage him learning by giving him the controller.

I found some success with simple arcade racers like Outrun 2, he had trouble steering so the invisible walls keep him going in the correct direction (Mario Kart just frustrates when he can't get off the wall).

Also genesis Sonic the Hedgehog 1st level had slight success, lots of random jumping while holding right direction gets him to beat that level in 1 minute 30 seconds, but he can't stay alive on the next level.

So yea my experiences 3 is kinda too early but I guess he might learn something from it, hope your having more luck with age 4.