Howdy Giant Bomb,

My little sister is having her birthday soon, and she's requested and is getting a 360. Naturally, I am pretty excited that she is maybe embracing my favorite hobby, and I want to get her a game she might really like, but I don't actually know WHAT to get an 11 year old girl. I thought something accessible, but still pretty great. Maybe Viva Pinata or Nuts & Bolts (although I hear Nuts & Bolts is actually kind of difficult, I never played it personally).

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

well she has to kick it off with a banger so batman of course.

@scarace360: As much as I am loving Arkham City, I think it's way outside of her scope and also pretty grim.

@scarace360: As much as I am loving Arkham City, I think it's way outside of her scope and also pretty grim.

• Kameo: Elements of Power
• Deadspank
• Fable 1, 2, 3
• Her favourite Disney movies' games

Saint's Row. It has a wider fashion range than Grand Theft Auto.

Maybe some movie based games. Harry Potter or something.

Gears of War 3. Great game.

@The_Laughing_Man: I feel like that thing is some giant scam or something! Am I missing something? It seems like a way to sell a game, and then some kind of lousy toys in addition? I'd feel like I was involving her in some diabolical children's ponzi scheme or something.

@Jeust: My sister is a little ditzy, admittedly. I think the Fable stuff might go over her head, and the humor would for the most part, which is a big part of it. Deathspank is pretty crude, and I'd feel like a cheapwad getting her a launch title. Movie tie-in's are usually bad, although I hear that Cars 2 game was actually better than the actual movie.

@Video_Game_King: I'll be buying The Third for myself, and it's probably going to be my GOTY.

Viva Pinata sounds like it might be a good choice to me. Been a long while since I played Nuts and Bolts, so I can't really remember how complex it got. De Blob 2 is a decent one to consider. It's not great or anything, but I enjoyed playing it. Any of the Lego games would be nice, if she has any interest in the ones out(Harry Potter?).

I haven't played any of them myself, but some of the Kinect stuff(if possible) seems like they would be good for kids, in general. Should also be a good amount of XBLA games that might be worth a shot(The Maw, Peggle, Costume Quest, etc.).

@Mmmslash said:

@scarace360: As much as I am loving Arkham City, I think it's way outside of her scope and also pretty grim.

Come on everyone loves batman and there's nothing wrong with grim stuff.

I heard the first Viva Pinata game is supposed to be good. Also the Lego titles like Batman, Pirates of the Carribean etc...

@scarace360: I'm not even positive she knows who Batman is, actually. I mean, she probably has to, right? But I doubt she understands or cares why he is so rad.

@metalhead87: The XBLA idea isn't a bad one, and I might be able to milk more bang for my buck that way, too. Thanks!

@Mmmslash said:

@scarace360: I'm not even positive she knows who Batman is, actually. I mean, she probably has to, right? But I doubt she understands or cares why he is so rad.

@metalhead87: The XBLA idea isn't a bad one, and I might be able to milk more bang for my buck that way, too. Thanks!

Fine then what about portal 2?

Get her Bayonetta. Everyone needs a positive role model.

Viva Pinata, De Blob 2, and Lego versions of whatever she's into are all great places to start. First-person controls are never accessible to newcomers, especially if they aren't experienced with controlling games. Hate to echo everyone else, but that's the best advice I can give.

My 15-year-old sister really took to Mortal Kombat, though, so you can never be too sure.

De Blob 2 or any of the Lego games. You can find Lego Star Wars or Harry Potter for insanely cheap prices and they are pretty fun and charming, if i was eleven I'd love them. Pick one franchise she likes. If you want to go the expensive route you can always get her Kinect and Dance Central.

Portal on XBLA, then Portal 2.

In all seriousness get her Viva Pinata and Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise. Not only are they fun but girls seem to really like them. I bet she'd love these games,

@Mmmslash said:

@The_Laughing_Man: I feel like that thing is some giant scam or something! Am I missing something? It seems like a way to sell a game, and then some kind of lousy toys in addition? I'd feel like I was involving her in some diabolical children's ponzi scheme or something.

@Jeust: My sister is a little ditzy, admittedly. I think the Fable stuff might go over her head, and the humor would for the most part, which is a big part of it. Deathspank is pretty crude, and I'd feel like a cheapwad getting her a launch title. Movie tie-in's are usually bad, although I hear that Cars 2 game was actually better than the actual movie.

@Video_Game_King: I'll be buying The Third for myself, and it's probably going to be my GOTY.

Then try Kameo. It is considered a great game, and is on Xbox Live.

Dark Souls

@Beforet: Kidding aside, I'll be picking this up at the same time for myself. Cautiously optimistic!

Duke Nukem Forever

My 8 year old niece has spent the most time with Amped 3, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and Viva Pinata. She usually did some pretty inane things in those games, so maybe? They were definitely some sort of time sinks for her. Nowadays, it seems she's gotten into Persona 4 and watching me play Uncharted 2.

@ajamafalous: Barring even the crude, completely inappropriate nature of the game, I wouldn't get it for her on the grounds that it's just an abysmal game. I hadn't been that bored playing a game since that time I tried to learn Europa Universalis 3.

Kids love those damn Lego games.

@dirkfunk said:

Kids love those damn Lego games.

That they do, and you can play it with her, so you know... family bonding time!

you do understand tc is talking about a 11 yr old, , suggesting saints row , to 11 yr old ,

any way , how about

well i guess you can try movie tie ins such as happy feet and all that , harry potter , sonic spyro , crash , i think they have spongbob , kungfu panda quantum of solace 007 , banjo kazooie 1 2 and nuts and bolts , somthing of that nature

Dark souls.

But for real, I'm 20 and I absolutely LOVED lego batman. Lots of fun - LOTS of replay value. Hard to S rank, but easy to pick up - I imagine all the rest of the lego games would be like this too

Brave:Warriors tale

Kameo

Castle crashers

Get her interested in engineering with Banjo & Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. Female engineers get mad money.

Get her Lego Batman and then later get her Arkham City and tell her to play on easy mode.

From Dust?

Get her a co-op game that you want under the guise of giving her a game.

Also, what about the Sims for the 360?

Get her Viva Pinata: TIP.The menu interface is more streamlined/easier to use in TIP than the original.

Other than that, go Lego games. Those are easy to use and play.

Also, on XBLA try: Feeding Frenzy, Peggle, Bejeweled 3. All fun and easy.

@Mmmslash: I would say Viva Pinata. Also, 11 year olds don't give a shit about movie games. I used to LOVE the Lord of the Rings games. Replaying them now is almost like stabbing shards of glass in my eyes. Hell, I originally upgraded every single character with everything possible. That's how 11 year olds are.

Condemned.

Mini Ninja's /mini-ninjas/61-25065/

I'd highly reccomend Kameo. How would getting a launch title make you feel like a cheapwad, she's 11, if she doesn't know who batman is she's not gna be able to tell what year a game came out especially if its good. It is still a videogame and who knows, Kameo might become to her what Mario is to a lot of us.

Don't get her Viva Pinata. The game is not as age-friendly as it appears. It's pretty freaking stressful, to be honest. Cute, but like The Sims, it's life-draining, obsessive-compulsive Hell. I regret buying it.

Kameo is a good choice. Don't pay more than $20 for it. Banjo might be good too, though she may not be interested in the whole "building" aspect of it. You can always get the original Banjo-Kazooie on Xbox Live. It still holds up well. There's probably many great downloadable games for someone her age, such as Geometry Wars, Super Meat Boy, Limbo, Braid, The Secret of Monkey Island, etc.P

Portal 2 could be great, and it has co-op so you can play together. There's also Alice: Madness Returns. I know a couple 13 year old girls that really wanted to play it. Also, Prince of Persia from 2008 might really be worth checking out. Hope I'm not too late and that these suggestions help.

I'll also put my vote on Viva pinata Trouble in paradise.. Fantastic game and well tutorialed. Also, another thing to throw out there, Sea life safari on xbox live arcade is a good time waster, my 10 year old niece plays the hell outta it, that and burnout paradies. Burnout paradies has a constant free roam with no consequences for crashing so she can drive like a bat outta hell and wreck into things over and over and laugh about it and show off wicked wrecks... My niece is amazingly awesome.. :P

My nephews love Castle Crashers, Portal, and Nuts & Bolts, although Portal is hard for them. We also play Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1&2 alot

I've been trying to play more games geared to bring young girls into gaming and the 360 is much harder to find games specifically marketed to girls.

Do you know why she specifically asked for a 360?

I have found that there are a few more options for girls gaming if you go with a Wii or DS. I am currently playing through Hello Kitty Seasons, Harvest Moon Animal Parade and Kirby Epic Yarn on the Wii. As a girl gamer I think purchasing a 3DS is your best way to go. You will get a bunch of games tailored to girls and the backwards compatibility with the DS opens that door even further.

If she is set on the 360 Viva Pinata is fun but can get a little complicated, Costume Quest is cute and if you are also getting Kinect with the 360 there is Kinectimals, Dance Central and Fantastic Pets.

Dark Souls

Kameo, Viva Pinata, all of the Lego games.. and there's probably a lot on XBLA that would be great, especially things like the Maw.

@GloriousDinosaur said:

Dark souls.

But for real, I'm 20 and I absolutely LOVED lego batman. Lots of fun - LOTS of replay value. Hard to S rank, but easy to pick up - I imagine all the rest of the lego games would be like this too

Batman is by far the worst of the Lego games. The others have much more variety in terms of playable characters, levels and puzzles.

Hopefully the sequel fixes these things..

Catherine. It'll teach her all about boys.

Dragon Age and the upcoming Skyrim are good choices. Character creation, story, sword & magic, beards, dragons and all that good stuff.

Viva Pinata or the LEGO games

Viva Piñata!

De Blob 2 - charming kids game and likely not too difficult. Can't think of anything ese from the top of my head really that would fit other than Nuts & Bolts or Kameo.