Parent-friendly DS games

[Mark]

I'm really rather :shocked: by this given my Mum's technophobic tendencies, but she wants more DS games, and I mean real games, not brain excercises. :shocked:

So, anyone got any suggestions for parent-friendly titles? Really not sure what sort of things to go for but I suspect an FPS might not go down so well (yet). ;D

While I'm at it, I'm going to wander into Game tomorrow and see what DS cases they have in stock, but if anyone can recommend anything better then I'd certainly like to know. :)

[Haly]

My Mum mainly plays puzzle games: Zoo Keeper, Polarium, Picrosse and Bust a Move DS.
If yours likes puzzles, I'd go for one of them :)

There's some half decent looking sudoku games about too.

[Mark]

Already got her one of the Sudoku games as I've lost count of the number of Sudoku books she's been through.

I'm considering less mentally strenuous stuff too.

PS - she was looking at some recent Star Trek game (name escapes me). I think that had far more to do with the price and the name than the game's content though so god only knows what she would have got. ;D ;D

[Haly]

Maybe something like Theme Park? Or one of the many sims about?

What kind of games were you thinking of if not puzzle games? :)

[Mark]

I wasn't. I can rightfully plead ignorance when it comes to games (well, mostly - the only things I hear about them come from this very forum. :))

[Haly]

Ok, to narrow it down. Would you want a game a la Mario with some platforming and tests of reactions and a bit of minimal puzzle solving, an RPG type game where you control a party of people on a quest and the fighting is taken turn by turn, a point and click style adventure with a mystery to solve?
Got ideas for all, just need to gauge what you're thinking of really :)

[Mark]

Firstly, sorry for being such a n00b. I should stress that it's DS gaming I plead ignorance on. :o

Anyway, adventure/mystery sounds like a good choice. Platform sounds OK too. Not sure about RPG stuff as that's one genre I've never come across even on the PC, but my gut feeling is probably not.

[Haly]

Np :) Sorry if I seemed patronising! Was trying to work out a good way of phrasing things. :)

For adventure/mystery type games I would suggest Another Code, Hotel Dusk or Ace Attorny. They're not too fast paced, the stories are pretty good (especially with Another Code imo) and I think it'd give her plenty to do. :)
For platformer, I'd go for New Super Mario Bros DS or Super Mario 64 DS, might as well go for the best of the lot ;) Does depend how good she is at moving fast etc. I know my Mum would love something like that but unfortunately her neck injury lets her down :(

I can definitely strongly recommend that lot :) And I know my Mum would love Another Code and Ace Attorny if it wasn't that she needs games she can put down fast.

[Mark]

I think my mum just needs games she can put down. ;D

Thanks. Will have a look out for those.

[LeperousDust]

Maybe one of the classic zelda games (they do get more complicated and harder as they get on). I'm thinking Link to the past style if you can. It's essentially a puzzle based game with a bit of fighting in it, you could start leading her towards the FPS route this way ;). Zelda has always been a pretty cool handheld (and console game). I'd love to get a DS for the new Zelda shame i can't afford it right now... :(

Ooooh as above Mario 64 would be totally awesome too! Both of these games you can start and stop the campaigns, almost where-ever you like. And mario 54 is pretty non linear in terms of completing levels up to a point...

[Mark]

Thanks Jen. My mum is now very, very addicted to New Super Mario Bros. Can't play it to save her life (and gets frustrated at it because it's rated as a 3+ game), but still addicted. Dr. Wotshisname is going to be somewhat annoyed if she ever gets around to going back to some Brain Training (she'd played it every day, almost without fail, until Christmas Day). :D :D

[Haly]

Glad she's happy with them :D
Tell her not to worry about being frustrated by Mario, it's got some tricky bits in it that have annoyed me enough times but it's still fun :)

Having said that, I did get annoyed at my cousin's Scooby Doo game Boxing Day because it kept not doing what I wanted it to do ;D

[Mark]

She's doing all the minigames and not paying much attention to the proper game yet. Having played Brain Training since getting the thing she hasn't really 'got' using the buttons yet. She got even more frustrated after giving it to Dad for the first time and getting knocked straight off the high score in one of the minigames. :o

[Haly]

The minigames are great fun :D
I got really hooked on the one where you have to spot the face in an increasingly larger crowd of Marios.
It's all a matter of practice so I'm sure she'll get the hang of everything soon enough :)

[Joe 90]

:shocked:
my mum played my DS for the first time ever this christmas and she's normally very much against getting involved with my consoles but she got well into Brain training!