Nickelodeon
My favorite old-school Nintendo game will always be Duck Hunt. Guns and hunting horrify me, but hand me a chunky plastic Nintendo weapon and I will happily target-practice for an hour.
The new Wii game Toy Story Mania is, essentially, a beefed-up Duck Hunt: While the challenges include popping balloons, knocking over cacti, and launching rockets, among other nonviolent acts, it’s at its heart a shooting gallery game. A beloved Toy Story character, like Bo Peep or Woody, introduces or is the inspiration for each level, and asks the player to complete a checklist of tasks. While you’re shown the list before the level starts, it can be tough to remember what you’re supposed to do once play begins.
Happily, though, the game can accommodate many players, so you can team up to tackle the to-do list. The Wiimote is deployed in innovative, if slightly painful, ways—you’re told to shake the controller back and forth rapidly, which seems like an invitation to carpal tunnel syndrome. Since there’s no story line, though, it’s easy to pick it up, play for 15 minutes, and move on—it’s not a time suck.
—Tori Bosch
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