Video Games

New Super Mario Bros
$49.99
I didn't purchase the game from Amazon (although I originally had planned to) because my boyfriend's birthday was two days after the release date. This was at the top of his "wish list". He's been playing Mario since the early 80's and has beaten each version several times over, myself since the early 90's and I never got further than world 3 on my Game Boy. Needless to say, he's more of a "Gamer" than I am. But let me tell you, I absolutely love this game.
We have played it for at least a couple hours a night since his birthday and it goes by so fast. It is easy, I suppose, for someone who is actually coordinated. But for people like me who would tilt to the side while playing Mario Kart on the N64 (or any game on any system before the Wii-era, actually) it gives a perfect blend of comfort and modern touches. Same typical Mario style with some shakes and dancing turtles. The multi-player option REALLY makes the game, loads of fun for the entire family. I highly recommend this game.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
$59.99
This is the first FPS game that I bought in probably over 5 years, and I had a blast. If you're a casual gamer like me, and just want some eye candy and an easy to follow game where you shoot down the bad guys...this is it. The campaign mode is pretty short I guess, around 6 hours of play time. But the online gameplay is nice, and it's a good game to have when friends come over and you want a split-screen shooter. Overall, it's a fun game; it's easy to pick up and you get to shoot down a bunch of russkies.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
$59.99
Great game, fantastic visuals, sounds and a full complement of weapons. Single player campaign is really a primer to play the multiplayer. The great majority of MW2 is for multiplayer, so if you're looking for a satisfying solo experience, look elsewhere.

CoD's designers are moving the series from single player to multiplayer. MW1 took about 8-10 hours to win, if that. MW2 takes five at the most. This tells you where the designers' loyalties lie - it ain't the single player anymore, if it ever was.

Buy MW2 for the multiplayer depth and maps. Don't buy it if you're looking for a great single player game.

Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
$49.99
I played this game with my nephew this week and we had a blast! My favorite thing was that we could each go off and have fun with the split screen option instead of one person having to follow the other person around the whole time. Also, each Movie section has this big area where you can go around and discover all sorts of other fun things to do, not just the normal game.

He's 9, so he definately is ready to start taking charge and it was great because he never had to ask his aunt how to do something, in fact, in the area wehre you can create your own stuff he was showing me how to do it. Everything was really intuitive for him so he had a blast.

We played for an hour or so and never got bored, there were so many different types of things to do in the game. It was just bedtime so we had to stop. I can't wait to play it with him again!