Nintendo Wii Christmas party games 2008

So your Mum’s sloshed on the sherry, your Dad’s passed out from eating too many sprouts and your dog’s been sick because it chocked on a turkey bone. Well that’s my Christmas anyway. If yours is the same and you want to wake everyone up with some games on the Wii on Christmas day, here’s some ideas for you.

The first game you could try out is Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party. It’s the third game in the series and once again up to four players can take part in a variety of silly mini-games and spoof TV shows, adverts and other silly goings-on.

The good news is it’s genuinely funny and silly and will have kids and adults laughing at the same thing for different reasons (probably). There are also over 50 of those mini little games to play and there’s Wii Balance Board support which, although novel, isn’t as much fun as using the Wii remotes. As usual it’s great to try out with your family on Christmas day but it won’t hold your attention for months to come.

Nintendo’s Wii Music looked promising when the Wii was launched and now it’s finally with us. The game lets you play a variety of instruments with the Wii Remote and Nunchuck but unfortunately it’s not as fun as Guitar Hero and Rockband. Probably something that younger gamers would enjoy (and I’m talking primary school here), the game features over 60 instruments including guitar, drums, flute, piano etc and you hold and move the controllers as if you were playing the instruments. There are lessons and music for you to jam along with and you can play together in a band. It doesn’t sound too great though - it’s all a bit ‘ringtoney’ and you don’t feel too cool playing the instruments either.

Maybe stick this in another room for the kids to try out if you want to watch a Christmas horror movie in the lounge. While they’re there you may also want to sling them the new High School Musical 3 Sing It game and the High School Musical 3 Senior Year game too. I’m sure they’ll have fun while you spare yourself from catchy tunes that just won’t leave your head.

Finally, if you fancy a blast from the past you could try your hand at Monopoly. Seriously - at least no-one will be able to cheat and maybe there’ll be less arguments to ruin your day! There are a number of themed game boards to play on and there are modes in there which have a finite play time. Good if you hate spending hours rolling dice. Of course there’s more to just going round the board - there are mini games to play against each other to see how the cash gets divvied up!

So there are some ideas for what you can all play together for Christmas on your Wii. As expected, most of them are quite ‘kiddie’ but there’s fun to be had if you get into the Christmas spirit.

Next week, if you’re panicking about what to get your relatives, I’ve got some ideas for games you may wish to buy them for the Nintendo DS.

Get the games now
New: Buy Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party from Amazon.com
New: Buy Wii Music from Amazon.com
New: Buy High School Musical 3 Sing It with Microphone from Amazon.com
New: Buy Disney’s High School Musical 3: Senior Year Bundle with Mat from Amazon.com
New: Buy Monopoly for the Wii from Amazon.com