25 Great Games You Can Feel Good About Buying for Your Kids This Year

I received about 14 bazillion emails last week from grateful parents thanking me for my list of 10 no-B.S. rules for buying games for their kids, all of them asking virtually the same question: Hey, thanks so much for telling me what not to buy my crumb-snatchers. But would you mind telling me what would be OK to buy for the little buggers? Pretty please?

Voil?: A follow-up story is born.

James Fudge, Crispy Gamer's news-tastic newsman and a dad, says that he and his son spent "a ton" of time this year playing Castle Crashers, the T-rated side-scroller available via Xbox Live Arcade, because "It was cute and yet so violent." Fudge adds, "Now keep in mind, I have the talk with my son before and after we play a game like this that animated violence and real violence are very different things and one is not acceptable."

LEGO Batman: The Videogame: Fighting crime, LEGO-style.

Editor-in-Chief John Keefer, father of two, says that he and his kids play Wii Sports bowling, Spore, Guitar Hero and World of Warcraft. "My son has ADHD," Keefer explains. "I let him play World of Warcraft (he's in my guild, and I supervise his play time) because it helps him with organization skills, communication and social interaction. He will lead raids, discuss strategies, and interact with his guildmates in a way that used to be difficult for him. His confidence level has increased, as has his ability to better interact with friends at school and problem-solve. He has really taken what he learned from playing the game and applied it in a positive way to real life."

Scott Alexander and his brood -- four kids and counting -- are into The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and the just-released You're in the Movies. "We had a blast with You're in the Movies last weekend," he says. Games he doesn't allow them to play: Crackdown, Grand Theft Auto IV and the God of War series. "I did show [the nine-year-old] around these games, and let him play a bit with me there guiding him. I felt like there was so much cool stuff in both these games it would be a shame to not show him."

In no particular order, here are 25 more safe bets for parents looking to make informed buying decisions this holiday season...

25. Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party (Ubisoft; Wii, $49.99)

The Gist: Funny, playful, and trés French, RRRTP features a series of waggle-centric battles against toothy, screaming rabbits. Remember how I said to never buy mini-game collections? This is the one exception of 2008.

Read All About It: Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party review

24. MLB Power Pros 2008 (2K Games; PS2, Wii, $49.99)

The Gist: Colorful (and very Japanese) exterior hides a surprising amount of depth in this light-hearted baseball sim. A must-play for any self-respecting baseball fan.

Read All About It: Games for Lunch: MLB Power Pros 2008

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Animal Crossing: City Folk: Talk to the animals.

23. Animal Crossing: City Folk (Nintendo; Wii, $49.99)

The Gist: Small-town life done Nintendo-style. Collecting apples and having detailed conversations with moles has never been so compelling.

Read All About It: Animal Crossing: City Folk review

22. Spore (Microsoft; PC, DS, $29.99-$39.99)

The Gist: Create your own creature -- go ahead and put the legs on the front and the head where the tail should be -- then rule the galaxy. From the same people who created The Sims series.

Read All About It: Spore review
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21. Viva Pi?ata: Trouble in Paradise (Microsoft; 360, $49.99)

The Gist: A gardening sim with a surrealist twist. Grow your magical garden properly, and maybe, just maybe, some of those wild pi?atas will decide to make your garden their home.

Read All About It: Viva Pi?ata: Trouble in Paradise review
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20. Viva Pi?ata: Pocket Paradise (Microsoft; DS, $29.99)

The Gist: Once again, grow your garden and attract hungry pi?atas; only this time do it all using the DS stylus.

Read All About It: Viva Pi?ata: Pocket Paradise review
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19. Rock Band 2 (MTV Games; 360, PS3, PS2, Wii; $189.99) (T-rated)

The Gist: Looking for a family bonding experience? Play the Who's "Baba O'Riley" with Mom on bass, Sally on drums, Bobby on lead guitar and Dad doing an awful Roger Daltrey impression.

Read All About It: Rock Band 2 review
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Soulcalibur IV: OK, this is the last fight. Mom's calling us for dinner.

18. Soulcalibur IV (Namco Bandai; 360, PS3, $59.99) (T-rated)

The Gist: Wild fighting game potentially lets squabbling siblings work out their differences in a virtual forum. Even button-mashers have a sporting chance against more experienced gamers, making SC IV the great equalizer.

Read All About It: Soulcalibur IV review
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17. Harvest Moon: DS Cute (Natsume; DS, $29.99)

The Gist: Create a successful virtual farm by raising and selling crops. Sound dull? It's not. Trust me, you'll be "milking cows" long after your kids have gone to bed.

Read All About It: Harvest Moon: DS Cute review

16. Civilization Revolution (2K Games; 360, PS3, PC, DS, $29.99-$59.99)

The Gist: The PC juggernaut makes its way to consoles and handhelds, letting kids (and adults) decide if they are warmongers or peace-loving philanthropists, then build their budding civilizations accordingly.

Read All About It: Civilization Revolution review

15. LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (LucasArts; Wii, PS3, 360, PS2, $49.99)

The Gist: All three of the original Indy films get the LEGO treatment. Just like in LEGO Batman: The Videogame, no lives are ever lost in the game (avatars simply break into a hundred LEGO pieces before magically reappearing). And, running away from a giant rolling ball made of Lego? Priceless.

Read All About It: LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures review
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Boom Blox: Teetering towers? Check. Crazy-faced chickens? Check.

14. Boom Blox (EA Games; Wii, $39.99)

The Gist: Toss virtual balls at a teetering tower of "blox." Boom Blox is one of those deceivingly simple games that forces kids and parents alike to really think before tossing those balls.

Read All About It: Boom Blox review
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13. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo; Wii, $59.99)

The Gist: Drive tiny "karts" around Nintendo-themed tracks while tossing turtle shells at opponents. The underground mine track, in particular, is especially fun to navigate.

Read All About It: Mario Kart Wii review
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12. Okami (Capcom; Wii, $39.99)

The Gist: A white wolf and a spritely fairy are on a quest to save the world from corruption and pollution. Think The Legend of Zelda, only with a more eco-friendly bent.

Read All About It: Okami review
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11. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo; Wii, $49.99)

The Gist: Can Kirby beat the pants off of Link? Can Peach KO Bowser? No doubt you have no clue what I'm talking about. Trust me, your kids do. This is one of those rock-solid games that will be in heavy rotation around your house for years to come.

Read All About It: Super Mash Bros. Brawl review
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Patapon: Pat-a, pat-a, pat-a pon.

10. Patapon (Sony; PSP, $29.99)

The Gist: Use the face buttons on the PlayStation Portable to pound out increasingly complex drum beats in the name of rallying your tiny armies against an evil enemy. There's absolutely nothing like this game out there; and that's a very high compliment.

Read All About It: Patapon review

9. Burnout Paradise (EA Games; PS3, 360, $59.99)

The Gist: The best driving game of the year. Conquer the fictional Paradise City one tire-squealing street race at a time.

Read All About It: Burnout Paradise review
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8. LittleBigPlanet (Sony; PS3, $59.99)

The Gist: The best PlayStation 3 game of the year manages to be both cute and challenging at once. Navigate the endearing Sackboy (or Sackgirl) on his/her 10-hour quest through Mario-like levels. Better still, delve into the game's do-it-yourself tools and create your own levels.

Read All About It: LittleBigPlanet review

7. KORG DS-10 (XSeed Games; DS, $29.99)

The Gist: Imagine Korg's mighty MS-10 synthesizer crammed into the teeny, tiny Nintendo DS, and voil?, you've got a surprisingly powerful music-creation tool. Is it a game? A sophisticated way to lay down some beats? Or an opportunity to flex your creative muscles? (Answer: It's all three.)

Read All About It: Official Web site

6. Professor Layton and the Curious Village (Nintendo; DS, $29.99)

The Gist: The best DS game of the year has you unraveling a mystery in a curious village by solving increasingly challenging puzzles. Great graphics, great story, and some genuine head-scratchers make this a must-play.

Read All About It: Professor Layton and the Curious Village review
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5. Mirror's Edge (EA Games; PS3, 360, $59.99) (T-rated)

The Gist: The game stars a strong female protagonist -- still rare for videogames, unfortunately -- who's trying to figure out who framed her sister for murder. This cerebral, kinetic first-person action game actually encourages gamers to avoid violence (something else that's still rare for videogames, unfortunately).

Read All About It: Mirror's Edge review
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Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts: A bear-y good time.

4. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (Microsoft/Rare; Xbox 360, $59.99)

The Gist: One of the biggest trends of '08: self-expression in games (also see: Spore and LittleBigPlanet). And this bright, colorful game -- starring an odd-couple pairing of a bear and a bird -- allows gamers to build wild vehicles from scratch, then use said vehicles to accomplish goals. One of the most underrated titles of '08.

Read All About It: Games for Lunch: Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
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3. WipEout HD (Sony; PS3, $19.99)

The Gist: The second-best racing game of the year is the eye-popping futuristic racing sim that puts gamers in the cockpit anti-gravity racers. In my opinion, this is one of the best gaming bargains of 2008. And considering that it's a downloadable game, it's surprisingly robust.

Read All About It: WipEout HD on Wikipedia

2. LEGO Batman: The Videogame (Warner Bros.; PS3, 360, Wii, PS2, $49.99)

The Gist: Gotham City by way of LEGO.Great for younger gamers because no one ever really "dies" in the game. Remember my rule about not buying superhero games this year? This is the one exception.

Read All About It: LEGO Batman: The Videogame review
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1. Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip (Ubisoft; Wii, $49.99)

The Gist: Playful snowboarding sim starring the carrot-topped "extreme" athlete, Shaun White. Easily one of the best sports games of '08.

Read All About It: Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip review