My Top 5 Family Friendly Action Video Games

Video games can be a great way to spend an evening with your family.  There are many series of games out that focus on playing as a family.  I have played and finished quite a few games together with my son and I know he enjoys spending this kind of time with his dad.  What kinds of games are available for you to play with your family?  Here are my top 5 family friendly video games.

5.  Zelda: The Four Swords Adventures

This is a game that seems to have flown under the radar.  I never have heard anyone talk about it.  It is a fantastic game where you control 4 different Link characters.  They are four different colors (red, green, blue, and magenta) so they are easily distinguishable.  This is a game that requires critical thinking/puzzle solving alongside the action.  You can have four different people play as all 4 Links in the multiplayer mode (requires the Gameboy Advance), although my son and I prefer to take turns on the single player mode in this game.  While playing the single player mode, you can select to play as one Link whenever you want, or you can put all four Links in four different formations depending on what the situation calls for.  Each area of the game is memorable and has a Zelda: A Link to the Past (earlier game in the series) feel to it.  The graphics and music are really good, which makes the gameplay that much better.  This game was released on the GameCube back in 2004.  If you have not played this one, it is worth it.  It is not nearly as difficult as some of the earlier Zelda games which makes it much more fun to play with your family.

4.  Sonic the Hedgehog

The Sonic series of games is quite extensive and they all are fun to play.  To date there are 27 games in the main series alone.  Here are 2 of the many great games this franchise has released.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was epic at its release.  It was a leap above the first installment, which is still a great game.  In Sonic 2, player one is always Sonic (our speedy, blue friend).  As you play, your sidekick, Miles “Tails” Prower follows you through every mission and will get rings for you or even kill a few bad guys.  The amazing feature of this game is that at any time in the single player game, someone can pick up player 2’s controller and immediately play as Tails.  That is why this game is so much fun.  You can play through the whole thing together with someone, and even better, Tails will not get injured or lose your rings when he gets hit.

Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut:  This game did not get the best reviews, but I can say that it has many good qualities.  You can play as six different characters, which have six different storylines and endings.  This game has something for all ages, whether it’s for the older kids (7-12) doing the action stages or the younger kids (4-6) playing in the Chao garden.  I enjoy watching and playing this game with my kids.  If they enjoy playing it that is really all that matters anyways.  That’s what family time is for.

3.  Super Smash Bros. Brawl

This series of games is great for anyone 7 and up.  Super Smash Bros. Brawl is their best release because you can choose to play from 35 different memorable players from Nintendo’s greatest games.  A few of the characters you can choose are: Link, Mario/Luigi, Ganondorf, Samus Aran, and Pikachu.  The versus mode is the main selling point for this game as it is extremely fun to play.  The point of this game is to knock the other players off of the stage map.  Your health is shown in the form of a percentage at the bottom of the screen.  As your percentage rises, you get knocked off further from other players’ hits.  That is the basics.  This game is competitive and can be great for the whole family to get involved in.  Super Smash Bros. Brawl was released on the Wii and up to 4 people can play at a time.  This is a perfect choice for family nights.

2.  Super Mario Bros

Pick one, any one.  They are all fun.  Granted this series of games was much more difficult in the early days, they are still great for the whole family to enjoy together.  These 2-d side-scrolling games are the best out there.  Super Mario Bros. 2 was unique in that you got to choose between 4 different characters to play.  Super Mario Bros. 3 was a huge step up in graphics and playability as movements like, jumping, was much more fluid.  Super Mario World for the SNES is a masterpiece!  There is no other Mario game like it out there.  It was the first to introduce Yoshi (4 different ones).  New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii is a blast as you can play simultaneously with other people.  The list goes on and on.  These games are great to play with many of your family members, or for just one-on-one time with one of them.

1.  Mario Party

The Mario Party games are oh so much fun.  They are competitive as you can play every man for himself or on teams.  Every game is competed on a game board where many unpredictable things occur.  You play various mini games along the way and your main goal is to collect as many stars as possible.  The person/team with the most stars at the end wins the game.  Some of the best times for me with my family have been while playing this game.  These games will drive you crazy as your loving family members steal your stars and coins from you.  It is a great time for playful banter between everyone that is playing.

"The Truth" Psalm 128:3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around the table.

Conclusion

These are my top 5 favorite video games for the family.  Granted some of the games require you take turns, but they are just as fun as you watch your kids’ excitement as they win a level or defeat a boss by themselves.  What are some of your favorite video games to play with your family?  I would love to know!  God bless!

Resources

photo credit: nickstone333 via photopin cc

www.youtube.com

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version

“Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”