Most game companies put their focus on teen and adult games this year, dropping kid's software like it had the cooties. That's why I was so excited to see that Ubisoft had made 20 episodes of the Nickelodian animated series "Rabbids Invasion" interactive for Kinect and PS4 Camera equipped systems. Over 400 activities have been incorporated into actual episodes of the irreverent, sometimes a bit gross, hit show.
Because the camera-equipped platforms can see the players and the room in which they are playing, it can put kids into the animated world, or bring the cartoon menagerie. Seeing yourself, improbably, cavorting with these wacky creatures makes this silly game extra fun. Since many of the activities involve getting up and moving, this is a good alternative to the usual lethargy-inducing game play associated with thumb-twitch games. You'll be doing the Chicken Dance with the kids and then laughing as you see yourself in photos played on screen looking ridiculous.
Marshall McLuhan famously decried TV as a passive or "cool" medium. Rabbids Invasion changes all that, making TV a two-way street!
Up to four players can play on Xbox One and PS4, and up to two players on PS4 and Xbox 360. Ubisoft is a sponsor of the JamesGames.com Satellite Media Tour.
