Games for a 4yr old?

[mr_sockochris]

My 4yr old is developing an interest in games but I'm finding it hard to find thing that he can do/enjoy. He enjoys the following -

Mario Kart Wii - mostly because of the wheel but the tracks are easy to navigate so he gets round a fair few of them in under a couple of minutes or so.

Motorstorm - With motion controls. Big trucks + mud + lots of crashing & explosions = win. I bought Pacific Rift last week but it's much harder to see the 'track' compared to the original and I don't think he enjoys it as much as a result.

Tekken - He enjoys just smashing buttons on my arcade stick and seeing crazy moves come out but he's not that bothered about winning.

Basically I need some games that -

-Are easy to play.
-Preferably with motion controls.
-Don't really have much of a goal as he seems to enjoy just fannying around over reaching a goal or winning/losing. (We tried Wii Sports but he wasn't taken by it)

Any ideas? Anything worth getting a Kinect for?

[koopatroopa90]

Excite Truck? My little sister used to love that when she was that age. Bit like Mario Kart in the sense that you move the controller to steer, but having just read what you said about Motorstom it might be a little difficult for him to stay on course as sometimes you can trigger hills to rise/fall etc and there are often multiple paths...

[Brad]

If you have a PS3 + Move then I recommend Tumble and Eyepet. He might like LittleBiGPlanet too. Other than that I dunno.

[speedlolita]

Pok?mon!!

[crocky-chocky]

Warioware: Smooth Moves?

The quick fire nature could make explaining the controls a bit tricky, but it's all colourful like and you're often given a visual prompt on how to control each game.

[koopatroopa90]

Pok?mon!!

I was going to suggest this but at 4 are your reading skills up to it? Think I was 5, maybe even 6 when I first played it (was near whenever it was released anyway)...

[J0e Musashi]

Super Monkey Ball. My 2-year-old niece loves it.

[mr_sockochris]

Yeah, he can't read yet (starts school next year as he was born 1 day after the cut off for this year) so Pokemon isn't an option quite yet. I've got Monkey Ball on Wii though so will have to give that a try. Sadly I sold ExciteTruck when I had a big clear out but that probably would have been a bit too restrictive for him.

How's Sonic Racing on Wii? Or PS3 if it supports motion control?

I never played it but FUEL was described as an 'open world' racing game. Anyone know what that was like in regards to being open for messing around in?

[charlesr]

My just turned 5 son finds Excitetruck too hard.
However, he can do laps in HydroThunder no problem and even keep up with the backmarkers for a while.

[Golgo]

Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii) is great for kids, not challenging at all. Also the new Kirby on Wii out on friday...

[Fader209]

I tried the old Sonic games when I was left to babysit a couple of little lads. It went down a storm as it was simple controls and action packed.

[Decider-VT]

Animal Crossing? Fun to play, with the added benefit of Tom Nook teaching him some harsh lessons about life along the way.

[Guts]

Anything worth getting a Kinect for?

I'd say Kinectimals and Kinectimals Bears.

[Matt]

My kid really enjoyed the Ratchet & Clanks when he was 4 (just turned 5).

Modnation Racers may be a good bet.

Worryingly, over the weekend my neighbour was showing his 4 year old grandson how to play BlackOps

[cavalcade]

Jesus, Tekken! FFS! *facepalm* No! Why not go the whole hog and let him play Bulletstorm?

Some suggestions - Amped 3 (easy enough, you pretty much point and go, there's a Freeride which is open ended and easy for a youngling. Plus you can dress up the avatar in a big pink bunny suit), Skate (freeride mode), Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts (my 5 year old can build stuff in it, but even if they can't grasp that just flying round the test track in different machines is fun), Viva Pinata Trouble In Paradise (has a sandbox garden mode, bit difficult to grasp but not too bad), Toy Story 3 (wonderful sandbox mode), The Lego Games (not Clone Wars, it's a bit too violent, mind you.... after Tekken), MTX vs ATV (has a nice sandboxy driving mode in it, quick vehicle switch and isn't over the top in terms of violent crashes).

If you get a Kinect Kinectimals, Once Upon a Monster the new Disneyland game, Carnival Games, Fantastic Pets and Joy Ride are all decent. Child of Eden is nice once you've unlocked the freeplay (bit trippy for a four year old though), Fruit Ninja is hilarious and a lot of the Gadget Labs stuff is suitable (Googly Eyes in particular).