Games with local multi for kids (that are NOT Lego games)

mare_imbrium

Should this go in H/A? If so I apologize.

I'm sure many of you know a lot of games say they are multiplayer but then only allow online multi. We have the Lego games but my kids keep yelling at each other while they play them. So I need local multiplayer. But something where the second player isn't just doing some menial support task for the first player (like in Mario Galaxy, for example).

Can anyone suggest a fun multiplayer game that's that isn't rated M? That isn't a Lego game? If it's older than a couple of years we might have it already, but suggest it anyway.

Oh, and yes, they have Skylanders actually. I suggested they play it. They don't want to. I don't know but I suspect that it has similar problems to the play of the Lego games. We have all the consoles so don't worry about that. Though the PS3 is in our room so that would be lower on my preferences (tho it's also the console for which we have the least games).

Local H Jay

rayman origins, castle crashers, and ratchet and clank: one 4 all (not sure if that's the right title)

Cantido

Rayman Origins
Castle Crashers
Pinball FX/Zen Pinball
Bomberman
Pixeljunk Shooter
Little Big Planet 2
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Scott Pilgrim vs the World

Blackbeard7

kirby's return to dream land and epic yarn have great co-op play

Alfred J. Kwak

oh, and here I thought that yelling at each other was an integral part of the multiplayer experience

what I can think off right now (for Wii) - New Super Mario Brothers (easily the best multiplayer game on the Wii), Mario Kart Wii (no-brainer), Smash Brothers Brawl (same), Donkey Kong Returns (excellent, kinda hard) Mario Strikers, Wii Party (really fun game actually, but needs to be played with 3-4 players), Boom Blox 2, probably the Kirby platfomers

but all those game will most definitely make people yell at each other (how old are your kids?)

mare_imbrium

They're 8 and 6 (but I do let them play some T rated games, really just depends on the game). The big one complains that the little one dies all the time and loses their studs and I'm sure he has an issue with the limited amount to which they can separate (I think Lego Harry Potter did a good job improving that aspect). Honestly mostly it's the big one yelling at the little one. We do have other multiplayer games but it's the Lego games specifically that always cause them to argue, every time pretty much.

It just drives me crazy, because it always devolves into the big one wanting the little one to drop out of the game which makes the little one sad because 1. he wants to play with his brother and 2. then he can't play on the Xbox (the majority of the games we own are on the 360). And silly me for thinking if this started off as the two of them mutually deciding that they wanted to play a game together that one of them shouldn't be able to just kick the other one off. =P

Good suggestions so far. We have some of them, but I am grabbing the Rayman Origins demo because I've heard good things about the game and I didn't realize it was multi at all. And they do like Smash Brothers. I should probably see if I can grab it for cheap at some point.

pablo_price

wii virtual console:
Secret of Mana (they might bee too young for this)
Donkey Kong Country 1/2
Bomberman
Dr Mario

wii:
Mario Kart (if you have gamecube controllers, double dash is way cheaper than mk wii & also better in my opinion)
Boom Blox (or it's sequel) would be great. it has competitive & co-op modes. and it's basically about throwing rocks at toy buildings to knock them down

xbox:
Rock Band 1 or 2 + a couple used guitars at gamestop shouldn't be too pricey (Rock Band 3 has a no-fail mode, which might be good in your case)

Zek

Rayman Origins gets pretty hard in the later levels so it might be a bit much for them. NSMB:W is definitely the better co-op platformer.

mare_imbrium

Zek wrote:

Rayman Origins gets pretty hard in the later levels so it might be a bit much for them. NSMB:W is definitely the better co-op platformer.

We actually have this but it had an "accident" at some point and I kept meaning to get it resurfaced or something but I haven't done it yet. I'm not even sure what I should do with it. I mean, I know they have like disc doctor stuff you can buy at the store, but I don't want to make it worse.

Renegade Wolf

Hydro Thunder is a pretty fun arcade racing game

I always pull it up when there are young kids over

Alfred J. Kwak

you could try Kirby's Epic Yarn (2-player platformer), as far as I know it's good fun and more on the easy side

your best bet would probably be something where dying has no real penalty involved, but nothing comes to my mind right now

DoctorArch

I can't recall if the Viva Pinata games are same console multi or not.

marvel vs capcom 3? the younger can just mash buttons in easy mode and still kick the older one's ass.

Ah_Pook

you could maybe try marvel superhero squad. i know my nephew loves it, but i havent played it personally.

mntorankusu

Cantido wrote:

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

I would highly recommend this game in general. It's one of my favorite games, the co-op is amazing and it's got a lot of content for an XBLA game. But it is likely to have some of the same issues as the Lego games. You can't get too far from each other (single overhead camera) and the puzzles require a lot of cooperation so they might get mad at each other when they mess up. It has realistic-looking guns, but you only use them against monsters and that kind of thing, so it's not especially violent. Since it's an XBLA title, you can try the demo if you're okay with the guns thing.

Castle Crashers
...
Scott Pilgrim vs the World

I wouldn't let them play these games though. Stylized/glorified violence, crude humor, Scott Pilgrim has panty flashes, etc. It'd be like letting them watch adult swim or something.

Dhalphir

It could also be worth looking into picking up a used Nintendo 64 or Gamecube. Those were the days before every console came with multiplayer connectivity, which means that any multiplayer game will have local multi, and given the years and years of game development for each console, thats gotta be worth it.

Bullio

If they like Smash Bros. then you might want to look into TMNT: Smash-Up. I haven't played it personally but it's supposed to play a lot like SSB. It's not on the same level of fun as SSB, but it can be found pretty cheap and probably wouldn't have any problems holding the attention of kids that young.

How about something like the Raving Rabbids games or WarioWare? If you're lucky the latter may tire them out. Or Mario Party?

Dhalphir

is your intent to mostly avoid games where they are playing competitively and stick to cooperatively?

Jam Warrior

Kirby Epic Yarn has the one player dying loses all the studs (beads) issue of Lego.

However also like Lego and unlike almost every other game mentioned here, one player dying does NOT end the level or screw over the first player and allows them to drop back in. This seems pretty important in this context.

New Super Mario Wii also a good choice for this reason.

eobet

mare_imbrium wrote:

They're 8 and 6 (but I do let them play some T rated games, really just depends on the game). The big one complains that the little one dies all the time and loses their studs and I'm sure he has an issue with the limited amount to which they can separate (I think Lego Harry Potter did a good job improving that aspect).

Renegade Ops has the absolutely best local co-op that I've seen yet, and when one person dies, the other can continue the rest of the level alone (and levels are relatively short, so there shouldn't be too much waiting for the little one).

fragglefart

Get a Kinect and let them go crazy with Adventures / Sports / Kinectimals / Sesame Street / Disney / Happy Action Theatre etc etc.

TIFunkalicious

i remember gauntlet legends on the N64 with my 2 brothers, those are some cherished memories

Brainiac 8

Battletoads

They will love it! (Until level 3 that is)

Glal

Another vote for Ratchet&Clank: All 4 One. Got it the other day (I'd ignored it because I thought it was a Move game. Must've been mixing it up with Move Heroes) and had lots of fun playing it with the household last night.

DevoutlyApathetic

I'll toss out Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 or 2. Was a fairly fun 4 player beat'em up using a recognizable cast.

Cantido

Ah, pardon me, Scott Pilgrim is pushing it and might not be best for young kids. I take that back, sorry.

Also, hooray for Wii! That opens up the options a bit more.

mare_imbrium

I'm thinking part of the issue is going to be that they're just going to fight. I'm just going to have to figure out how to get them to work it out or something. But I don't want them to HATE playing together, which is why I was kind of looking for other options.

They seem to enjoy the Worms Ultimate Mayhem demo tho they haven't tried it multiplayer yet. On Rayman (also the demo) my older boy says it's a terrible game, it's the hardest game ever and he hates it, and the little one likes it a lot but did admit the third level was hard. I think my older boy is a little high strung and my younger one is more laid back because the little one doesn't mind dying as much.

I forgot about Return to Dreamland, actually, I know the little one wanted it but for Christmas I was already getting them Skylanders and so didn't get them any other games. Also I'll grab some of these demos mentioned too.

I really appreciate all the suggestions. Some of these games they do have already and have played so much they're really not interested in anymore (like Mario Party 8, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1) but there's lots of things here they haven't played yet. I don't generally buy them shitloads of games, but they both have birthdays coming up, and sometimes I'll get them something new just because, especially if there's a sale or something. I'm kind of sad Skylanders seems to have fallen flat for them. They played it a lot for the first couple of weeks but they seem to have lost interest. Maybe they'll go back to it at some point. At least they haven't lost any of the little dudes yet.