Lights, Camera, Pants - PS2

This is another Party game for the PS2. There are parts of this game that are extremely fun to play. However, there are parts that are not so much fun. The story mode is ok. To me, the real fun is where you get to choose what levels you want to play. That only happens once you beat the level, opening it up for the tournament mode. There are 30 levels to this game

We have other Sponge Bob games, and though the multi-player portion of this game is nice, it is not one of our favorite games. We played this for a week or 2 right after Christmas. Then we put it up as we played other games. It wasn't until yesterday that my boy wanted to get this game back out and play. He says he likes the game, but the amount of playtime this game has received speaks for itself I think. There are parts of this game that your child may have difficulties getting through without your help.

When I asked him what he thought of the game, my boy said:

I like it. It's a bit too hard, when it gets harder (translation sometimes).

Playable ages: 5+
Difficulty: Medium
ESRB Rating: Everyone (Mild Cartoon Violence)
Players: 1 -4
Overall Rating: 7.5

Find information about it at Playstation or the official site at THQ.

Ape Escape 3 - PS2

Ape Escape 3 followed in Ape Escape 2's footsteps in being a great game!
Once again, those monkeys are out terrorizing the world. They've taken over TV stations, and turning everyone that watches their horrible shows into couch potatoes. Your job is to take them off the air.

Once again, you will have to battle Spectre and the Freaky Monkey Five. Though the controls and gadgets are the same from last time, you have a few more items this time around. Also, you have the ability to Morph into costumes that you then gain some new abilities while the morph lasts. These I must say are way cool! Oh, one other change from the previous game. The monkeys can take your item that you are trying to use on them and use it on you. So if you have your net out and are trying to catch them, they will sometimes take the net away from you and try to catch you with it. Sometimes, they will succeed.

My son has been enthralled with this game since we brought it home.

I do believe that this game is a bit easier than Ape Escape 2 was, either that or we just got so good at Ape Escape 2, this one seems easy. This is really a good thing. So far, my boy is about 50+% the way through and has had to have very little help. I like helping him, but part of the games is figuring out how to beat them, they aren't always just the mind numbing things people think they are.

Now, my boy is now 6, and like I said is playing well. I believe that most 4 year olds could play this game and enjoy it, but the younger they are, the more help they are going to need.

When I asked him what he thought of the game, my boy said:

It's good! Every part is good. Kids younger than me would really like to play it. They would, they would, they would. I like playing the big boss monkeys and capturing them when you change into special powers. Cyber-Ace and Ninja our my favorites. The Ninja can walk on walls and up strings, and Cyber-Ace has powerful shooters!

I like the mini-game Ultim-ape Fighter.

Playable ages: 4+ (5+ if you don't want to help you child much)
Difficulty: Low Medium (Mostly easy, but some hard spots)
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+ (Cartoon Violence, Crude Humor)
Overall Rating: 8.9

Find information about it at Playstation or the official site.