It makes sense that in the run up to Christmas, owners should be inundated with choice as to which game will entertain everyone from the little ones to Grandma on Day. It's a stark contrast from the days of my youth where the big family present of the year might have been a game of Monopoly or Cluedo, inevitably doomed to have lost half its pieces by New Year thanks to my delightful younger relatives. Now we have the likes of Family Game Night Volume 2 which promises hours of fun with Connect 4x4, Operation, Bop It, Pictureka and Jenga. I say promise because odds are you'll be bored of it by mid afternoon and will probably end up reverting to the traditional versions instead, although the kids may stay keen for a tad longer.

The key problem with most of the games is that they simply don't convert over very well to the Wii. Bop It! is perhaps the worst offender of the lot. Although somewhat annoying to spectate, the physical version is terrific fun especially for kids. It's essentially a more physical form of Simon Says with the need to twist the machine or 'bop' the button in time with the commands it issues. It's something that translates to the Wii in a rather boring fashion as it's all about simply twisting or shaking the wiimote at the correct time. In terms of excitement it really is lacking, and feels like the sort of thing that will simply make your child wish you'd bought them a 'real' Bop It! instead.

Operation just isn't as satisfying as the physical version and quickly becomes rather monotonous. As a child it was really good, albeit frustrating, fun to take it in turns to try to be as careful as possible to pull the item out of the man being operated on, but the Wii version is just a bit awkward. It involves taking items such as mobile phones or rackets out of the person by guiding the object through a series of hoops. At times grabbing the item was rather frustrating and felt inaccurate, guiding the object through the hoops simply didn't feel as quick or as enjoyable as 'actually' doing it and being nervous that simply laughing would ruin your concentration.

Connect 4 I'll admit to never really being a fan of but this version takes a lesson from the American equivalent and involves 4 players placing checkers in the grid and being able to use two different sides to the grid. The remix version was quite fun for a brief time adding various bonus checkers such as bombs or teleports, but I found the AI annoyingly flawless at playing the game meaning it was only really enjoyable to play against 3 human players.

Fortunately it's not all bad as Pictureka and Jenga are quite good fun. Pictureka was rather frantic at times and the sort of game that would probably intimidate your Granny on Christmas Day but it was certainly entertaining and nicely paced. I hadn't actually played Pictureka before this but the instructions were simple. To play you simply take it in turns to pick out certain pictures from a scene within the allotted period of time. At various junctures there is the option to bet against each other as to how many items you can find, which adds a more tactical element to things, but ultimately it's just a fun, simple game that really can be played by all the family. Those with smaller televisions might find it a bit awkward at times though as some pictures were quite intricate and difficult to see properly.

Jenga was my favourite of the selection, possibly due to my laziness in constructing a tower myself when playing a physical version of it. It does also use the Wiimote physics well. Navigating around the tower is simple with the use of the d-pad and pulling out each piece with the Wiimote is challenging but not frustratingly so. It's the sort of game that I can easily imagine two warring Uncles playing obsessively through the day and probably the one with the most longevity despite its extreme simplicity.

Besides the main games there is also the ability to customise Mr (or Ms) Potato Head with various items that are acquired throughout in achieving certain goals in the games. It's a nice enough feature that I'm sure young gamers would enjoy but does feel a little gimmicky; as if it's been added on just to make the game bigger. The Game Show Mode that is included for party play makes for some simple Mii-based fun and creates a bit of structure to events.

Family Game Night Volume 2 is an awkward one to recommend when bearing in mind the costs of the physical board games. There are certainly advantages to having such games on the Wii, there is no risk of losing vital pieces and the game describes the rules in a much simpler fashion than any instruction manual would, but it's also a rather expensive way of playing some sub-standard remakes of classics such as Bop It! and Operation. The gaming world may have paved the way for great innovation but sometimes it's just more fun to play the physical board game rather than stare at the screen all of the time. I suspect the younger gamer will still enjoy this a fair bit though simply because it feels different and 'new' compared to the traditional way of playing, just don't expect the enjoyment to last into the New Year.

The version of Family Game Night, meanwhile, is a hit and miss affair with Battleships being the superior title of the bunch. Connect 4 as always is there although this time round it's the more traditional version that Brits are accustomed to with only side to place the checkers and one other opponent. Unfortunately Bop It! is still its ever irritating self and actually felt more awkward and unsatisfying to play on the DS. Operation suffers from similar problems with using the stylus to remove the organs feeling extremely awkward. At times I almost thought there was a problem with my DS but having tested it out on another system, it's simply very fiddly to move the items around the internal tunnel. Fortunately Battleships is excellent fun on the DS and something that I can imagine would entertain many children on a long car journey.

Each of the games has options either via wireless play or by passing the DS to another player. There are also 'remix' versions for each game as was the case with the Wii game, these provide small bonuses but don't really change a huge deal to the levels of enjoyment they bring. The DS game feels very much like the ideal sort of game to give a child before a long trip somewhere and I'm pretty sure it would occupy them for a little while which may well make its worth priceless to many strained parents over the festive period.

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By Jennifer Allen