Parents need to know that Family Party: 30 Great Games Winter Fun is a collection of Wii mini-games. The array of real-life Winter Olympics style events are mixed together with fantasy games. For younger children, it might be important to make the distinction between the genuine possibility of a sport-like luge or speed skating and a made-up game that involves rolling snowballs or sliding penguins. Plus a few were be dangerous if tried in real life. Parents should also be aware that the mini-games in this collection can be very difficult to master and often have complicated, hard-to-follow instructions. It is best played in groups of four.
Positive messages:There's a positive message here about families playing together and including everyone, regardless of age or experience. Note however that among the realistic sports, there are a few make-believe events that would be dangerous in real life, like sliding toward the edge of a cliff to see who can stop the closest without falling off.
Positive role models:These characters are positive role models in that they represent all members of an extended family, from young children to older grandparents, demonstrating how everyone can be active and have fun.
Ease of play:NOT EASY! These mini-games are very difficult to play, and that is the game's biggest flaw. The instructions are often overly complicated, with multiple button presses and Wii-mote gestures to remember for each mini-game. It's very easy to forget one or more of the controls during an event. The game's AI (Artificial Intelligence) is very good, making it very difficult to win in challenge mode and unlock the 18 (out of 30) events which are hidden at the start. If you want to unlock hidden events, playing with four players is your best best.
Violence:In many events, characters can fall down with a yelp, sometimes caused by crashing into one another. One event is a snowball fight; another is a biathlon (combo of skiing and target shooting). In one mini-game, "Penguin Drift," players shoot cannons at drifing ice mounds to knock off polar bears and seals riding on them (no animals are hurt).