Go Diego Go: Safari Rescue (Wii)

In GO DIEGO GO: SAFARI RESCUE, kids ages 4 to 6 join Diego, the star of Nick Jr's Go, Diego, Go TV show, on an adventure that spans the continent of Africa. When a mean magician decides to wreak havoc on elephants and other African animals by changing them, Diego and his friends come to the rescue. With the help of the player and a special magic drum, Diego is able to undo the magic of the evil magician. Among other things, Diego puts stripes back onto the zebras, brings stone elephants back to life, and elongates the necks of shortened giraffes.

Kids join Diego on these rescue missions at six different locations including the Savannah, the plains, and along a river bank. They direct Diego movements by turning the Wii remote sideways and then tilting it to the right or the left. The more you tilt, the faster Diego will run in the side-scrolling adventure. As kids explore this world, they will find trampolines that fling them to new locations, meerkat holes that send them sliding through the earth, and zipwires that let them soar over wide expanses. At each location kids will learn about and help African animals, and collect special objects.

This is a great Wii game for little kids because it's based on in-home research conducted by Nickelodeon that looked at how preschoolers could best use the Wii controllers. The game incorporates 13 Wii-centric motions that are easily learned by preschoolers because they mimic motions done in real life. If you want to swim across a lake, you make a swimming motion with you arms. To help some water buffalo grow back horns that the magician has taken away, you hold the Wii remote in one hand as you place your hands on the side of your head. Then you stretch out your arms and put them back on your head, repeating this motion until the horns have grown back. You can also mimic digging, flapping your ears like an elephant, waddling like a hippo, playing a drum, and much more.

Unlike other video games, kids can't fail when playing this game. For example, no timing is required to grab hold of a rope that is swinging by: You simply push the "2" button. And once airborne, you can't fall -- you just keep swinging until you hit the "2" button again. Plus, parents can join in if little ones are struggling by grabbing a second Wii remote. For example, when kids are helping Diego blow up a hot air balloon by pumping their arms up and down, if someone joins in with a second remote, the speed of the pumping increases and fun animations appear. The game also has two-person games that are cooperative, not competitive.