Guinness World Records: The Videogame (Wii, 2008)

(I agree with the excerpt from VideoGamer.com that follows)

What is it?
Everyone knows about the Guinness Book of World Records, and the video game is essentially a way to virtually take part in record attempts that you'd never want to or be able to in real life. Whether it's building the tallest building, jumping as high as possible on a BMX, popping 50 balloons in the fastest time possible or throwing a washing machine as far as you can, the records here are all pretty crazy and good fun.

Available on Nintendo DS and Wii, the two versions share the basic principle of breaking records, but each has its own unique set of events. Both games also support online record updating, so you can truly see if you're the best in your region or even the world.

Complexity
We found the menu system in the games to be a little unintuitive, but other than that there's nothing here that's overly complicated. All the record events are explained in a simple manner and you never have to do much that's too taxing - think Wii Remote waving and stylus scribbling. Younger kids might need some help getting their game to connect to the online leaderboards, but more or less everything else on offer could be played by anyone with a grasp of the Wii and DS controls.

Suitability
Both games are designed in a way to appeal to kids, with the visuals being quite cartooney in appearance. There's also some limited character customisation and multiplayer modes. If multiplayer is important we'd recommend the Wii version over the DS because friends and family members can all play on the same console - the DS game requires multiple copies of the game for simultaneous play.

Production value
Although essentially a mini-game collection, Guinness World Records: The Videogame looks pretty good on the Wii and DS. Nothing here looks amazing, but the fun, cartoon style that's been used fits the tone of the game perfectly. The fact that online leaderboards have been included should be applauded too, as many games made for kids simply don't have as much effort put into them. The Wii game obviously looks better than its DS counterpart, but both represent the record breaking events in a fun way.

Anything for adults?
You'll have no doubt played many mini-game collections already, but there's something about competing for a world record that makes this quite addictive. Even simple events like the balloon popping can easily be played on repeat for half an hour or so, with that world record time tantalisingly close. Considering the amount of sub par rubbish that's on both platforms, you won't find it a chore to play this with younger family members should you get roped into a Wii or DS gaming session.

Final Verdict
With record breaking as the foundation and a strong selection of fun mini-games to play, a well as leaderboards and multiplayer games, Guinness World Records: The Videogame is an excellent party game. We can't see many kids being disappointed if Santa Claus drops it down the chimney this Christmas.

All the minigames are very easy to play and fun enouth for all ages. I'd recomend a wireless nunchuck for this game.

I have not yet played this game online however, the different challenges are very fun, a bit wacky and the game gives directions to each event. Some are well explained, others are not. This game would be most fun when played with a family or group of friends.

My entire family played the game and we really enjoy it. It is a lot of fun and we were really working up a sweat.

Love it, the kids love it. It's a lot of fun to play as a family. Highly recommended. A ton of interesting "records" for you and your family & friends to try and break. It is also a WIFI game, so you can play with people around the world.

My children spend hours with this game. One son already has 2 World Records, a National Record and 2 regional Records

My kids and I (family) love battling each other to try and get the best scores. It is very active, and even young children can play without getting frustrated. ~ We enjoy this game alot, and think it is very fun with each other!

Thanks for sending it so quickly, I got it just in time for my son's birthday and he was very happy and loving it.

The game is not the most challenging. The good of it is that there are a lot of mini games to unlock. It's fun to break your friends records and rubbing it in their faces. If you can get it around 10 bucks it is definatley worth it.

My granddaughter specifically asked for this game for her 10th birthday. She now says it's her favorite! When I couldn't find it in local stores, I ordered it on Ebay and received it within just a few days.

This is an okay game. I bought it because I was looking for a game our 4 year old could play with us as a family. I realize the rating on the game is Everybody 10+, but in reading reviews and watching a video of how to play, it seemed simple enough.

However, parts of this game are so hard even myself and my husband have a hard time playing it/figuring it out!

Also, the navigation of the game can be really annoying, as are some other features you can't turn off.