Bank holiday blockbusters

The Bank Holiday is upon us and four days of familial bliss beckon. Well, we say bliss, but all too often too much familiarity can lead to contempt - or at least a lot of door-slamming and general grumpiness. Here then are a few suggestions for home consoles to ensure that harmony is maintained over the Easter break. Perhaps even a little hilarity too…

Nintendo DS
We recommend Professor Layton and the Curious Village without any hesitation. Okay, this collection of intriguing puzzles is not designed for multiple players, but collaborating to decipher any one of the 130+ brainteasers adds greatly to the fun - and if it’s good enough for Girls Aloud it‘ll do for us! 

Also highly recommended is Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force, which is an RPG/mystery for younger players with tons of fun minigames chucked in for good measure. The game is as safe and colourful as you might expect of the Disney Corp. and coins earned during the adventure can be uploaded via Wi-Fi to Club Penguin’s online virtual world - see clubpenguin.com for more details about that.

Wii
With the egg-shaped chocolate overload in immediate prospect Wii Fit is an obvious choice for Nintendo’s main console. The game seems to be in free supply at the moment too, which is somewhat miraculous remembering the hen’s teeth scarcity in the months following launch. The various exercise routines featured are not overly punishing but really will make a difference if you stick to the programme. The Balance Board accessory is useful in other games too, including the fun Family Ski and Snowboard.

Similarly worthy of your Wii consideration is Ultimate Band, in which players attempt to rock their way to superstardom using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk in place of guitars, drums and microphones. 30+ songs made famous by the likes of Avril Livigne, The Plain White Ts, The Who, The White Stripes and many more, and the absence of any expensive extra peripherals make this a decent and cost-effective alternative to Guitar Hero/Rock Band.

PlayStation 3
There are a couple of standout candidates for Sony’s next-generation wondermachine. Buzz! Quiz TV comes packaged with four gameshow-style controllers, includes over 5000 questions covering a multitude of genres and allows players to create and share their own quizzes. Better still users can form teams and challenge others online via the excellent ‘Sofa vs. Sofa’ feature. Every home should have a copy of Buzz! Quiz TV, seriously!

Likewise the karaoke party-in-a-box, SingStar. A pair of cool microphones come as part of the package and the numerous singalong choons on the disc can be supplemented by any of the dizzying number of ditties available from the online SingStore (ah, see what they did there?). Abba, Queen and Pop-flavoured editions can be bought separately and the game even supports the Playstation Eye Camera, allowing wannabe pop idols to capture their finest or foulest moments in video or photograph and then upload them for all to see. Top stuff.

And then, of course, the PS3 is an excellent Blu-Ray player, if you fancy settling down a few gloriously high-definition movies one evening.

Xbox 360
Finally, and not to be outdone, the Xbox 360 has Lips, which works in more or less the same way as SingStar, albeit with a pair of flashing, motion-sensitive microphone accessories. The catalogue of online downloadables doesn’t hold a candle to Sony’s vast archive, alas, but at least. Lips lets users add songs from their own collections.

Elsewhere the 360 has a growing library of titles that might be deemed family-friendly. Classic card game Uno gets an enduringly addictive makeover via the online Xbox Live Arcade service, which itself features a wealth of keenly-priced gaming goodness. Then the Scene It? games promise a stiff test of anyone’s movie knowledge, with Hollywood movie clips and audio snippets a-plenty and four slick ’big button’ buzzers.

However our best find for the 360 is the Burnout Paradise Ultimate box. Not only does this bundle feature the finest, funnest online racer on any console - complete with new vehicles and motorbikes - but it also comes with videogame renditions of perennial family faves Trivial Pursuitand Connect 4, and it even has an extra wireless controller in the box. A bargain for around £100 - cheaper if you shop around.

The Xbox 360 offers a very decent online video-on-demand service too, with standard or HD rentals available at keen prices and, crucially, without the need for you to move from your armchair.

So there you have it - plenty to keep the relatives entertained over the next few days. And, as the saying goes, the family that plays together stays together. Just keep reminding yourself of that when it’s 3 AM, your Aunt Ethel won’t relinquish the microphone and launches into “Shut Up and Let Me Go” for the umpteenth time…