Pony Friends 2

$3020, Wii, Nintendo DS, Windows

Teaches: fine motor coordination, horses, some reading

CTR Rating: 90%

CTR Review

Easy and fun to play, Pony Friends 2 gives you what you'd hope for in a virtual horse game. After you customize and name your pony, you can earn points with good care, love, and winning at contests. In the Wii version, the Wii Remote and Nunchuk become the reins. Lift one higher to turn, or pull back to stop. The effect is quiet realistic -- your arms even get tired, just like with a real horse. We did not test the PC or DS versions, although we did notice that the DS version lets you talk to your horse using the microphone. There's a bit of reading at first, but nothing that keeps younger children from picking up and playing this game. Progress is saved automatically in one of three game save slots. Besides the riding contests, you can earn money by taking photos of wildlife while you ride, which can be used to buy horse items or upgrade your horse altogether. The better you do, the more content you unlock, keeping things fresh. There are 12 Pony breeds (4 new breeds since the first edition of this game),12 trails and eight places to take your pony (e.g., to the vet, store, field, track and so on). While nearly all of the experience is one player, the racing game can be set to split screen for two players to race one another. There's very little depth to the educational content besides a few trivia items like "jewelry can get stuck in a horse's hoof." There's been no shortage of pony and horse riding/care games over the years; this Wii version one is one of the best. Created by Tantalus and Eidos for Square Enix.