Nintendo’s dog with a ’fro makes us all slaves to the rhythm, while the toys-to-life genre gets another boost

3DS, Nintendo, cert: 7

★★★★

Quirky, fun and nigh impossible to put down, Rhythm Paradise is exactly the sort of game at which Nintendo excels, and why the company remains so essential to gaming culture. There is a story, of sorts. You’re trying to help Tibby, an alien dog sporting a ’fro, return to his home world and meet some exceedingly strange characters along the way. It’s the barest of frameworks for a package of addictive mini-games, all challenging you to keep in time to the music.

With the exception of the occasional vocal song – all jaunty J-pop numbers – each level is about 30 seconds long, making it perfect for on-the-go gaming. There is hilarious variety in the challenges too, from ping-pong atop a giant flower to plucking an onion’s facial hair, and completists will relish the host of bonus material.

There may be a touch of repetition – this compiles 57 stages from previous Rhythm Paradise games – but with 14 new levels and 10 remixes, there’s plenty of madcap gameplay to keep the interest high. MK

Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘No great surprises’: Lego Dimensions.

Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PS 4, Warner Bros Interactive, cert: 7

★★★★

This toys-to-life title, in which figurines interact with the video game, has boosted its lineup of franchises and play modes. It opens with Ghostbusters, Mission: Impossible, The A-Team and Adventure Time and will continue with Fantastic Beasts, The Lego Batman Movie, Sonic the Hedgehog, Knight Rider, ET and Gremlins.

One of the key attractions of Dimensions has been the modular route it has taken. There are story expansions that add six-level adventures and smaller fun, team and level packs that add characters from franchises and open new worlds. It’s still not cheap, but each addition is perfectly realised in Lego toy form, offering physical and on-screen characters and vehicles compatible with all parts of the game, which now includes four-player split-screen battle arenas.

Gameplay remains a familiar amalgam of fetch, carry and unlock, but open worlds also add much-needed non-linear progression. There are no great surprises, but what made the first year so good – gleeful recreation of movies and TV – continues to shine through. AR

Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Activision, cert: 7

★★★★

The Skylanders franchise has taken a slightly different route to rival Lego in the toys-to-life genre, with Imaginators’ new character-creation tool allowing children to design their own playable heroes. This adds a fresh incentive to the familiar combat action with new character parts to find and collect.

The starter pack comes with everything needed to complete the game and one “creation crystal” with which to make a Skylander, but of course there is a range of ways to expand the experience further – new toys and digital purchases.

Empowering children to make their own characters changes play patterns and increases engagement considerably. You can even order a fully functioning 3D-printed toy of your child’s creations should you so wish (and have deep enough pockets). Add to this the option of Crash Bandicoot characters and levels, support for every existing Skylander and all the kart-racing content from last year and Skylanders Imaginators looks like a package that is hard to beat. AR

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