{"id":12375,"date":"2014-02-19T05:23:50","date_gmt":"2014-02-18T22:23:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/?p=12375"},"modified":"2014-02-19T05:23:50","modified_gmt":"2014-02-18T22:23:50","slug":"keep-spirit-alive-olympic-games-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/keep-spirit-alive-olympic-games-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep the Spirit Alive with Olympic Games at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Winter<\/h3>\n

Have you been watching the \u00a0XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia? \u00a0The style and grace of the figure skating couples was amazing. \u00a0And didn’t you cringe with disappointment when Kelly Clark fell 20 feet below from the half pipe, right on her back and shoulder? \u00a0She went on to try again despite the number of spills her body had already taken during the day, and achieved the Silver medal. \u00a0The skills, dedication, and relentless drive for perfection is just amazing to watch.<\/p>\n

My daughter told me one night that after watching the Olympics that she wanted to compete inthe Olympics for figure skating. \u00a0Yes, she knows how to ice skate, but no, she’s never had formal figure skating lessons. \u00a0But wouldn’t it be fun if you could compete in the same events as in the Winter Olympics, but not have to do the intensive practices, face the harsh cold elements, or live in sub-par Olympic housing? \u00a0Watching the Olympics \u00a0is a great family activity to watch how athletes persevere despite obstacles like falling during a competition, health issues that prevent them from competing, or even watching a stunning performance by your competitor…right before it’s your turn!<\/p>\n

\"Mario<\/p>\n

With the Olympics ending soon, I wanted to find a way to keep the Olympic spirit alive through video games. \u00a0I searched the internet and discovered\u00a0Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games for the Wii U. \u00a0Perfect. \u00a0I found it at <\/span>Walmart.com<\/a>. \u00a0Interestingly, the price for the Wii U\u00a0Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games was $44.96 OR you could by the game with an enclosed Wii Remote Plus controller for $49.96. \u00a0Hmmm, well, since the Wii Remote Plus generally sells for $34 – $39, this was a no brainer. \u00a0Besides, I knew the kids would love having a light blue Wii Remote Plus rather than all the white ones we have.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our Family & Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Mario<\/p>\n

We couldn’t wait to try out the\u00a0Wii U\u00a0Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at home. \u00a0There are 5 main categories you can choose from:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Single Match<\/strong> – Jump right into your favorite winter sport. \u00a0Play solo, against others, or play cooperatively, in some events<\/li>\n
  2. Medley Mania<\/strong> –\u00a0Compete in multiple events, one right after another to see who wins the match. \u00a0Choose from preset medlies or create your own<\/li>\n
  3. Worldwide Vs<\/strong> – Compete for your country (or any country) against worldwide athletes to increase your country’s rankings<\/li>\n
  4. Legends Showdown<\/strong> – Compete in a tournament-style game with all of the 20 Mario characters in this fun single-player game<\/li>\n
  5. Action & Answer Tour<\/strong> – Compete with family and friends in this fun mini version of events and puzzle\/question solving game<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"Winter<\/p>\n

    The Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games is the first Wii U game for Mario & Sonic and it includes favorite Mario characters including Sonic, Luigi, Princess Peach, Amy, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Walugi, Silver, and more.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"Winter<\/p>\n

    We started off right away in the Single Match, eager to participate in our favorite Olympic games. \u00a0We started with figure skating, my daughter’s favorite. \u00a0 Before your performance, you even get to pick the type of music you skate too. \u00a0Of course, my daughter is the best at both figure skating and figure skating pairs in the household.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"Winter<\/p>\n

    The Wii U GamePad controller is used in various events to add more fun to the game. \u00a0For instance, in the bobsleigh event, the team captain uses the GamePad to steer the bobsleigh down the hill while giving orders to his teammates, who are using the Wii Remote Plus controllers.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"Winter<\/p>\n

    In this Ski Jumping Large Hill event, I could almost feel me knees knock together. \u00a0Can you imagine sitting on this cold bar on a steep still looking nearly straight down? \u00a0Yikes! \u00a0I caught just a glimpse of what skiers face in this competition by the angling of the game camera.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"Winter<\/p>\n

    My favorite section of the game is Medley Mania. \u00a0Here, you can choose a selection of medley events and compete against others. \u00a0I liked the way the Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games game added surprising twists and obstacles to familiar winter events. \u00a0At the end of the match, the person with the most points wins.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"Winter<\/h3>\n

    In this fun Mario Medley twist, we are competing in figure skating as we chase after some bad guys who held some innocent bystanders captive. \u00a0To do well in this chase, however, you need to make beautiful spins, turns, and jumps. \u00a0You can see in this picture some yellow triangles around each character. \u00a0They are arrows that give you the direction to move your Remote Plus Controller in to achieve the perfect move. \u00a0Medlies like this are great where you can utilize the skills you learned in other areas of the game along with a storyline to follow to make the game even more fun.<\/p>\n

    Although there are 24 fun winter Olympic games to try out, here are a few events to give you a better idea of some of the events covered, as stated on the \u00a0Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games website:<\/p>\n

    \n

    Snowboard Slopestyle<\/strong> –\u00a0Get some air and execute a wide range of spectacular tricks\u00a0<\/span>to impress spectators!<\/span>
    \nCurling<\/strong> –\u00a0Line up each shot and guide your stone to the target in this\u00a0highly strategic event<\/p>\n

    Ice Hockey<\/strong> –\u00a0Get ready for a faceoff on the ice. Pass and shoot your way to victory!<\/p>\n

    Snowball Scrimmage<\/strong> –\u00a0Two teams line up for the ultimate snowball fight. Ready, aim\u2026freeze!<\/p>\n

    A Mom’s Perspective<\/span><\/h2>\n

    We have had a lot of fun playing the\u00a0Wii U\u00a0Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. \u00a0My son loves the zaniness and fun of Mario Bros. games and my daughter loves all the pretty girl Mario and Sonic characters. \u00a0Competing against each other is always intense. \u00a0And my husband and I love the fact that all four of us compete, rather than just watch the kids play. \u00a0And you might be wondering, do the kids fight over who gets the blue remote? \u00a0Well, yes, a little. \u00a0But it works out OK, because on some events, one of them gets to use the Wii U GamePad, which is a lot of fun too. \u00a0And my husband and I? \u00a0Well, we’re content with white controllers! \u00a0\ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

    My husband and I love the fact that our kids really enjoy watching the Olympics. \u00a0But, there are so many events, it’s hard to watch them all. \u00a0With the Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, our kids can play different winter Olympic events over and over, helping them to not only better understand the sporting event, but the nuances of it as well. \u00a0And best yet? \u00a0We can all play the winter Olympic games together and end our family fun night with a cup of hot cocoa, without any need to get out of our snow suits!<\/p>\n

    Which Olympic events are your favorites?<\/p>\n

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     <\/p>\n

    \"walmart_mom_disclaimer\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Had fun watching the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics? Continue the fun at home with the Wii U’s Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,698,13,14],"tags":[2783,2129,1213,334,709],"class_list":["post-12375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dads","category-games-2","category-kids","category-moms","tag-kids","tag-mario-bros","tag-olympics","tag-video-games","tag-wii-u","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12375\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}