Great Games to Soothe the Stress Away

Did you know that this month is Stress Awareness Month? Did you also know that today is Stress Awareness Day? If not, then you can see that SuperPhillip Central is also a great source of learning and entertainment. To go along with Stress Awareness Day, SuperPhillip Central has a list of games that are nice and relaxing for players. These are titles and series that are soothing, will lower your blood pressure, and will put you in a nice state of comfort as opposed to raising your stress level.

Animal Crossing (GCN, DS, Wii)

Our first series is that of Animal Crossing. The series basically sets you to play at your own pace, slowly paying back your debt to Tom Nook, collecting new furniture to spruce up your home, chatting with your animal neighbors, fishing, catching bugs, and digging up fossils. Perhaps the only stressor here is coming back to your town after a month's absence and seeing it covered with weeds. The upcoming June release of Animal Crossing: New Leaf for the Nintendo 3DS offers the ability to play as the mayor, controlling your village as you see fit. Animal Crossing is a delightful series that is nice and relaxing to play, especially with friends.

Harvest Moon (Multi)

Let's focus on a franchise similar to Animal Crossing. It's a series that has spanned multiple consoles from Nintendo platforms to Sony systems, Harvest Moon has its main focus as a farming game with quirks that make the games so lovable. Such quirks include raising livestock, conversing with the locals, and eventually settling down and getting married. It's your overall duty to take a dilapidated farm and turn it into one bustling place of agriculture. Let your worries and cares fade away as you milk old Bessie, gather materials, and water your crops.

LittleBigPlanet (PS3, PSP, PSV)

Voted by SuperPhillip Central as the best new IP of this past generation, LittleBigPlanet encourages creativity and fosters an environment for unbridled entertainment, either alone or with friends. Playing through the happy-go-lucky craft-filled world of LittleBigPlanet invokes a warm and happy feeling, and the franchise is endlessly charming. The only real stressor to the LittleBigPlanet series comes from the optional task of trying to ace all of the levels-- that is, beating every platforming level in the game without dying, so avoiding doing that when you want to relax is recommended.

Flower (PSN)

A soothing PlayStation Network-exclusive game where you tilt the PS3 controller to guide the wind on flowers to liven up fields, Flower is a title that is a lethargic experience. The team behind the title, Thatgamecompany (Journey, Fl0w), wanted to present players with a positive feeling. They definitely succeeded as the game is a breath of fresh air, and one that will calm even the most agitated gamer.

Brain Age (DS, 3DS)

The Brain Age series challenges your brain with short sessions of math problems, sudoku, memory tests, and much more to keep your brain active. The series, based off the research of Dr. Ryuta Kawashima, is one that can played in small doses, and engages your brain. The games try to enhance certain parts of the mind such as recognition, memory, and concentration, which the latter is the focus of the latest entry in the franchise, Brain Age: Concentration Training.

Crosswords Plus (3DS)

Crosswords are always a nice diversion from a wild and wacky world. Let the stress leave your body as you play hundreds of crossword puzzles, word searches, and anagram games in Crosswords Plus for the Nintendo 3DS. Even doing a crossword or word search with a timer isn't a stress-inducing experience. There's no real reward or reason to panic by taking a long time on a given puzzle. And if you get stuck on a puzzle, don't get flustered, simply use a clue to help you out. Crosswords Plus is the sequel to CrossworDS on the Nintendo DS. Both offer an insane amount of puzzles for a budget price.

Art Academy (DS, 3DS)

The Art Academy series offers finely tuned lessons divided up between parts to teach players the basics of art. You learn about perspective drawing, shading, and blending colors. The latest entry in the series, Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone! (3DS), has a multitude of easygoing lessons, the ability to share your work with friends, and a multitude of fun techniques to learn. Nothing beats going at your own pace and learning that you actually aren't as bad of an artist as you think you are. Paining and drawing via the touch screen is a fine, relaxing experience that those with an interest of art and a Nintendo DS or 3DS shouldn't pass up.

Professor Layton (DS, 3DS)

Professor Layton has seen five games release over in the West, with the latest being Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, the first entry on the Nintendo 3DS. For the uninitiated, the Professor Layton franchise has you following a mysterious story usually with Professor Layton and his apprentice Luke by his side. As you journey through areas, you come across brain teasers that sharpen your logical thinking, reasoning, and processing. These puzzles often are given to you to advance the story once they are solved. There's nothing like chilling with a particular puzzle and eventually coming upon its solution. Grab yourself a spot of tea and put on a monocle, as the Professor Layton series is one to compose oneself.

Katamari Damacy (PS2, PS3, PSP, 360)

Katamari Damacy as a franchise has players rolling up buildings, objects, and even people as they try to get their ball (the Katamari) as large as possible. It's that enjoyment in rolling up anything and everything that makes the Katamari Damacy series so engaging. Time limits do little to aggravate players, as the joy of rolling one's Katamari beats all frustration. It's a pleasing and calming feeling, and a game series that explodes with charm.

Minecraft (PC, XBLA)

In the procedurally generated world of Minecraft, you are let loose in a world with no real goals in sight. All you need to do is build and chip away blocks to create whatever you wish. You have total freedom. Speaking of freedom, playing the Creative mode of Minecraft allows players total freedom from worry. You build, you chip away, and you fly. You can make masterpieces of maps, buildings, and other objects. The stuff that players have done is truly sensational. The relaxation part of building and venturing around the game world is why Minecraft has a place on this list of soothing games.

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Those are ten relaxing and soothing games we thought of. Did we miss any of your favorites? What games put you in a state of calmness, a moment of repose, or a feeling of relaxation? Post your ideas in the comments section below.

Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone (3DS) Review

Just in time for Halloween is a terrifying game for you to read about. It's spectacularly spooky! I shiver in my shoes just thinking about it. I'm just glad I didn't drink too much water or things might have gotten messy! It's none other than... Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone! Jeepers creepers!

Art for All

Colors! 3D released on the Nintendo eShop earlier this year. You might be wondering to yourself what the point of purchasing a much more costlier art game is if you already have Colors! 3D in your digital 3DS collection. While that program is terrific for those who already know how to draw and do art, the subject of this review, Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone, contains more options and a greater focus on teaching even the most inept artiste among us how to create fantastic works of art.

Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone has a pretty decent amount of content for its budget price. If you're feeling bold, you can right away start painting or drawing your own creative concoctions via the Free Paint mode. There you can choose your own canvas, what tools you wish to use (paints, pencils, or pastels), and whether or not you intend to use a picture for reference. If you're like me, however, you may want to get a refresher course on how to create competent art through the game's many lessons.

From colored pencils to pastels, you can
create with a variety of useful tools.

There are two types of lessons within Art Academy, the Introductory Course and the Advanced Course. The Introductory lessons teach you how to do the absolute basic essentials of creating art, learning how to use paints, pencils, and pastels, and knowing a bit about shading techniques, highlights, and more; while the Advanced lessons go into more detail and talk about such concepts like perspective and how to do portraits.

Each lesson is taught by the in-game teacher, Vince, and the lessons are divided up into multiple stages, some with multiple steps. For instance, the first stage could be about simply creating the horizon line, while the next could be about sketching out the most basic elements of the picture. Final steps generally include adding in highlights and details to bring the most pizazz to your picture.

The lessons not only help you with creating work within the game itself, but they assist in giving you real-world practice. Every lesson introduces a new concept to work with and try. Of course, there are obvious new concepts like using paint, pencils, colored pencils, and pastels, but there also concepts like hatching, blending, mixing paints, among many others. Your teacher Vince even throws in some art history to make Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone not just sharpen your artistic skill but your knowledge of art as well. The lessons perfectly throw in these little useful tidbits when the most opportune situation presents itself.

Optional techniques and art history 
are brought up by Vince constantly.

When you begin Art Academy your available amount of lessons you can attempt is small. However, through completing lessons you unlock new ones. You also unlock mini-lessons, which the game gives you a quick rundown on how the finished piece was completed, and then gives you free reign to try the picture as you see fit. These mini-lessons basically put the skills you acquired in a main lesson to try out for yourself to create a picture with minimum help and just a teensy bit of guidance (i.e. what steps Vince went through to complete his painting or picture).

Outside of the 20+ lessons available to players initially on the game card, you can download DLC lessons for $1.99 each. I sort of see that as too much for one lesson and not worth it when there are already enough lessons to go through on the game as is. And if you do decide to try out new lessons and still don't get that itch scratched for something new, you can download mini-lessons created by your 3DS friends, or even create your own. The user interface takes a little getting used to at first, but you can go on to share your own works of art while teaching your friends how you went about doing so.

Speaking of sharing, finished works or works in progress can be saved to your SD card or passed along to your friends via SpotPass (perhaps share your work in Swapnote!). You can even marvel at your own creations by hanging them up along a virtual 3D gallery with numerous rooms to place your pictures, portraits, and paintings in. You can actually go so far as to hang them horizontally or vertically, as well as choose any frame you wish.

See other works of mine here.

Creating a work of art in Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone is not as difficult as you might think. That is thanks in one part to the wonderful and helpful instructions and another part to the easy controls and tools given to you. For one, the grid tool puts a grid on both the upper screen where Vince's project is and the bottom screen which is where you do your work on. You can zoom in and out with ease to help create all the finer details necessary. Perhaps the only problems with the controls of Art Academy on 3DS are that there can be issues with the calibrating of the system's stylus as well as there being no quick undo option. I have had to redo whole sections of projects because my I unintentionally hit the touch screen with my pinky while drawing and thus a giant streak was created across my work. Very annoying.

There's no better feeling than finishing a lesson
with a completed piece you can feel proud of.

Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone is an incredibly rewarding title that might just shock you in giving you the revelation that you're not as bad an artist as you might have thought you were. And if you already are an expert, this 3DS version of Art Academy gives you an abundance of tools to create extraordinary works. It is not without its problems such as the constant need to have to calibrate the touch screen to make accurate marks, but the overall package is superb. Whether you're a tyro at art or a professional with years of experience, Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone is a worthwhile piece of software for, well, everyone!

[SuperPhillip Says: 8.5/10]

SuperPhillip's Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone Pictures

The latest "game" that is inside my Nintendo 3DS is Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone (known as New Art Academy in Europe). I am trying to get through the title in a fast enough process so I can have a review for everyone this week. I also have the new Professor Layton on the 3DS to cover, so it will be a busy time.

Regardless, much like I did with Colors! 3D, I would like to share my work in Art Academy for the 3DS. I'm no professional artists by any means, but with the help of Lessons for Everyone, I managed to pull off some interesting pieces. I hope you enjoy them. I believe they are listed by first to latest in creation.

The Cherry

The Tree

Mushroom Trio

Juicy Melon

Duo Avacado

The Windmill

The Watermill

Barley Fields

Cloudscape

Koi Carp

Stay tuned for a full review of Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone later this week. I hope to have it up before the end of the month. Until tomorrow, enjoy yourself!

Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone! (3DS) Trailer

Nintendo of America has announced its lineup for the rest of 2012. Unfortunately, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon has been delayed until next year. That said, there are some intriguing titles announced including this gem, Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone!, a game that teaches players how to draw and paint like a pro. This game is due out October 1st in North America.