Price: £19.99
Review Adiboo 3 Reading & Maths 6-7 / Knowledge Adventure:Adiboo Reading and Maths for ages six to seven yearstakes children on a journey to a friendly creative world where they can brush up on their words and sums. In Adiboo's magical house, children are encouraged to relax and express their creativity. In the kitchen, you meet Kicook, the friendly robot chef, who helps you make cakes, kebabs and sweets. Once you're in the fridge, you click on lots of fruits such as plums and raspberries and they are automatically processed into colourful liquids. You can quickly convert them into your own brand of sweets and add wrapping paper. And in a fun twist, you can send the sweets to a character in Adiboo land and watch them eat them. There are two CD-ROMs in this title. The first takes you to Adiboo land and the other encourages children to travel to imaginary places. In the land of Press Valley, you can go to the theatre where there are a whole range of theatrical-based activities. In one, Adiboo's script is in a muddle. [+]You see the script on the screen and you are encouraged to click and drag the words into the right order so the actors can read what has been written. In another innovative game, you have to help organise the props for a show. The script is read out and you choose which objects match what is required. There is tremendous depth to this title; the technology is used in a highly imaginative way and children get bags of guidance and encouragement throughout. -Justin Hunt.
RRP: £13.99
Price: £4.99
Review Fisher Price Big Action Garage / Knowledge Adventure:
RRP: £9.99
Price: £2.20
Review Disney Little Mermaid II / Electronic Arts 5030930031862:Here's your chance to reunite online with the entire undersea gang. The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea brings Ariel, her daughter Melody, Sebastian and all the other characters from the two Disney films straight to your computer, in a package of games and activities certain to please young players. Return to the Sea features two arcade games-Melody's Daring Dive and Too Cool!-and a trio of creativity-oriented activities. In the first game, Melody dives for jewels and pearls while dodging sharks and other hazards. In the second, she collects gems in an effort to thaw out a trident, which she must then use in battle with the nefarious Morgana. Both games are fast paced and well designed, boasting 20 levels of difficulty. Unlike some games for this age group, these genuinely get harder, ensuring significant replay potential. The noncompetitive activities include Aquabatics, where players design an underwater dance show; Mermaid Memories, an interactive sticker book; and Melody's Melodies, a karaoke programme featuring two songs from Disney's newest Little Mermaid film. Setting up the routines in Aquabatics is a lot of fun; players can flip and spin their favourite characters in a variety of swimming twirls. Though almost all games for girls include a program like Mermaid Memories, the one featured in this game is put together extremely well. [+]The backgrounds are flexible, the graphics meld seamlessly into the scenery, and players can even add sounds and movements to the scenes they create. Finally, Return to the Sea comes with a second CD-ROM, Ariel's Story Studio, a gateway to even more undersea adventure. The one real disappointment of this package is Melody's Melodies, which only features two songs and a few simple options for singing them. Kids learning to play musical instruments might also notice that the presentation of the music isn't correctly laid out on the staff. However, the program's other delights more than compensate for this weakness. Broad enough in scope to ensure wide appeal, and of the highest quality to guarantee player entertainment, Return to the Sea provides hours of fun for the whole family. -Alyx Dellamonica, Amazon. com.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £4.99
Review Art Attack Make It / Europress 5060035740055:
RRP: £9.99
Price: £6.99
Review Oscar The Balloonist: Flies Into The Mountains / Tivola:Oscar Flies Into The Mountains is a gentle and accessible introduction to nature. The information on the CD-ROM is provided in a humorous way, and there is a good mix of familiar animals such as bears and cows as well as lesser-known members of the animal kingdom like wood grouse and whistling marmots. Once you've chosen your own rucksack you can join Oscar the balloonist as he flies high through the cold mountains. Oscar's balloon is decorated with the four seasons of the year. If you click on the winter picture, you are quickly taken to a snowy landscape where the animals introduce themselves. A couple of eagles talk about the joys of flying and show you pictures of their newly hatched children. The stag, Randolph the Red, talks in an upper-crust accent about his favourite does and admits to having several girlfriends. Unfortunately he knows that one day he will no longer be the leader. Depending where you click, he will talk proudly about his antlers or how his coat keeps him warm when it snows. Each time you choose an animal, the screen goes dark and you are given a few verbal clues about what they are and where they live before they are revealed. [+]The animals talk in a friendly, good-humoured way and provide a brief insight into their lives-where they live, what they like to eat, who they like and what makes them afraid. (Ages 4 to 8). -Justin Hunt.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £4.79
Review Fisher Price Ranger Trail / Mindscape:
RRP: £9.99
Price: £9.99
Review Pokemon 2 Pack 2: Elekid & Zapdos / Softkey 5390102442071:
RRP: £14.95
Price: £0.49
Review Danger Mouse / Digital Workshop:
Price: £12.99
Review Tabaluga's Hall of Fame Games / Mindscape 5390102444327:
Price: £9.99
Review Pokemon 2 Pack 3: Togepi & Moltres / Softkey 5390102442095:
RRP: £14.99
Price: £9.78
Review Fisher Price Imaginext Pirates / Mattel:
Price: £14.99
Review Winnie the Pooh: Tigger's Honey Hunt / Atari:Anyone who has grown up without coming in contact with the Winnie the Pooh stories likely suffers a severe whimsy deficit as a result. Whether from the original A. A. Milne novels and stories or through the Walt Disney film adaptations, the misadventures of Pooh, Christopher Robin, Tigger and Piglet provide a completely entertaining diversion from ordinary story telling. The story in Tigger's Honey Hunt starts with Pooh, who is planning a grand party. But he can't even begin to plan the bash without knowing he has sufficient honey for his guests to enjoy. Bouncing along in his own inimitable way, Tigger pledges to help Pooh locate enough honey pots to get the party off the ground. Crisp backgrounds, colourful worlds, and superb animation make this a fun romp through the Hundred Acre Woods. Gameplay mechanics are straightforward and aimed at the right demographic. For anyone but kids, though, this game plays too short and doesn't have enough individual play modes (little kids love to play the same game over and over, so a short game doesn't matter much to the under-eight crowd). [+]The title misses Paul Winchell's deft voice-over talent, but none the less, this doesn't spoil the experience. Tigger's Honey Hunt really knows what it wants to be-a kid's game. As such, it succeeds in providing a darned good-if short-time. -Todd Mowatt.
RRP: £4.99
Price: £0.50
Review Mr Men & Little Miss Mr Bounce Presents Demolition / Avanquest Software:Mr. Bounce Presents Demolition is an arcade-style game for six to 10 year olds that features a selection of the Mr. Men characters created by children's author Roger Hargreaves. Although the game may be new to kids, mum and dad may well recognise it as a themed version of the arcade classic Breakout, where the object of the game is to manoeuvre a bat or paddle along the bottom of the screen so that it connects with a bouncing ball, ricocheting it back up the screen to break down a wall made of bricks. In this case, the bricks make the shape of 10 Mr. Men characters (one for each level) and once every brick has been broken, you're rewarded with a comical animation. There's more too. You can play as one of six characters, each with their own special characteristics that change the gameplay-Mr. Impossible is faster than Mr. Slow, for example. [+]Behind some bricks you'll find other Mr. Men which, should they fall and hit you, also affect the gameplay-you might get an extra ball, your paddle may be reversed or suddenly slow down. The fact that there are two modes (easy and hard), ascending levels of difficulty, six unique characters to choose from , a two-player option and 10 levels ensures that although Demolition is simple enough to pick up, it's also rewarding. -Rob Beattie.
RRP: £4.99
Price: £2.90
Review Powerpuff Girls. Mojo Jojo's Clone Zone / Avanquest Software:
Price: £22.89
Review Lego Island Extreme Stunts (PC) / Electronic Arts:
Price: £24.99
Review Barbie Gift Collection: 3 Ultimate Sports CD-ROMs (Team Gymnastics, Gotta Groove, Super Sports) / Barbie:
RRP: £12.99
Price: £12.96
Review Fisher Price Big Action Construction / Knowledge Adventure:
Price: £14.99
Review Jump Ahead Frankie: World Explorer / Knowledge Adventure 3348542148024:Frankie: World Explorer is an excellent software package that allows children to sample four different cultures, visiting the Mexican, Japanese, American and French pavilions of the World Festival, with four friends, Sarafina, Hiroshi, Roxie and Chloe. This is made possible by joining CJ the Frog and Edison, playing with them and discovering different languages and cultures through stories, games, songs and videos. Inside each of the four pavilions, travellers will find similar places to explore and play. Hear old fairy tales and new stories from your new friends' home countries, find hidden national flags throughout the kitchens and learn to recognise their foreign names. Dress puppets of the world in sombreros, kimonos, cowboy boots, berets and other national dress. Help your traveller to get to a famous landmark and play the outdoor-adventure game. Learn numbers in a new language using the telephone, and learn colours while painting fun pictures. Throughout the games, earn four Globe Pieces, and gain entry to the beautiful Expo Hall to see exciting video voyages to the land of your choice. The publishers recommend the CD-ROM as being suitable for five to eight-year-olds, but help will be needed for the younger end, and older children (up to the age of around 11 years) may also benefit from playing the games. The user instructions pamphlet included is excellent and very child-friendly as it uses simple language and annotated illustrations. [+]The whole package not only makes learning fun but it also aids a child's personal development by cultivating their imagination, curiosity and sociability. -Susan Naylor.
Price: £1.16
Review Operation: Replay / Atari:
RRP: £24.99
Price: £24.99
Review S Club 7 On the Road CD-ROM with Microphone Headset / BBC Multimedia:Make every young fan's dream come true as they tour with the band in S Club 7 On the Road CD-ROM with Microphone Headset. Games and activities provide the whole tour experience from joining rehearsals to interviewing the band. They'll love the Microphone Headset that plugs into the PC, fits onto the head like headphones and leaves the singer free to dance and sing their way to stardom. Well, almost. Backing tracks and video clips mean fans can sing along (words are provided on-screen) and join in the band's rehearsal. Want to play journalist? Choose from a selection of questions and then edit your own interview. Design invitations, place cards, door plaques and place mats-all you'll need for an S Club Party at home. Play games such as "Dress for Success" (get Bradley looking good), "Driving Ambition" (manoeuvre your way around a maze, pick up all the band members and get them to the airport on time) and "Hit the Track" (a one or two-player game that tests knowledge of the band's hits by challenging players to identify a sound clip). Packed with high-quality pictures and video clips of all the band members, the interface is highly graphical, although use of Macromedia Flash means it is slow and "clunky" at times. Also, the basic menu system-where you can choose activities and find out about band members-tends to override everything else, so that when you are in the middle of an activity you will still hear the options ("Driving Ambition: get the band to the airport on time", for example). [+]This can get confusing, but careful, deliberate navigation keeps it to a minimum. Any programs that your PC is lacking (QuickTime 5 may be one) are identified and installed with ease and the full-colour instruction booklet included is clear and accurate. The hardest thing of all may be finding the microphone socket for the first time and then trying to convince your 10-year-old S Club 7 nut that you really can't remember where it is the second time. -Lucie Naylor.
| Models & Brands:
Knowledge Adventure, Knowledge Adventure, Electronic Arts 5030930031862, Europress 5060035740055, Tivola, Mindscape, Softkey 5390102442071, Digital Workshop, Mindscape 5390102444327, Softkey 5390102442095, Mattel, Atari, Avanquest Software, Avanquest Software, Electronic Arts, Barbie, Knowledge Adventure, Knowledge Adventure 3348542148024, Atari, BBC Multimedia |
