Review, buy Ages 5-8: Universal, VU Games, BBC Multimedia, Dorling Kindersley Ltd, Infogrames, Mindscape, Disney Interactive, FastTrak, Knowledge Adventure, Knowledge Adventure, Buena Vista, Avanquest Software, Softkey, Avanquest Software 5016488105866, Softkey, Disney Interactive, Mindscape, Focus Multimedia Ltd, Softkey, Mindscape

Jurassic Park III Scan Command CD-ROM is a rather novel idea for a game. The story outline is simple enough-Evil Dr Corts intends to take over the world with an army of mutated dinosaurs. To make matters worse, the bad Doctor is holding five children captive in Jurassic Park, and you want to rescue them. To do this you need your own dinosaurs, which you'll grow by manipulating their DNA. This is where the fun comes in, as you use bar codes to help give them their characteristics. The software comes with a bar code scanner for the capture of these data-bits. It is about 18cm long, made of blue plastic, and looks rather like an oversized marker pen. It needs three AAA batteries to supply its power. The first barcode you need is in the game manual. Thereafter you can wander through the house and beyond, grabbing barcodes from wherever you like. [+]

The scanner can store up to 25 bar codes at a time, and you download them to the PC using a serial connection and then create the DNA and powerful dinosaurs. And let the action begin! Jurassic Park III Scan Commandis a very clever idea. All the scanner really does is collect random sets of numbers, but it's neat, and once you get the hang of scanning, very easy. The multi-level game isn't bad, either. -Sandra Vogel Plus FREE Dino Defender A terrible storm has knocked out power in Jurassic Park and the huge dinosaurs are on the rampage. As a member of the elite Dino Defender squadron, it's your job to capture as many dinosaurs as possible while you try to restore power in this dramatic and exciting CD-ROM game. Read Amazon. co. uk's review.

Messy Time Magic is one of a range of Fab-a-Rooney CD-ROMs and console games from the BBC, where the accent, as ever, is on fun and enjoyment The package has been developed in line with the foundation stages of the National Curriculum. There are different skill levels, catering for different abilities for children aged three years and above. Children can have fun being imaginative and creative, but the biggest asset of all (as far as parents are concerned) is the fact that there is absolutely no mess! All the games involve either making something on-screen, or producing a picture, which incidentally can be photographed when the photo icon appears. Six of the Tweenie characters play the games: Jake, Fizz, Milo and Bella, along with Izzles and Doodles, and the degree of difficulty depends on which character is chosen. Izzles is at level one (the easiest) and Bella is at level six (the trickiest), but don't despair-Max is always on hand and available to provide friendly advice. Use the eraser, wave the colour wand, make patterns, change sounds and take part in many other activities including "Recycling Fun", "Dot-to-dot Magic", "Window Wonder", "Baking Surprise", "Jungle Maker" and "Get Messy", which introduces Judy, who will show you how to print out. While playing the games it is also possible to access video clips from the TV programmes. Accompanying the CD-ROM is a wonderful colour pamphlet giving idiot-proof instructions for everything from installation to playing the games. Created with the kind of production values you would expect from the BBC, this well thought-out package will be loved by young Tweenie fans. -Susan Naylor.

Sir Topham Hatt is facing infrastructure problems: the island of Sodor needs more lines if it is to accommodate its increasing number of rail travellers, and Sir Topham has asked for your help in Building the New Line. Load the CD-ROM, sign in and meet Thomas and all his familiar friends. Choose Junior Engineer or Senior Engineer mode, depending on ability (or confidence!) and start laying your track. Once your track is in place, move through the activities to deliver cargo, add landscaping features such as trees, bridges, tunnels and so on. When you're happy with your track, advance to Play Mode and bring your new line to life. Your engine can now travel around the track, interacting with all the other familiar personalities and sights of Sodor. Click on the items you put in place in build mode and complete the resulting activities. For example, click on the hay bales in the Farm Yard and watch as they spill on the track. Get your engine to help clear them away, so the track is safe and debris-free. Switch tracks, control your speed, and visit The Works if you need any maintenance. [+]

Once you've left The Works, decorate your engine and the station, ready for The Grand Opening, a celebration party that will reward little drivers for their help in Building the New Line. Once the party is over, Sir Topham will send you a postcard as a memento of the big day, and this can be printed out. Similar to previous CD-ROMs in the Thomas & Friends range, the sound and graphical quality of the package is great, and all the characters are faithful reproductions of their book and screen counterparts. The package is fun, and will amuse as well as challenge first PC users, as they learn mouse control, hand-to-eye coordination as well as other basic PC skills (clicking, moving, cause-and-effect of onscreen activities). There are plenty of rewards to keep little ones interested, and lots of fun to be had along the way. This is recommended for boys and girls of 3-5 years. -Susan Naylor.

Raymond Briggs' modern children's classic, The Snowman, is now a familiar seasonal companion to a whole generation, and this interactive CD-ROM is another magical way of enjoying the wonderful story. I remember that winter, because it brought the heaviest snow that I had ever seen. The snow had fallen, steadily all night long, and in the morning I awoke in a room filled with light and silence. The world seemed to be held in a dream-like stillness. It was a magical day, and it was on that day I made the Snowman. Once loaded, the haunting, evocative soundtrack strikes up, and you are immediately presented with the now-familiar picture of the Snowman. Move the mouse once, and five pictures, which form the menu, appear. The rest is up to your little helper! They can read the book, page by page, and if the story is already familiar to them, the real fun in this activity is to be found in the games along the way. Click on the Snowman icon on the intermittent pages on which he appears, and you will be presented with an appropriate game. When James is getting up to get dressed on the morning of the snowfall, you can play the point, drag and drop game that will not only encourage basic mouse skills, but will also wrap James in a variety of outfits. [+]

When the now animated Snowman climbs aboard the motorbike, the associated game involves opening and closing gates and leading him to James. This more sophisticated gameplay encourages hand-to-eye co-ordination, planning and cause-and-effect, on top of the PC skills. Tidying up is a skill every parent wants to encourage, even in a virtual world, and when the Snowman goes inside, items throughout James's house are mixed up for little fingers to put back in their rightful place. Not only does this encourage cleanliness, but it also refines mouse skills and encourages problem solving. Colour recognition comes into play when James and the Snowman are flying, and you have to click on the Snowman with the Yellow, Purple, Red, Blue and Green hat in turn. As the Snowman learns to dance, youngsters are encouraged to learn patterns as they get their snowmen to mimic James's actions. But the real magic of this package is in the film, available now for children whenever they want to watch. Though the screen size is small and the transfer slightly pixellated and jerky, it loses none of the magic you felt when you first watched it on TV. Beautiful, exciting, engaging and haunting, the combination of pictures and music without any words, is a unique experience youngsters will just adore. Incredibly easy to load, (just put it in the CD-ROM drive and the rest is done for you), this program doesn't leave the tell-tale files all over your desktop that eventually fill up your hard drive. This advantage, however, means the program is played straight from the disc drive, and it is a little pixellated in places. And when selecting tasks and activities via the main menu, users may find the audio instructions blur a little if this is done quickly and erratically, as youngsters are prone to do. That said, this is undoubtedly one of the nicest pieces of children's software on the market. Containing everything a Christmas Classic should-a great story, lovely pictures, haunting music and loads and loads of fun and games, it should be in every stocking. -Lucie Naylor.

The Fisher-Price Magna Doodle CD-ROM gives young children the opportunity to scribble to their heart's content and then watch their drawings come alive in front of them on their computer screens-without mess. Simply select an adventure (which could be anything from an outer space voyage to carnival fun or a jolly balloon flight) and, depending on the adventure chosen, you are presented with a particular drawing design (for example, a rocket) which you can then colour in with a virtual pencil. The instructions are simple and easy to follow, as you are shown everything by a friendly talking doodle character. And once you have finished, you can click on a button to immediately watch the drawing in action. For example, a hot air balloon, however you have drawn it, will immediately drift above some mountains and plays sound effects at the same time. You can also adjust the speeds at which your drawings moves by clicking on a tortoise for very slow or a hare for quick action. This is a fun and creative program for young children (3 years and above), although they will require some assistance to get going and will probably need to be shown how to save their doodles but generally it's easy to use. Mistakes can be quickly erased, it involves no paper and probably the best part for young children will be watching their finished drawings doing things such as taking off into space or diving deep into the sea. -Justin Hunt.

Perfect for today's modern royalty, Disney's Princess Fashion Boutique is sure to provide hours of artistic fun. You begin by creating a paper doll of yourself, choosing from thousands of different clothing and hairstyle combinations. The facial-feature and skin-tone options are plentiful, but it is also possible to use a self-portrait if you've got a scanner or digital camera. Either way, the dressing room is a great place for playing pretend, with a wardrobe most girls can only dream about. Once you've completed your character (and you can save up to 20 different outfits), you can put yourself in animated storybooks (as, of course, the star) and play with sounds, backgrounds and text to come up with all-new fairy tales. There are plenty of colouring options here, and they range from altering the stock art pieces to creating your own designs from scratch (using the easy icons to paint and animate them). All these creations are easily printable and can also be sent over the Internet. They have to be sent as e-mail attachments, though, so a little help from the queen or king may be necessary for your little princess to get it accomplished properly. Each of the three princess guides-Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty-has different worlds to explore, with tons of clickable treasures to add to your wardrobe. The worlds are slightly different every time they are opened, providing constant new surprises. [+]

The Adventures of Mr Greedy belongs to the same family of products as The Adventures of Little Miss Scatterbrain and The Adventures of Mr Tickle and like them, it's set in the Mr Men village. This time, three of the Mr Men have got a problem-Miss Chatterbox has become shy, Mr Happy has lost his sense of humour and most disturbing of all, Mr Greedy isn't hungry any more. Children of 4-8 years will enjoy joining the other Mr Men as they try and solve these problems in this delightful point-and-click puzzle-based adventure game. It's in three parts. First, you have to help Miss Scatterbrain bake a cake to bring back Mr Greedy's appetite, then you go with Mr Bounce while he finds Coco the parrot who'll cure Miss Chatterbox and finally, track down Mr Tickle, the only one who can put a smile back on Mr Happy's face. To find Mr Tickle, kids need only to navigate round the village and keep their eyes open. Making the cake is a bit more challenging because some of the ingredients (eggs, cream, gherkin, cheese, banana, glue) won't necessarily make a particularly tempting cake-and because Mr Greedy is who he is, you'll need to make more than one cake. Catching Coco is pretty easy-you just have to find him and then grab hold with the mouse. Of the three titles in the series it's probably the least satisfying, but younger kids will enjoy it and as usual, the quality of the animation and characterisation is high. -Rob Beattie.

Decorate Cinderella's castle, filling it with furnishings, pictures, even food, before bringing in the world's most downtrodden stepdaughter and her friends. With this game, Cinderella fans aged five and older can design their heroine's living spaces, print out especially well-decorated rooms and experiment with a new variation on the age-old pastime of playing with dolls. Disney's Cinderella Dollhouse is really a basic paint program posing as a watered-down version of The Sims. Players decorate Cinderella's kitchen, bedroom and ballroom, but instead of adorning each empty space with flat images, girls choose from a gallery of interactive objects. What does this mean? Put a flute in Cinderella's hand and she will actually play it; give her a tray of cupcakes and she will offer them to everyone in the room. Adding different characters to the mix will change what they do and say. Girls can thus create scenes where the wicked stepsisters argue, or-by swapping the cast around-they can induce the Prince to make a declaration of love to Cinderella. The number of possible combinations is respectably large, and Disney provides a monthly download of additional objects to keep gameplay from getting stale. Unfortunately, this game is something of a one-trick pony. Unlike an adult-oriented simulator, the characters' prerecorded responses to game objects are controlled by very simple rules. [+]

There are no deviations from the basic Cinderella script, girls cannot create their own characters, and ultimately, the animations don't disguise the fact that this is just another clip-art gallery with new bells and whistles. Even with the game updates, older girls will outgrow the dollhouse swiftly. What's more, occasional sound glitches and a long introduction sequence-which can't be skipped-make the process of getting started tedious. That said, the game does have appealing graphics and expands nicely on the concept of an electronic sticker book-an activity that is usually tossed into other games as a poorly executed afterthought. For younger girls who are fond of this particular fairy tale, or who have already shown that they enjoy decoration-themed programs, Disney's Cinderella Dollhouse makes a good selection. -Alyx Dellamonica.

Mis-cheese-ious Dreamship Adventures! is a story-based adventure game that finds the familiar characters of Reader Rabbit and Sam the Lion being ambushed by "pirats". They lose control of the Dreamship, which lands at the top of Mt Cheesemore. It's a race against time to get back to the ship before the pirats get to it. A Professor rescues Reader Rabbit and Sam, but the hovercraft they are travelling ashore in is wrecked by the pirats. Reader Rabbit and Sam agree to help the Professor to fix it before they go to find the Dreamship. The vital things needed to fix the hovercraft are bread, blue-cheese bricks and macaroni fruit! Children can help Reader Rabbit and Sam collect these things by undertaking seven different fun activities. The activities help to develop children's language, maths and science skills. A lot of them help to support work that they are doing at school as part of the National Curriculum. There are activities to develop spelling and their understanding of phonics. Children can help to build a dam by moving cheese blocks to complete addition and subtraction sums. [+]

They can travel through the Cheese Mine and consolidate their understanding of odd and even numbers. They will love trying to get through the doors in the Pirat Maze by decoding the messages on the doors and carrying out the tasks. The Insect Builder allows children to read descriptions and use this information to select the correct part and build up a picture of an insect, although, some of the vocabulary is a little complex and some children might need a little help selecting the correct part. This is another good adventure story in the Reader Rabbit series which would be a very good buy for parents of children aged between six and seven. -Amanda York.

ABC by Dr Seuss has to be one of the most entertaining ways for your child to learn about the alphabet. Derived from the timelessly popular Dr Seuss books with their special brand of humour, rhyme and illustration, this CD-ROM will provide endless fun and laughter, not only for the three- to seven-year-olds it is aimed at, but the parents too. Presented as pages of a book, the product is easy to use, animated throughout and highly interactive. In the section "Read Me", Ichabod and Izzy guide your child through the alphabet, introducing them to Aunt Annie's Alligator, the Fiffer-Feffer-Feff and many more. Each letter of the alphabet has its own page and is shown in both upper and lower case. A zany scenario develops using that letter consistently. Even the goodbye on each page reflects the letter being worked on-Adios, Farewell Friends, Next and so on. In the section "Play and Learn", the fun really begins. There are an amazing 400 alphabetical surprises hidden in the 26 pages of the ABC book and your child will want to find all of them! Mouse control will improve in this section as clicking almost anywhere produces mini sketches and songs. Your child will be enchanted by such sights as the barber playing boogie-woogie bass and the brief appearance of the Cat in the Hat. [+]

The soundtrack is excellent throughout and your youngster can sing along with Ichabod and Izzy to the catchy and well-known ABC song. Altogether this CD-ROM is a rare treat. (Even the animated credit titles under the Options menu are worth viewing. ) It combines learning and fun in such a subtle way that it will be difficult for your child to distinguish between the two. Unique, unpredictable, stimulating, surreal-the extraordinary world of Dr Seuss will prove to be an unforgettable experience. -Tracey Hogan.

Capers on Cloud Nine! is an interactive adventure game. Children are asked to help the friendly characters of Reader Rabbit and Sam the Lion, as they set off on their dream ship to investigate exactly why it is raining boots and umbrellas instead of rain. Having arrived at Cloud Nine children can travel to different locations with Reader Rabbit and Sam to help save everyone from the boots and umbrellas. Along the way children can carry out eight fun activities, such as, making moving pictures in the Art Gallery and answering science questions to try and win marbles from the Gumball Machine. These activities help develop a range of language, maths and science skills. Played on auto-adjusting skill levels, which cater for the different abilities of children, you can progress to harder levels. There is also a progress report to show how the child has done on each activity. Younger children may need help to navigate around the different locations, but they could use the practise mode that enables them to just carry out the activities. Children aged between five and seven will enjoy trying to help Ervin the inventor stop the giant throwing machine which is the cause of all the boots and umbrellas arriving on Cloud 9 making Capers on Cloud Nine! a good buy for parents of children this age who enjoy adventure games. -Amanda York.

Review Jurassic Park III Scan Command / Universal:

Review BestSeller Junior: Barbie Swan Lake / VU Games:

Review Tweenies: Messy Time Magic (PC) / BBC Multimedia:

Review The 3 Little Pigs / Dorling Kindersley Ltd:

Review Thomas & Friends: Building The New Line / Infogrames:

Review Scooby Doo Double Pack 2 (Jinx At The Sphinx & The Glowing Bug Man) / Mindscape:

Review Disney Action Games Lilo & Stitch Trouble in Paradise / Disney Interactive:

Review The Snowman Interactive Storybook & Games / FastTrak:

Review Adiboo Presents Science / Knowledge Adventure:

Review Fisher Price Magna Doodle / Knowledge Adventure:

Review Disney's Princess Fashion Boutique Classic / Buena Vista:

Review Mr Men & Little Miss The Adventures of Mr Greedy / Avanquest Software:

Review Story Book Weaver / Softkey:

Review Disney Hotshots: (Toy Story 2: Cone Chaos/Toy Shelf Showdown, Arcade Frenzy: Mushoot/Rooftop Ruckus) / Avanquest Software 5016488105866:

Review Orly Draw a Story / Softkey:

Review Disney's Cinderellas Dollshouse / Disney Interactive:

Review Reader Rabbit Year 2 Mis-Cheese-ious Dreamship Adventure / Mindscape:

Review Creatures Adventures / Focus Multimedia Ltd:

Review Dr Seuss ABC / Softkey:

Review Reader Rabbit Year 1 Capers on Cloud 9 / Mindscape: