Parents and children alike can have lots of fun playing this game-exploring a wild western town. Bandit Bob has stolen nine gold bars from the bank and he has hidden them all around the town. The Sheriff (Sheriff Sassafras) and his deputy (Deputy Prairie Dog) need to find the gold and capture Bob, and so they help players to locate the gold and send Bandit Bob to Jail at the same time. Players can search for the gold bars, print "Wanted" posters, design Deputy badges, help with shopping lists, go "Barrel Booting", sing and learn Wild West songs, fire a cannon, help Orville Bedlump, the desk clerk at the town hotel, to find his guest's property and meet lots of citizens of the town along the way, having fun discovering hidden surprises as they go. The manufacturer's recommended age is for children four to seven years, but help will be needed to install the program. An excellent booklet accompanies this first-class CD-ROM. It is very easy to read and the instructions are clear and straightforward and should be read before beginning. -Susan Naylor.

Mickey Mouse takes the role of a newspaper reporter in Disney's Get Ready for School with Mickey. Aimed at four to six year olds, the activities on the CD-ROM mix fun and learning, and the child's progress is monitored to make sure it does not either bore or over-stretch its users. Parents can access information screens that provide instruction on how to use each activity and the skills it teaches, which will help them ensure their children get the most from the software. The action begins on a night-time street, with Mickey searching for a news story. Click all around and you'll find various activities. Mickey crops up during these from time to time to take snaps for the paper. You can access his work and use it as a source to print extension activities to do away from the computer. Among the many activities Hide and Seek is good fun. A weasel ducks into an alley, and a policeman is there to help you find the weasel by letting you know the kind of object the weasel is hiding behind and what it sounds like. You then click around until you find the weasel who then pops out, taunts you, and runs to hide again. [+]

Another day, another world-dominating villain to crush. Spy Fox is back, and this time he must stop Napoleon LeRoach before the cretinous cockroach can unleash a giant robotic dog on the unsuspecting world. The nefarious commander of SMELLY (Society for Meaningless Evil, Larceny, Lying, and Yelling) has hidden the dog at the World's Fair, and every innocent tourist who visits the event helps wind up the dogbot's engine simply by passing through the fair gate's turnstiles. Combining puzzles, animations, and a loony cast of animal characters straight from a James Bond film, Spy Fox 2: Some Assembly Required equips players with fiendishly clever gadgets and the means to make fake identities for themselves. Thus armed, they can roam the World's Fair, searching for the critical off switch and deactivation codes to shut down the dogbot before it's too late. Some Assembly Required has the usual virtues of a Spy Fox game: vivid and interesting visuals, great sound, intriguing puzzles, humor, and a lot of creativity. The gadgets are a particular delight, and the emphasis on mechanics will interest players who are keen to understand how things work. Parents will be pleased to see that values such as cooperation and teamwork are stressed, as Spy Fox relies heavily on scientists and other spies to help him complete his mission. Though the game has many animated sequences-which may frustrate task-oriented players-they are more entertaining than most segments in similar games. Whether you're a fan of Spy Fox or you're just looking to solve some brainteasers that pack a humorous punch, Some Assembly Required will definitely deliver. [+]

Alice in Wonderland is a story most adults know, and one that children always seem delighted to discover. This CD-ROM version from Dorling Kindersley combines elements from the story with educational activities and games, and is designed for children aged 7 to 12 years. Each user logs on with their own name, so several family members can use Alice in Wonderland at their own pace. The CD begins with Alice following the White Rabbit down his famous hole, and arriving at the Hall of Doors-the first of 10 magical worlds she will encounter. There are riddles and problems behind some of the doors in this hallway, and you have to help Alice complete them to gain items or information she'll need later on. And of course, you get to play with the infamous "drink me" and "eat me" foodstuffs. Alice in Wonderland continues in the same vein throughout, and features many characters from the book-the Cheshire Cat is on hand to provide help, while you'll also meet the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts and others. In true Alice in Wonderland style, Alice herself is a real girl, while the other characters are all animated. Alice in Wonderland hangs together well, and this multimedia fairy tale is an interesting example of making an educational CD from a children's classic. The American voices of the characters may be a little grating at times, though. [+]

A classic and much-loved children's story is given a vivid interactive finish in The Little Prince, a CD-ROM that will thrill young readers and their parents. With elegant animations and a low-key, whimsical delivery, this CD-ROM tells the tale of a stranded pilot and his friendship with a strange young man who lives alone on a small asteroid with only a rose for company. As an interactive storybook, The Little Prince is absolutely gorgeous. Antoine de Saint Exupéry's story is ideal for a multimedia format, since much of the tale centres around the act of drawing pictures. Kenneth Branagh's cheerful and appealing reading of the text is enhanced with sketches that not only appear on narrative cue, but interact with users-changing colours at the click of a mouse or sweeping the book's text aside to highlight the simple, but beautiful illustrations. The Little Prince offers an intriguing mix of the simple and the sophisticated. While the humour in the story will be more appealing to older players, the games and activities in the program are extremely simple; for the most part, they are composed of animations that come alive at a single click. One game involves maintaining the ecosphere of the Little Prince's home, asteroid B-612, by destroying young baobab plants and watering his rose. Another involves making regular visits to see a wild fox, which will eventually become tame enough to play hide-and-seek with players. Little is required in either of these games except diligence and patience. [+]

If you laughed your way through Monsters, Inc. the movie, then enhance your street cred one step further and treat your little monsters to Monstropolis Mission. The great thing about this CD-ROM is that, while it plays like a video game, it has all the educational qualities of a top-class software package. All games are goal-based, and each step follows on logically from the last. Everyone starts at the bottom, in the mail room, but multi-level gameplay tied to award systems (earn an Employee of the Day, Month or even Year award) offers an incentive for progression. Once you've sorted the mail correctly, you'll earn a promotion to the Parking Lot, where you must park the company cars. (Surprisingly, this is one of the highlights of the game!) While all the activities involved are entertaining, each one stretches the brain and must be completed before the next can begin. The graphics are fine, and while they won't get a PS2 player hot under the collar, they reflect the mood of the film and support the game well. Controls are responsive, and generally the package has a finish and refinement you would expect of the Disney name. It's good family fun. [+]

The famous Peanuts characters need your help. Linus has lost his security blanket and no one knows where it is. Where's the Blanket Charlie Brown?is packed with fun games and you'll enjoy plenty of laughs with Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang. Where's the Blanket Charlie Brown?is a fun, well-animated and clearly explained title. It's easy to install and in a neat touch Peanuts characters appear on your screen as the files are installed on your computer. As you log on, you can opt to be either Charlie Brown or Lucy and then you enter the story and help search for the missing blanket. With music playing in the background, you can play games and watch Peanuts characters writing and reading letters aloud. One of the funniest moments is when Lucy spots Snoopy through the key hole busily knocking up a pizza in the kitchen. You can click to get Snoopy chopping salami and then watch him polish off a couple of pizzas. In one game, you are invited to hunt with Lucy for Snoopy and you can opt to play it at different levels. [+]

Scooby-Doo Phantom of the Knight Can you help Fred, Velma, and the gang solve the mystery behind the Phantom Knight and his dragon? Scooby-Doo: Phantom of the Knight offers laughs, pretty good animation, and a series of challenging puzzles to entertain young children for hours. Since the villain and clues change with each new adventure, replay is just as much fun as the very first game. Set up much like an episode of the classic television series, the program puts players in an old, castle-themed amusement park to explore for clues to its haunting. Some of the scarier areas will require feeding Scooby or Shaggy to coax them in; snacks can be obtained by several tests of skill along the way. Once enough clues have been collected, players decide who's to blame, then check to see if the guess is right in an action sequence that closes play. Three levels of difficulty are available, and each offers increasing pressure in the form of red-herring clues and harder challenges to acquire Scooby Snacks. Installation is very simple, and the CD-ROM comes with several Scooby-related goodies like a printable poster and online previews of upcoming movies. (Ages 5 to 10) -Rob Lightner Scooby Doo: Showdown in Ghost Town Scooby Doo: Showdown in Ghost Town pits Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Greatest-of-all-Danes Scooby against the Faceless Rider, a mysterious spirit (or is it?) haunting the town of Los Burritos. Thankfully, they're all back with the same groovy clothes, lingo and music-plus the goofy humour-that made their 70s TV show so much fun to watch. To get to the bottom of what's spooking Los Burritos, the group must explore the town and talk to everyone who crosses their path, all the while looking out for clues to help them solve the mystery at hand. [+]

If you liked the film then you are guaranteed to find something to entertain you in Scare Island Action Game, this PC game based on the adventures of Sulley and Mike the lovable fiends from Monsters Inc. There is actually quite a lot to this game, rather than just adapting the film, this is essentially a prequel. Players can choose to train as either Sulley or Mike (switching easily between the two at any point in the game), with each character having distinct scare tactics appropriate to their personality. Each Monster also has his own special moves-Sulley is the master of the Tailspin Slap Attack, the Monster Fur Flop Aerial Pounce and the Somersault Jump, while Mike spreads terror with the help of the Spinning Ball Attack, the Bouncing Eyeball Aerial Pounce and the Double Hover Jump. Sulley and Mike are helped along the way by a team of professional "Scare Trainers", including the speed trainer Randall (who must be beaten in special challenges to unlock some of the game's levels), orientation trainer Roz and Mr. Waternoose-the big boss at Monsters, Inc. and acting Dean of Scare Island. The action takes place on Terror Isle, which incorporates three main training grounds-Urban, Desert and Arctic-with each ground housing new scare targets appropriate to their setting. As children are so dangerous to the Monster world, Scare Island's scare targets come in the form of "Nerves", a docile branch of the Monster family tree which exists solely to train Scarers. When a Nerve is successfully terrorised, a scream canister is filled and the Nerve is temporarily turned white. [+]

Trouble is afoot in the high mountain of the Masters of the Elements. One of these great beings, the Master of Chance, has lost his cat. As Time, Gravity, and Chance's other friends search for the wayward beast, their powers are leaking away and the natural order of things is falling apart. Unless you can find the cat and the Masters' lost rings, chaos will result. Aimed at players aged eight and over, Masters of the Elements is a first-person role-playing game devoted to teaching basic physics concepts through virtual experimentation. Players learn about gravity and force through a virtual juggling activity, attempt to recharge a battery that will run the Master of Time's toy train and perform many other tasks in order to turn u p the missing cat. Each small game offers a gentle lesson in the workings of the universe, one which helps in the larger quest. This game requires an odd mix of arcade-style finesse and puzzle-solving skills. The clues to the science conundrums are all available for players to decode, but their solutions are subtle, and implementing the experiments can take care, grace and a lot of repetition. Mouse commands are sometimes on a hair-trigger-move a millimeter too far or shift a juggling pin too quickly, and the whole activity might collapse. [+]

Help your favourite teenage witch recover the Beanie of Ultimate Power in Sabrina the Teenage Witch: Brat Attack, a magical adventure game. It all starts with a package that should have been delivered to someone else. In it is the all-powerful propeller beanie, and Sabrina's cat, Salem, gets locked in a cage when her cousin Amanda decides she simply must have that hat. It's Sabrina's job to recover the cat and the hat from the Other Realm and defeat Amanda and her brat pack. The "Labtop" contains all of Sabrina's spells, and throughout the game, you can store new magical ingredients and spells for later use. Also, make sure to stock up on plenty of energy along the way or you could get sent back to Limbo in the laundry cupboard! There's five different worlds to explore: Sabrina's house, the Spelleria, Amanda's Arena, Mars, and Sabrina's high school. If your own teenage (or preteen) witch enjoys the television show and has fun solving mysteries, this game should be right up her alley. It's not every day a girl gets to blast her enemies away merely by pointing a finger. With Sabrina at her side, we bet she'll find this problem-solving adventure game truly. [+]

Children who love everyone's favourite penguin will adore Pingu and Friends. Packed full of the slick graphics the BBC excels at producing, very young ones will love the package just because they can watch one of their favourite characters at work. Children who can master the mouse or keyboard, however, will get much, much more out of the games. Dance with Pingu and his friends, and repeat their sequences to build pattern and sequential reasoning; snowball your friends and improve hand-to-eye co-ordination, aim and fine motor skills (but don't hit the washing or grandma, or you will be in trouble!); improve your memory in "Pingu Pairs", a kind of ice-age Pelmanism that is graphically superb and a definite highlight of the whole package. Just the menu screen is delightful: an icy scene that allows you to select your games and changes hue as snow falls come and go. All in all, this is a fantastic package worthy of the BBC name. -Lucie Naylor.