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Software and Games : GSP : Children's Fun & Learning : Ages 5-8
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Avanquest Software
Don't let the title Beauty or the Beast fool you--this is a point-and-click adventure game, for children aged 7-11 years, based on the original fairy tale of the handsome prince trapped in the body of a beast by a wizard's spell and the girl whose love frees him. The "or" in the title refers to the game's most original twist, that you can play either as Beauty or the Beast and depending on which character you choose, enjoy an entirely different game, wrapped around the same plot line.The game follows the classic format of the point-and-click adventure. You guide your chosen character round the castle using the mouse, gathering objects such as keys and parchment maps that appear useful (these are popped into your inventory at the top of the screen) and using them to solve puzzles. These are a good mix. Some require dexterity with the mouse (dragging pesky bats off the bucket in the well so it descends properly) while others require problem-solving skills (deciphering the clues on a parchment or finding the right key). You can save the game at any time, get help by clicking on your guide, Horace Finefeather the owl, and review your progress by checking on the map of the castle.
Hardened puzzle-game players at the upper end of the target age group may find all this a bit easy, but younger children (or those less addicted to console games) will love it. The graphics are great, the animations very effective and the video-style introductory sequences a reminder of when companies really cared about producing quality multimedia. --Rob Beattie
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BBC Multimedia
Hey, Hey, are you ready to Play to the Music with the Tweenies? An amazing 50 per cent of pre-school children in the UK watch the loveable characters on TV, and this new package picks out the element they love the best: singing action songs. When the Tweenie clock stops on "Dance Time", Bella (as usual!) takes the lead, and youngsters can either help Fizz copy Bella's moves, or they can boogie along, copying the steps on the dance mat (included, with a microphone). In the "Music Garden", you must help Judy and Jake grow a song bush, whereas in the "Tunearoonie Maze" your task is to guide the Tweenies around a maze and collect musical notes. But beware of the dinosaurs, or you could be singing the blues sooner than you think. Meet the "Tweenie Band", find out what instruments they like by trial and error and then sing along with the tunes they play. These somewhat prescriptive activities are fantastic for the target age group: they improve colour recognition, musical awareness and singing ability, basic mouse and PC skills, as well as artistic awareness, concentration, hand-to-eye coordination and finer motor skills. But the real fun comes in the more open activities, where children can plug in the microphone and sing along with the Tweenies. The special video clips included are taken from the live, sell-out shows of early 2001, TV programmes and the Tweenies' unforgettable appearance on Top of the Pops. Karaoke wannabes can even record their voice and become a real Tweenie pop star themselves. If this all sounds a bit raucous, concentrate on the educational value: BBC production values mean this is fun, entertaining and wonderfully designed, but it also stays true to the underlying developmental slant of the TV show. Following the success of the Tweenies: Ready to Play (which sold around 330,000 copies and topped the UK software retail charts for 35 out of 54 weeks after launch) this package is simply fantastic, but if you still need convincing, just remember: millions of three-year-olds can't be wrong! --Lucie Naylor
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BBC Multimedia
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Avanquest Software
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BBC Multimedia
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Avanquest Software
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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
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
Mr. Bump Presents Mad Run is an arcade game for six to 10 year olds that will have them hooting with laughter and roaring with frustration. The object of the game is to complete one of eight themed race courses (savannah, marina, deep sea, desert, arctic, space, mountains and clouds) strewn with obstacles appropriate to that particular environment. Thus, underwater you'll have to avoid wrecks, reefs and electric eels and in the savannah you'll be troubled by boulders, trees, dirty great holes and, most annoying of all, Mr. Busy, who's in such a rush to get wherever he's going that he'll take you with him, whether you want to go or not. Elsewhere, running over other Mr. Men in the race will affect your character in different ways, perhaps adding speed or strength or making them do everything backwards.The purpose of each race is to rescue one of the Mr. Men who's done something daft: Mr. Dizzy is blundering into quicksand, Miss Scatterbrain (minus her sunblock) has fallen asleep in the desert, Mr. Muddle has got tangled in his fishing line and so on. Your job is to make it to the end of each course and rescue them before time runs out. You can play as one of six Mr. Men, each with different characteristics that make each game different, depending on which one you pick. Mr. Impossible, for example, can score points by running through barrels that will just knock Mr. Happy over. In addition, although the obstacles stay in the same place in each game, the other Mr. Men characters move around, so even when you've mastered a particular course, there's plenty of room for surprises.
There are two overall difficulty settings (easy and hard) and although each game is essentially the same (use the cursor keys to navigate the course, collect bonuses and special powers and avoid obstacles) the different environments, different Mr. Men and levels of difficulty make this both challenging and rewarding. Even the snakes have smiles on their faces. --Rob Beattie
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Avanquest Software
Play and Explore Year 1 is an easy to use CD-ROM that is aimed at Year 1 children. It introduces young children to simple computer games in a fun way. They will enjoy squirting monsters, solving clues and escaping from mazes while learning to follow instructions, control the mouse and practise literacy and numeracy skills.There are 11 different games to play, most of which can be played at three levels of difficulty. The instructions are very clear and the games are very easy to follow. As children become familiar with the games, they should become confident enough to begin working independently.
There is also a good guide for parents that lists the skills that children will be developing and suggests other very good activities. Sheets can also be printed out to go with these activities.
Play and Explore Year 1 would be a good buy for parents of children aged 5-6 years. It would be fun way to introduce children to following instructions and playing simple games. --Amanda York
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Avanquest Software
Villains' Revenge is an opportunity to revisit the classic Disney films of Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. In Wonderland Maze you are invited to move a little caterpillar up and down a maze. You have the ability to spin the maze around in order to find ways through for the caterpillar. You can drag the caterpillar with your mouse and it makes funny squelching sounds. This is a very entertaining game that is bound to appeal to younger children.The second game in the title, Pirate Block, is a more complex strategy adventure board game. Peter Pan and Captain Hook have decided to settle their differences on the board. To win the game, you have to either capture six pairs of your opponent's coins or create a line of six coins in a row. You can choose to be Captain Hook or Peter Pan. There is a multi-player option as well so you can play against one, two or three of your friends. They can choose which characters they want to be from the likes of Wendy, Captain Hook, Smee or Peter Pan.
Both games are quick to install and are likely to appeal to parents as well, who will probably remember seeing the films when they were younger. --Justin Hunt
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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
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Avanquest Software
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Disney Hotshots: (Toy Story 2: Cone Chaos/Toy Shelf Showdown, Arcade Frenzy: Mushoot/Rooftop Ruckus)
Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
Immerse your child in the colourful and familiar world of Basil Brush, brilliantly represented in sound and graphics on your PC. Based on the popular TV series, the Basil Brush Fun Pack brings together a collection of educational games and activities including 100 word-searches, a jokebook that collects all of Basil's jokes together and a jigsaw maker that lets your child make jigsaws from your own digital photographs. The "Print Studio" allows you to take digital pictures further by allowing your child to create posters and signs of you and Basil.The interface is clear and makes it easy for children to navigate around the software. Installation is quite straightforward, but as the game is aimed at children aged six years and above, it may need overseeing by a more competent adult. Accompanied throughout with Basil Brush narration from the TV show, this package aims to build on many educational skills and acts as a fun and practical way for your child to get to grips with more advanced computer skills and techniques. --Sandy Williams
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BBC Multimedia
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BBC Multimedia
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Avanquest Software
In Disney's Arcade Frenzy, one of your jobs is to help Mushu the dragon defend a Chinese village by shooting fireworks to stop the advance of the evil Huns.Mushoot is a compelling game and you have plenty of weapons at your disposal as the Huns come over the hills towards you. If you use your right mouse button you can launch an avalanche rocket. And for every enemy you send scurrying back, you get bonus points. All the time, the dragon urges you on like an enthusiastic football coach, cracking jokes and celebrating the hits. He is desperate to fend off the "creepy Huns". Mushoot is an addictive game which is simple to play and it is likely to appeal to all ages.
In the second game, Rooftop Ruckus, you join the sharp-tongued monkey Abu and leap across rooftops putting on lights. It's a high-speed chase and you have to watch out for the evil genie who comes running after you. The instructions are clear and the animation is excellent. The characters are very engaging and complain if you leave the game too early. Anyone who enjoyed the movie Aladdin will find this game fun and entertaining. You are awarded extra points for picking up bags of gold or for making guards slip.
Both games can be played solo or with friends and they will appeal to beginners and experts. --Justin Hunt
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Avanquest Software
