- Training and Tutorials
- Barbie
- Creative Writing
- Macintosh
- English
- Multimedia Authoring
- Ages 11-14
- Hasbro
- Organisers & Address Books
- Microsoft Powerpoint
- Ages 1-2
- File Conversion
- Microsoft Word
- Key Stage 1 (Ages 5-7)
- Dr Seuss
- Legal
- Licences
- Star Wars
- Crayola
- Software
- Web Page Editing & Effects
- Enid Blyton
- Legal
- Adobe GoLive
- Games Hardware
- Business & Office
- Spanish
- Art, Music & Literature
- Typing
- Ages 5-8
- Watches
- Home and Garden
- UK Electronics
- UK Books
- Health and Personal Care
- UK Sporting Goods
- Clothing, Shoes and Accessories
- Electronics, Gadgets and Computers
- CDs and Music Downloads
- UK Software and Video Games
- UK Toys and Games
- UK Home and Garden
- UK Video Games
- UK Baby Clothes and Accessories
- Books On
- German Electronics
Software and Games : GSP : Children's Fun & Learning : Ages 9-11
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
Become a Human Body Explorer is an interesting CD-ROM full of information about the human body. It's aimed at children aged 6-10 years old, but would be best suited to older end of this age range.Seemore Skinless, the helpful skeleton, guides the children through a wide range of games, quizzes and experiments. Children can play four fun interactive games, which involve, for example, collecting body parts by answering questions and learning about the body and choosing how Seemore should spend his day. There is an excellent search feature so that children can access information screens on a very wide range of topics. (Parents of younger children may want to supervise children's use of this, as there is information about reproduction and how our bodies change.) Children also have the opportunity to create their own Secret File, which contains information about themselves and can become a scrapbook of facts.
So once children have visited the information screens, played the games, answered brainteaser questions and found out amazing facts, they will have discovered all they need to know about the human body.
Become a Human Body Explorer would be a good buy for parents or teachers of children aged 8-11 years old. It encourages children to explore and find out about the human body in a fun and interesting way. --Amanda York
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
Learning Ladder Year 4 is a fantastic CD-ROM aimed at Year 4 children. It is structured so that children listen to a lesson and then carry out exercises that help to consolidate the literacy and numeracy they are learning as part of the school curriculum.Exercises can be done at five different levels of difficulty, so that children are challenged and continue to make progress. For every 400 points that a child scores, they are rewarded with new pictures to use with the printing machine. As they gather more pictures they can enjoy making their own cards, invitations and labels, which can be printed out.
Children can also have lots of fun navigating around Science City and learning lots of facts along the way. For example, they can have a go at the science quiz and find out about roots, leaves and flowers. The progress tracker clearly shows how each child is getting on with a system of green and red lights. This would quickly show parents where more help is needed. --Amanda York
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
Become a Science Explorer is another excellent CD-ROM from Dorling Kindersley aimed at children aged 6-10 years old. Children will love the challenge of going on a mission and trying to become a Science Explorer.Fizz, the helpful ball of energy, guides children around the different environments where children can carry out activities, answer questions or look at information screens. The graphics are excellent and there is a wealth of scientific information for children to find out in a variety of interesting ways. Children's learning is also cleverly extended when they're given further explanations once they have answered a question.
Children are rewarded with prizes, badges, stickers, rosettes, medals and the ultimate prize of becoming a Science Explorer. They can use their Science Workbook to make scientific observations, answer questions and collect stickers--guaranteed to turn any child into a budding scientist.
There is a range of science experiments that can be printed out and undertaken. These would be ideal for parents to go through with younger children using the comprehensive parents' guide. There are also some very good worksheets, which would help to consolidate children's learning.
Become a Science Explorer is a fantastic CD-ROM that really supports the science curriculum in schools. This would be an excellent buy for parents or teachers of children aged 6-10 years old. --Amanda York
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Avanquest Software
Woody has been abducted by toy collector Al McWhiggin and his Toy Story pals are off to rescue him. In Toy Story 2--part of the Disney Hotshots series--the toys are camouflaged as traffic cones and you have to guide them across the road to find their kidnapped friend.Using the arrow keys on your keyboard you can quickly move the cones to the left and right as they make their way across the busy road. The fate of the likes of Mr Potato Head, Slinky Dog and Rex are literally in your hands as big lorries, racing fire engines and cars hurtle towards you.
As the Cone Chaos game gets progressively harder, the traffic speeds up. If it gets too tense, you can always take cover at a manhole. Overall this is a quick-paced game which is easy to learn and entertaining to play.
In the second game in this title, Toy Shelf Showdown, you help Buzz take on and defeat the evil Emperor Zurg. The task is to assemble a rocket ship while avoiding hostile robots and lots of bouncing balls. This is an action-packed game with lots of different twists and turns. Buzz can stun the robots with lasers and if you run out of shots, you have to find a battery for recharging.
Both animated games are introduced by Buzz and Woody and there are good clear instructions with the title on how to play and where to get help. This is your chance, as Buzz says, to go to "interactivity and beyond." --Justin Hunt
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Avanquest Software
The New Way Things Work is a CD-ROM packed full of information about machines and the scientific principles behind them. Children can learn all about the latest technology and take a look back in history to find out how things work.Children will enjoy, for example, navigating their way around the warehouse or choosing from the A-z of machines to extend their understanding of how things work and discover the science behind some great inventions. They can look at information screens with excellent text, diagrams, animation and video clips. They can also find out about some of the great inventors who created these amazing machines. There is a useful progress tracker to show children which screens they have visited and which screens are left for them to look at.
Children can also use their new-found knowledge to face the challenge of the science test and try to win a master, an expert or a genius certificate. Children can look back at information screens or take a look at the research answers if they are struggling.
The New Way Things Work would be a good buy for inquisitive children of 8 years and over who love to know how things work. It's particularly useful for helping children who are struggling with homework or doing a project, as it covers a huge range of scientific principles. --Amanda York
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
When you start The Lion King II: Simba's Pride you enter a very atmospheric animated jungle. Paddle Bash and Conga Longa are easy games to pick up but they are difficult to master.In Paddle Bash you grab a paddle and you get yourself ready to send balls flying as you try to knock down as many bricks as you can. As you would expect from Disney, there are plenty of fun, colourful special effects as bricks are successfully broken up. Smart keyboard skills are required as you try to angle your shots and send balls bouncing in every direction. And as you score points, you help Timon or Pumbaa move closer to a tasty bug treat. There are clear printed instructions with each game and your mouse is represented on the screen as a lion paw-print. If you want to break yourself slowly into the game, you can start at the kitten or cub level.
The second game, Conga Longa invites you to keep the jungle beat as you join a swinging conga-line of cartoon animals. The aim is to move your cub around and gather up other animals into a conga line. As you dance by an animal, it hops into your line. But if you break your line, you lose your dancing animals. With the jungle music pumping away in the background, this is a tough game to get to grips with. But if your cub dances over a red flower, you get bonus points and there are specific bonus animals you have to collect. It's an original game but it requires a lot of practice to get your conga swinging properly! --Justin Hunt
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
Disney favourites Timon and Pumbaa invite you to join their jungle shooting gallery in the first game on The Lion King arcade title.To play Slingshooter, you load up with berries and then fire them with your mouse button at the targets, which can be anything from a laughing hyena popping out of a tree to a crocodile suddenly surfacing from a pool. You are also given a list of characters not to target. This is a fast-moving, fun game that is easy to play. Timon and Pumbaa introduce the rules and crack gags at each other's expense, urging you not to fire berries at them.
In the second action-packed arcade game, Bug Drop, it's slightly more complicated. You have to think fast. It's a game of strategy, speed and bug identification skills. As Timon and Pumbaa drop different colourful bugs, you have to quickly match them up with bugs of the same colour. These combinations make the bugs disappear and keep your log free for more bugs. The log that fills first is the loser. There are clear rules and you play against a background of lively jungle music.
As you would expect from Disney, the standard of animation is excellent and the characters are imaginative and very engaging. Children who love The Lion King will probably be quite at home playing games in the jungle with these two lovable cartoon characters. --Justin Hunt
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Avanquest Software
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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