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Software and Games : Software Categories : Children's Fun & Learning : Characters & Brands : BBC
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Avanquest Software
What's the story in Balamory? Invite your kids to join Miss Hooly, Pocket & Sweet, PC Plum, Archie, Spencer and Edie Mcredie in virtual Balamory and they will learn as they play. Based on the popular BBC TV children's programme, the BBC Balamory CD-ROM opens with the colourful introductory song viewers know so well. Children are then presented with a variety of games to test basic pre-school and early years skills.For younger children (3-4 years) the favourite will no doubt be Josie Jump's Hide and Seek game, where they must find Josie in a field of people, then click on her to make her jump. Equally rewarding for the smallest players is Spencer's Colour Challenge, where youngsters use basic mouse skills and number recognition to match colours with areas of the drawing--a kind of virtual colour by numbers.
All players will love Edie's Delivery Dilemma, which involves Pac-Man-like gameplay as youngsters work against the clock, using the arrow keys to direct Edie's bus around the town and picking up fruit dropped by the delivery van so that Pocket & Sweet can sell it in their shop. PC Plum Investigates asks children to sort through the evidence that is all mixed up on the policeman's desk, so he can sort out his cases--tasks such as "click on the things that are the same colour as the sea" make this game accessible to most players.
Slightly older children, (4-6 years) might like to try Archie's Word Wonder, where they must fill in the missing letters on words so that Archie's Word Machine can produce words for Miss Hooly's stories. The only criticism here is that words are sounded out by name only, and not phonetically, but otherwise this is a fun, testing game. Children of school age will also enjoy Pocket & Sweet's Shopping Spree--a fun shopping game that involves helping Penny and Susie put together all their orders, then adding up the cost at the end. If players tire at any point, they can take a break with one of six Miss Hooly stories.
The production quality is superb: colours are bright and images crisp and the clips from the show run perfectly. Each game is introduced and narrated by the corresponding character from the show, with original voiceovers, and the games are fun, educational and pitched perfectly at the target age-range. There are three difficulty levels for each task, to avoid frustration and aid development. Help is on offer on every screen, and children as young as three or four years old, who possess basic mouse skills, will be able to play the easier games unaided, and the others with assistance. Instructions are read out and printed on-screen, so children can follow as they listen, thus developing valuable reading skills. Great thought has obviously gone into matching characters with tasks, and the variety of games played and skills tested makes this a fantastic all-round package. --Lucie Naylor
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Avanquest Software
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Avanquest Software
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BBC Multimedia
Crafted with brilliant colours and the lazy-summer-day pace of the celebrated series, Teletubbies 2: Favourite Games delivers the goods for the toddler set. From the first scene, where the baby-face sun rises across the computer screen, kids will be entranced. Parents will like it too--mostly for the developmental skills the teletubbies teach.The CD-ROM is based around five games, including "Tuning In," "Gymnastic," and "Making Tubby Custard" (which features appropriately silly sound effects). "Hide and Peep" takes the traditional hide and seek game and adds bright red curtains. "Roly Poly" was a particular favourite; when you click on a teletubby it sends Laa-Laa, Tinky Winky, Dipsy, and Po rolling down gorgeous green hills.
A very big pointer triggers the game's actions, and children should be able to use it easily in developing computer skills. These games also help children to learn how to match (from the hiding game) and create ordered sequences (in the case of the custard game). In addition, the game designers have built in considerate additions for the recommended age group, two to four years old. For example, to quit the game parents need to hit the escape key--a good choice for little fingers that might otherwise click an exit icon by mistake. Charming and colourful--like the television show come to life--Teletubbies 2: Favourite Games will please and delight. --Simon Priestly
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Softkey
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
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Avanquest Software
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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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Softkey
If your children like the Teletubbies they will love this BBC software package. Players can choose which Teletubby they would like to be and move around Teletubby Land finding lots of exciting activities to do.The activities include hide and seek, find the object and musical clouds, and each activity has instructions on what to do and a time limit so your child doesn't get bored. You can also enter the Superdome where the characters can meet up with Noo-Noo (the hoover!) to make some mess with tubby custard and tubby toast.
This game has wonderful graphics and lots of colour and familiar sound; each Teletubby sings their own tune as they go about their business and the theme tune is played often. Play with the Teletubbies is great for children aged two to four, teaching colours, counting and co-ordination.
Younger players will require supervision and assistance, as they will need to use the mouse to play most games. However, the reward true tubby fans get will far outweigh the effort as they see their favourite Teletubby come to life before their very eyes.
To link the game to the TV programme the makers have added a number of short video clips of children going about daily life. This game is fantastic: they haven't forgotten a thing. --Lynne Bradding
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BBC Multimedia
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Softkey
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BBC Multimedia
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BBC Multimedia
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BBC Multimedia
If your children like the Teletubbies they will love this BBC software package. Players can choose which Teletubby they would like to be and move around Teletubby Land finding lots of exciting activities to do.The activities include hide and seek, find the object and musical clouds, and each activity has instructions on what to do and a time limit so your child doesn't get bored. You can also enter the Superdome where the characters can meet up with Noo-Noo (the hoover!) to make some mess with tubby custard and tubby toast.
This game has wonderful graphics and lots of colour and familiar sound; each Teletubby sings their own tune as they go about their business and the theme tune is played often. Play with the Teletubbies is great for children aged two to four, teaching colours, counting and co-ordination.
Younger players will require supervision and assistance, as they will need to use the mouse to play most games. However, the reward true tubby fans get will far outweigh the effort as they see their favourite Teletubby come to life before their very eyes.
To link the game to the TV programme the makers have added a number of short video clips of children going about daily life. This game is fantastic: they haven't forgotten a thing. --Lynne Bradding
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BBC Multimedia
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Softkey
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BBC Multimedia
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BBC Multimedia
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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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BBC Multimedia
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BBC Multimedia
