volcanoes

Expert Guidance on Children’s Interactive Media
www.childrenstech.com
May 2010
Volume 18, No. 5, Issue 122
D IR ECTORY
123 Color
A-Z Animals 1.1
Alice for the iPad
Angry Birds
Chalkboard Pro for iPad
Clicky Sticky
Club Penguin (www.clubpenguin.com)
Update
Color & Draw for Kids
ColorPlay for the iPad
Dino Surf (App)
Doodle Buddy
Dora the Explorer Coloring Adventures
(iPad)
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast
Drawing Den
Fish School
FLIPS The Bubonic Builders
Foto Showdown
Frogs and Fireflies
How To Train Your Dragon HD
Itsy Bitsy Spider
KidArt for iPad
KidFit
Kung Fu Panda World (www.kungfupandaworld.com)
Max and the Magic Marker
Miss Spider’s Tea Party App
My Baby Einstein App
Myst
Pickin' Time
Plants vs. Zombies (PvZ HD)
Reading Horizons v5
Slide-a-ma-jig
Speakaboo.com
SpinArt
Star Walk
StoryKit
Toy Story 2 Read Along
Warp Factor App
Word Wiggler
WordTotz
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Apps
youshouldknow
News & Commentary on
Children’s Tech
The iPad as a Rorschach Test
Since Hermann Rorschach created his famous
personality screening test back in 1921, many
have used it to try to figure a person’s state of
mind. Giving you the Rorschach test is simple: I
show you something unique (such as an inkblot),
and then ask you to describe what you think you
see. I then crank your answers through a set of
instruments, and “DING,” I know if you’re mentally sound (or not).
Now swap the inkblot for something else
unique. An iPad. What do you see? More
importantly, how does it make you feel?
May 2010
Volume 18, No. 5, Issue 122
EDITOR Warren Buckleitner, Ph.D.,
(warren@childrenssoftware.com) [WB]
EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Lisa Della
Fave (lisa@childrenssoftware.com)
A screen from the “Sanity
Test Lite” App, that has
Rorschach inkblots.
Because this is an interactive column, I’ll
allow you to sit quietly for a while as you
study the photo on this month’s cover,
and jot down your thoughts.
[-- PAUSE --]
OK, how do you compare to a larger
population? I’ve been administering this
test to a statistically significant sample
now for 30 days. Here are my results.
Children <12 years can’t even do this
exercise because they don’t know what
“pause” is. They grab the iPad and start
App-grazing. Even our cat seems to get the idea, swiping at the fish in the Koi
Pond app. To children, they see an iPad, say “cool!” and start touching.
Adults >18 years who are experienced with computers (aka “geeks”) often
take a “glass half empty” attitude, focusing on all the things the iPad isn’t:“It
doesn’t run Flash,” or “there’s no mouse and keyboard.” Some view the iPad
as a stain on their pre-conceived idea of what a computer should be. A lot of
them seem to be pretty grumpy people altogether, which may help explain
New Jersey drivers.
Old Software Reviewers Who Work With Kids see the iPad as a triumph, and the beginning of the end of a long struggle with hardware and
operating systems.
FINALLY we can hand a child a device that has successfully combined the
“four pillars” of computing: multi-touch, strong batteries, a vast software
library and Internet access. Before this, the only two devices that were even
close came from Nintendo: The Wii and the DS. The iPad is more significant
than the Wii because the device is the interface. You lean left, the car turns
left. You swipe, and the page turns. It even can listen to you with the onboard
microphone. As somebody who has struggled for years trying to get products
working, iPad has cleared a path toward digital access for “the rest of us.” We
can struggle less with technology, and use that energy to concentrate on the
the content and children. The iPad isn’t about Apple, and it’s not about Steve
LITTLECLICKERS Bobbie Nester
(bobbie@childrenssoftware.com)
CIRCULATION
MaryBeth Griffith
(marybeth@childrenssoftware.com,
800-993-9499)
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PRODUCT SUBMISSIONS. Send two products,
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Coordinator, 120 Main Street, Flemington, NJ
08822 (Phone: 908-284-0404)
EDITORIAL GUIDELINES. We want our readers to
know that there are no ulterior motives behind our
reviews. CTR follows a set of editorial guidelines
found at (http://childrenstech.com/editorialguidelines/). Highlights include:
• We don’t sell software or profit from products that
we review. Review copies of software are donated
to Mediatech, a non-profit public technology
center.
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PUBLISHER INFORMATION Children’s
Technology Review™ (ISSN 1555-242X) is published
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Inc. Send address changes or new subscriptions to
Children’s Technology Review™, 120
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Contents © 2009 by Active Learning
Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Continued on page 5
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2
Directory
Grouped by age, with page numbers
Babies & Toddlers
My Baby Einstein App, www.disneyinteractivestudios.com, p. 16
Early Elementary
Angry Birds, http://clickgamer.com,
20
Dino Surf (App), www.reelfx.com, 11
Doodle Buddy, www.pinger.com, 12
Frogs and Fireflies,
www.tentoed.com, 14
Miss Spider’s Tea Party App,
www.callaway.com, 16
Pickin’ Time, www.iconfactory.com,
17
Speakaboo.com,
www.speakaboos.com, 21
StoryKit, www.childrenslibrary.org, 18
Toy Story 2 Read-Along, www.disneyinteractivestudios.com, 19
Preschool & Kindergarten
123 Color, http://kidcalc.info, 9
A-Z Animals 1.1, www.zslinc.com, 9
Chalkboard Pro for iPad, www.gabejacobsblog.com, 10
Clicky Sticky, http://invocore.com,
10
Color & Draw for Kids,
www.tipitap.com, 11
ColorPlay for the iPad, 11
Dora the Explorer Coloring
Adventures (iPad), www.nick.com,
12
Drawing Den,
www.appliedphasor.com, 12
Fish School, www.duckduckmoosedesign.com, 13
How To Train Your Dragon HD,
www.frogdogmedia.com, 14
Itsy Bitsy Spider, www.duckduck-
moosedesign.com, 15
KidArt for iPad, www.gpapps.com, 15
Slide-a-ma-jig, www.luckyradishamusements.com, 21
SpinArt, www.7twenty7.net, 18
Word Wiggler, www.zincroe.com, 22
WordTotz,
www.ingeniousmonkey.com, 19
Upper Elementary
Alice for the iPad, www.atomicantelope.com/alice/, 10
Club Penguin (Update)
www.disney.com, 20
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast,
www.namcobandaigames.com, 20
FLIPS The Bubonic Builders,
www.ea.com, 13
Foto Showdown, www.konami.com,
20
Kung Fu Panda World, www.kungfupandaworld.com, 16
Max and the Magic Marker,
www.legacyinteractive.com, 20
Myst,
www.stormcityentertainment.com,
17
Warp Factor App, www.myturnmobile.com, 22
Middle School
Plants vs. Zombies (PvZ HD),
www.popcap.com, 18
Reading Horizons v5, www.readinghorizons.com, 21
Star Walk, www.vitotechnology.com,
21
All Ages
KidFit, www.apollomatrix.com, 15
The Mediatech Foundation is where we test and archive our software. Visit
http://www.mediatech.org for more information.
3
CTR Editor’s Choice
Selections, May
2010
Color & Draw for Kids, www.tipitap.com
Fish School, www.duckduckmoosedesign.com
Itsy Bitsy Spider, www.duckduckmoosedesign.com
Kung Fu Panda World, (www.kungfupandaworld.com)
www.dreamworks.com
Pickin' Time, www.iconfactory.com
Plants vs. Zombies (PvZ HD),
www.popcap.com
SpinArt, www.7twenty7.net
Toy Story 2 Read-Along, www.disneyinteractivestudios.com
Acknowledgments
Thanks to the following individuals, including
the members of the Mediatech Foundation,
who contributed their valuable feedback during the testing process.
Lorele Bennet, 15; Jenna
Buckleitner, 14; Sarah
Buckleitner, 18; Jared C., 2;
Tyler C., 4; David Carr 12;
Daniel Della Fave, 10; Nick
Della Fave, 14; Sam Coggins,
18; Matt DiMatteo (22); Kelly
H., 11; Thomas H., 14; Mohamed (Mo) Farid,
14; Caleb, H. 10; Ethan H., 12; Tyler Griffith,
16; Troy Griffith, 14; Brett Griffith, 9;
Michael Harrington, 14; Laura Henry, 14;
Ellie Hilgen, 6; Erin Hilgen, 14; Ben Kates,
15; Matthew Kursa, 10; Frank Mondella, 13;
Matthew Mondella, 10; Alyssa Mondella, 15;
Keith Paternoster, 15; Greg Shriener, 26;
Matt Ivans, 23; Alese Maniragaba, 12;
Colleen Nester, 14; Jose Rincon, 13; Steven
Rofrano, 13; and the game testers club at
Mediatech.
Products are tested and stored for public
access and research at the Mediatech
Foundation
(www.mediatech.org), 118 Main Street,
Flemington NJ.
Learn more about
VOLCANOES
1. How many active volcanoes are there right now?
a) 359
b) 1900
c) 820
Find out when you take the quiz at National Geographic
Kids, at this link http://bit.ly/bzoXt6.
2. There are four categories of volcanoes. Can you name
them?
_______ ________ ________ ________
Each type is described here http://bit.ly/aPPHZn at
Kid’s Cosmos.
3. What planet has the largest volcano? (Hint: it’s not
on Earth).
a) Jupiter
b) Mars
c) Venus
Find the answers, and see some pictures, by visiting
the Worsley Central School’s website at
http://bit.ly/aYTisJ.
4. Coming back to Earth, which country has the most
active volcano? (study the URL for a hint).
a) USA
b) Iceland
d) Japan
Visit http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/images.html
for the answer.
5. Which Roman God inspired the name “volcano?”
Answer at http://bit.ly/52fVag
6. What is the most explosive type of volcano?
a) Shield
b) Fire Fountain
a) Plinian
Visit Discovery Kids and you can adjust the gas pressure
and viscosity (thickness) of the lava, to make different
types of volcanoes. If you turn the settings all the way up BANG - you’ll learn the answer.
http://kids.discovery.com/games/pompeii/pompeii.html
is made possible by
Keep up to date with education AND
technology: be a fan of COMPUTER
EXPLORERS on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/computer.explorers.
The web-based version of this page
http://www.littleclickers.com contains live links, plus a place to report
any errors. CTR and Computer
Explorers do not have commercial
interests in the sites listed on this
page. Librarians and teachers are
permitted to copy this page for nonprofit use. To report a bad link,
please contact lisa@childrenssoftware.com, or call 908-284-0404 (9 3 PM, EST). Volcanoes was written
by Bobbie Nester.
Answers:
1. B. Scientists believe there
are about 1,900 active volcanoes on earth.
2. Cinder, cone, shield and
lava.
3. Mars. The Olympus Mons
is an extinct ‘shield’ volcano
that is bigger than the entire
state of Washington.
4. A. The world’s most active
volcano is Kīlauea, located on
the big island of Hawaii. Did
you see the letters “us” in the
web address?
5. Vulcan, a god of fire, from
Roman mythology.
6. “Plinian” is the most explosive type. Mt. St. Helens was
this type of volcano. They are
very dangerous.
Want to See an Volcano Erupt?
http://www.youtube.com/user/childrenstech#grid/user/25C50AD92F1E78ED
This month’s LittleClicker’s playlist includes video of active volcanos. You can even see a person roasting a marshmallow over hot lava!
See this page online, at http://www.LittleClickers.com/lcvolcanoes0510.html
From page 2
Jobs. Apple didn’t invent these pillars, anymore than Sir
Edmund Hillary invented the rope he used to be the first to
make it to the top of Mount Everest. But “team Apple” was the
first to successfully bring a product to the market that combined
the four elements, and put them in your lap, backpack or desk.
The iPad isn’t perfect, and competitive products will emerge.
However, when Edison’s first light bulb went on, it marked an
instant in time when everything from that point looked
brighter. My reading of the iPad inkblot is that from now on,
things will be much better for children and technology.
MyNoggin Becomes Nick Jr. Boost
The subscription-based service formerly known
as MyNoggin has a new name: www.nickjrboost.com. The curriculum, pricing and features remain the same.
FTC Launches Admongo, a Virtual World to Teach
about Advertising
Admongo (www.admongo.gov) is a game-based website, a free
in-school curriculum, a packet of creative sample ads, and several family activities designed to teach children to recognize
commercial messages in the media. Ironically, the virtual world
was created by Fleishman-Hillard, a PR firm that specializes in
bending commercial
reality. The campaign
is targeted to “tweens”
aged 8 to 12, and is
being packaged with
classroom materials,
distributed by
Scholastic, Inc. All these materials are free and in the public
domain. In the game, children can create an avatar, and then
explore four side-scrolling worlds that are full of advertising. In
“The Atrium,” they identify the ads that are around them. In
the “Assemblimator,” they learn how to take apart an ad, evaluate its claims, and figure out how ads try to persuade people. In
the “Planadtarium,” they find out how ads are targeted, and in
“The Adgitator,” they build and target their own ads.
Throughout the game, players learn to ask the three critical
questions about ads, no matter where they see them: Who is
responsible for the ad? What is it actually saying? What does it
want me to do?
Publishers Talk Flash and iPads
I asked three publishers, a.k.a., “Flashmasters” what they
thought about the fact that Adobe Flash won’t run on the iPad.
Many children’s interactive products depend on Flash, including Disney’s Club Penguin, StarFall.com and Giggles. I’ll post
this on our blog, in case any other publishers want to jump in.
Scott Traylor, CEO, 360KID
In the 20 or so years that I've been making interactive products, I've seen tools come and go, and
used almost all of them. What I've found to be
most annoying about these tools is that, for the
most part, they are not made with an engineer in
mind. They are made to sell to the largest development population possible to create the largest
revenues/profits possible. In the heat of a project, you will find
that all kinds of wacky issues will appear. The most dreaded is
the memory leak. There are a number of other specific software
needs that these tools don't provide, but memory leaks prevent
me from shipping product. I also find that these tools are also
huge processor hogs on computers. Ever leave a browser page
open with a Flash asset running and hear your laptop fan start
up? Does this mean that I don't use these tools or don't even
like these tools? No. More than 80% of our work every day is
done in Flash. When I used to teach, I had one concept I would
introduce early to try to dispel the myth that "a hammer is a
hammer." Some hammers are shiny, some hammers sleek, but
choose the hammer that's best for the project you wish to build.
Flash is a good hammer, but it's not great for building everything. Yes, I feel there are shananigans going on between Apple
and Adobe, but I also understand that the processing power of
an iPad is finite. Supporting a tool that monopolizes processing
power on any platform is problematic. There's a lot of great
Flash product out there created by developers who know their
stuff. Is that reason enough to support Flash on the iPad? Sadly,
I have to say no. Not when I see the volumes of other Flash
product that stinks, created by novice developers that don't
know how to make savvy software. Others will strongly disagree with my position, but this is what my experience as a
developer tells me. [www.360KID.com]
Tim Leverette, CEO of Leveractive, LLC
I feel a bit like a child who is being unnecessarily traumatized by two fighting parents, that I
both love... Flash has been a pretty enduring
tool, even with it's shortcomings. I think that
blaming the tool for all memory and playback
issues is not looking at the entire picture. There
are definitely memory issues with Flash in general, but on top of that there are many designers
who do not know how to use the tool correctly. So I just want to
be sure we're not always blaming the hammer every time we hit
our thumbs. I also want to point out that there are two different
issues and discussions that are often getting interchanged here.
There is the issue of supporting Flash via the browser on the
iPad and iPhone platforms. The second issue (the one I care
most about) is about supporting Flash exported iPhone Apps via
the new Flash CS5 exporter. The new Flash CS5 iPhone exporter
exports native iPhone code - it is no longer flash. I am worried
about Apple shutting down the new capability of Flash CS5 to
export to iPhone/iPad App. Many people out there are using
arguments against the CS5 exported self-contained iPhone Apps
issue that are only valid against issue #1 - the browser-based
Flash issues. It's easy to confuse the two, but I feel it’s very
important not to. [www.giggles.net]
Karina Linch, Senior Vice President,
Product Management, BrainPop
This is an issue BrainPOP has been following closely. BrainPOP has a featured free
movie everyday, which can be viewed on
our homepage, embedded into class blogs,
or accessed through our free iPad app. For
example, on World Book and Copyright
Day, and you can view our free copyright movie and take our
copyright quiz on BrainPOP's website, or on your iPad via the
BrainPOP Featured Movie App. Download the iPad app here:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/brainpop-featuredmovie/id364894352?mt=8 We believe there's great potential
for mobile devices in the hands of students.
So what do you think? You can comment at http://bit.ly/9r8enj
5
T
he Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), assigns age and content
ratings for video games. It offers a free electronic newsletter called
ParenTools™. In addition to a list of top-selling games, each issue provides a list of recently rated titles that you can customize by rating and platform.
We’ve highlighted some of the games from the last two issues that we felt you
might want to know about. Keep in mind that some games may not yet be
released, since they’ve only just recently received ratings. For each title, you
can find the ESRB rating, content descriptors, platform, publisher, and rating
summary. For more information visit www.esrb.org.
ParenTools™ is a free biweekly newsletter from the
ESRB which provides a customized list of recently rated
video game titles. Sign-up at: www.esrb.org/parentools
Selections of the latest E, E10+ and T rated games with ESRB rating, content descriptors and
(select) rating summaries.
America's Next Top Model, EVERYONE 10+ -- Alcohol Reference, Mild
Language, Mild Violence, Wii,
Nintendo DS, Conspiracy
Entertainment Corporation. ESRB
Rating Summary: This is a simulation
game in which players assume the
role of an aspiring model competing
with other models in various contests
and tasks. Tasks include dressing
models, participating in photo shoots,
applying makeup, and conversing with
contestants and judges. Characters
sometimes make referencesto alcohol
(e.g., "Try to walk straight. Were you
drunk?"), or make comments such as
"Of all the models, you have the most
balls." If players direct negative comments at other models, a one-on-one
fight may be triggered: players can
slap, scratch, pull, and shake the
other model until her health meter
gets depleted.
America's Test Kitchen: Let's Get
Cooking, EVERYONE -- Alcohol
Reference, Nintendo DS, Nintendo.
ESRB Rating Summary: This is an
interactive cookbook in which players
can learn how to prepare various
recipes with the help of a virtual chef.
Players can follow along as the
instructions are presented on-screen;
they can also take their own notes for
each recipe. The ingredients for some
dishes contain alcohol products such
as beer, red wine, and rum.
Attack of the Movies 3-D, TEEN -Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence,
Wii, Xbox 360, Majesco
Entertainment. ESRB Rating
Summary: This is a 3D first-person
shooter in which players "star" in six
action- and horror-themed movie
worlds. Players use shotguns, uzis,
pistols, and laser cannons to kill an
assortment of fantastical creatures
(e.g., giant ants, wasps, and scorpions); players can also destroy numerous robots, tanks, and flying
machines. Though most scenes are
colorful and cartoonlike, realistic gunfire and explosions are heard throughout the game. Several enemies shriek
or scream when hit; blood-like fluids
(e.g., green- and orange-colored
spurts) splatter out of injured creatures.
Biozone, TEEN -- Blood and Gore,
Violence, PC, Konami Digital
Entertainment. ESRB Rating
Summary: This is a side-scrolling
action game in which players control
a covert ops soldier in a suit of high-
tech armor. Players traverse platform
environments and use machine guns
and grenades to kill hordes of small
mutated enemies (e.g., soldiers with
tentacle arms, acid-spitting orangutans, insect-like birds). Blood specks
appear when enemies get hit, and the
creatures sometimes explode into
small pieces. Characters also cry out
in pain when killed.
BIT.TRIP RUNNER, EVERYONE -No Descriptors, Wii, Aksys Games
Localization, Inc. ESRB Rating
Summary: This is a rhythm game in
which players run through pixilated
stretches of land and jump over
objects in time to background music.
Players can change the tone and beat
of the music based on the number of
objects successfully cleared.
Blade Kitten, TEEN -- Animated
Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild
Suggestive Themes, PlayStation 3,
Krome Studios Pty Ltd. ESRB Rating
Summary: This is a side-scrolling
action game in which players assume
the role of a half-human, half-feline
bounty hunter named Kit Ballard.
Players traverse platform environments and engage in frequent handto-hand combat while hunting down a
rebel leader on planet Hollow Wish.
Players use a floating sword to attack
dozens of robots, aliens, slugs,
insects, and armor-clad soldiers.
Enemies shoot lasers, rockets, and
electric blasts back at Kit; players can
initiate slow-motion "special attacks"
(e.g., twirl kicks and grab tosses) to
quickly defeat enemies. When characters get hit, short bursts of green or
pink mist will splash out of their bodies. In one cutscene, Kit says, "Check
it out, see, totally not a man" as she
points to her breasts.
Circus Wii, EVERYONE -- Comic
Mischief, Wii, 505 Games. ESRB
Rating Summary: This is a collection
of circus-themed mini-games in which
players help circus performers with
their acts. Mini-games include tracing
shapes for a fire blower, helping
clowns juggle balls, and shooting pigs
out of a canon. In one mini-game,
players throw cell phones, watermelons, and porcupines into an ostrich's
mouth while it is spinning on a plate;
in another mini-game, players slap
acrobats' faces to keep them awake.
Disgaea Infinite, TEEN -- Mild
Fantasy Violence, Mild Language,
Suggestive Themes, PSP, NIS
America, Inc. ESRB Rating Summary:
In this adventure game, players
assume the role of a penguin-like
character, Prinny, that travels through
time to solve a mystery in the fictional
land of the Netherworld. Players
make several choices in the game's
dialogue to branch out the plotline into
multiple endings. Some of the choices
lead to brief exchanges that depict
violence: small characters getting
punched, thrown into walls, attacked
by weapons (lasers, pistols, and missiles). Two human characters wear
revealing costumes that expose a lot
of cleavage; in one sequence, a boy
uses a claw to tug on one of the
woman's breasts. Dialogue includes
comments such as "I'm more interested in your sexy body" and "Wait, no! I
don't play for that team." There are
also several references to breast size;
for example, "Your big boobs are giving me a headache," "You told her
she's flat-chested," and "Does your
brain not get enough nutrients
because your boobs absorb them
first?" Characters use language such
as "b*tch," "a*s," and "hell" in the dialogue.
Dream Day Wedding: Bella Italia,
EVERYONE -- Alcohol and Tobacco
Reference, PC, THQ Inc. ESRB
Rating Summary: This is a seek-andfind puzzle game in which players
search for hidden items on a screen
full of jumbled objects. Players follow
the story of a wedding planner who
travels to Italy to plan the perfect proposal and marriage. Among the
dozens of searchable items and background objects, a handful of them
include alcohol and tobacco products
(e.g., cigar butts, bottles of wine, and
glasses of champagne).
Family Gameshow, EVERYONE 10+
-- Alcohol and Tobacco Reference,
Mild Suggestive Themes, Violent
References, Wii, Storm City
Entertainment. ESRB Rating
Summary: This is a trivia game in
which players answer various questions in a TV-game-show format.
Trivia questions, brain teasers, and
puzzles cover topics such as movies,
sports, history, and popular culture.
Some questions and answers reference alcohol and tobacco products
(e.g., "wine," "Cognac," "Tobacco,"
"Cigarette packets," and "Which
comedian played a drunk guy in the
movie Outrageous Fortune?"). The
game contains a reference to
polygamy and gay marriage, and a
6
What Are People Buying?
Top Selling Games for February 2010
1. Bioshock 2*, Platform: Xbox 360,
MATURE -- Blood, Intense Violence, Sexual
Themes, Strong Language
2. New Super Mario Bros. Wii , Platform:
Nintendo Wii, EVERYONE -- Comic
Mischief
3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2*, Platform:
Xbox 360, MATURE -- Blood, Drug
Reference, Intense Violence, Language
4. Just Dance, Platform: Nintendo Wii,
EVERYONE 10+ -- Lyrics, Mild Suggestive
Themes
5. Wii Sports Resort*, Platform: Nintendo Wii,
EVERYONE -- Cartoon Violence
6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2*, Platform:
Playstation 3, MATURE -- Blood, Drug
Reference, Intense Violence, Language
7. Mass Effect 2*, Platform: Xbox 360,
MATURE -- Blood, Drug Reference, Sexual
Content, Strong Language, Violence
8. Dante's Inferno: Divine Edition , Platform:
Playstation 3, MATURE -- Blood and Gore,
Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content
9. Dante's Inferno, Platform: Xbox 360,
MATURE -- Blood and Gore, Intense
Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content
10. Heavy Rain, Platform: Playstation 3,
MATURE -- Blood, Intense Violence,
Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language,
Use of Drugs
*Includes Collector's, Limited Editions
Source: The NPD Group Inc./Retail Tracking
ParenTools is a trademark of the Entertainment
Software Association ESA); material re-printed with
the permission of the ESRB.
movie line about borrowing a girl's "underpants for ten
minutes." There are also trivia questions and answers
related to assault and murder (e.g., "Which champion
tennis player was stabbed on court by a spectator in
1993?" and "In June 1947, what mobster was gunned
down at his girlfirend's Hollywood mansion?").
Florist Shop, EVERYONE -- No Descriptors, Nintendo
DS, UFO Interactive Games. ESRB Rating Summary:
This is a puzzle game in which players attempt to create
the most successful florist shop in the city. Players must
match groups-of-three flowers, keep flowers fresh, and
meet the demands of shop customers.
Mind's Eye: Secrets of the Forgotten, TEEN -- Violent
References, PC, Viva Media LLC. ESRB Rating
Summary: This is a seek-and-find puzzle game in which
players search for hidden items on a screen full of jumbled objects. Players can engage in mini-games and follow a storyline about a journalist's investigation of a murder. Text sometimes includes lines such as "[T]he police
are saying he's been dead hours!" and "Ugh, such a horrible death for such an innocent man." The body of the
murder victim is often depicted lying across the stairs of
city hall; the camera sometimes pans close-up on the victim's face.
Galactic Taz Ball, EVERYONE -- Comic Mischief,
Nintendo DS, Warner Bros. ESRB Rating Summary: This
is a platformer game in which players control Taz the
Tasmanian Devil as he traverses colorful levels on a
quest to stop Marvin the Martian from stealing pieces of
Earth. Players must navigate floating islands of ice,
grass, and lava while avoiding robots and rockets. Along
the way, players can perform tornado-like spins to defeat
the robots, causing them to flash and disappear.
ModNation Racers, EVERYONE -- Cartoon Violence,
Comic Mischief, PlayStation 3, Sony Computer
Entertainment America. ESRB Rating Summary: This is a
racing game in which players can create and customize
their own go-karts and race against others on colorful
tracks. During races, players can collect power-ups ("cartoony" missiles, bombs, electricity attacks, etc.) that can
be used to slow down opponents. Racers react to damage by appearing "dizzy," or getting briefly shocked;
some attacks result in brief explosions on the track, as
racers are sent flying off screen. Commentators and racers sometimes engage in slapstick humor: a character
wears red underwear while dancing on the sports desk; a
racer picks his nose and makes a flicking gesture; a commentator pinches a character's neck, causing him to pass
out. Dialogue contains lines such as "You succumbed to
my atomic wedgie" and "Hugging is for Girl Scouts, hippies...and eye-talians."
Grill-off with Ultra Hand, EVERYONE -- No Descriptors,
Wii, Nintendo. ESRB Rating Summary: This is a simulation game in which players use a robotic claw to remove
pieces of meat from outdoor grills. As meat is dropped on
several grills, players must work quickly to pick up and
remove the meat as it heats up.
Monsteca Corral, EVERYONE -- No Descriptors, Wii,
Onteca. ESRB Rating Summary: This is a strategy game
in which players gather small humanoid creatures into
herds to collect bubbles. Players traverse sparsely-inhabited landscapes, avoid mining robots, and can teleport to
new lands.
Jigsaw Madness, EVERYONE -- No Descriptors,
PlayStation 3, PSP, Sony Computer Entertainment
America.
Musiic Party - Rock the House, TEEN -- Mild Lyrics,
Wii, Conspiracy Entertainment Corporation. ESRB Rating
Summary: This is a music and rhythm simulation game in
which players can simulate playing guitar, bass, or
drums. Players match on-screen cues to make avatars
perform songs as they follow the story of a young aspiring musician. A handful of songs contain alcohol references (e.g., "I have drank my beers and watched my
fears slide away" and "P*ss drunk, stupid, mad") and
suggestive material (e.g., "I won't be your concubine").
The following two songs (combined) contribute most to
the Teen rating: "Just like a Pill" and "Tubthumping." The
former song contains a strong and pervasive allusion to
drug use (e.g., "I can't stay on your morphine, cuz its
making me itch" and "This must be a bad trip. All of the
other pills they were different"); the latter song directly
references alcohol use (e.g., "He drinks a whisky drink,
he drinks a vodka drink" and "P*ssing the night away").
Fritz Chess Twelfth Edition, EVERYONE -- No
Descriptors, PC, Viva Media LLC. ESRB Rating
Summary: This is a chess game in which players learn
strategies and complete in various game modes such as
"blitz games" and "long games." Players can also view
instructional videos to understand the rules of the game
and learn historical facts.
KINGDOM HEARTS Birth By Sleep, EVERYONE 10+ -Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, PSP, Square
Enix, Inc. ESRB Rating Summary: This is a role-playing
game in which players assume the role of one of three
characters aspiring to become a "Keyblade" master.
Players explore fantasy worlds, perform missions and
mini-games, and battle various enemies along the way.
Characters use magic spells and a giant key-shaped
sword to attack enemies (e.g., humans, ice golems, dragons, magical suits of armor) in melee-style combat.
Enemies react to damage by crying out in pain or bursting into small orbs that serve as items and power-ups for
players. One cutscene depicts a man sinking a keyblade
into his chest as a burst of light appears. A female character's breasts jiggle slightly during cutscenes.
Learn Math Advanced, EVERYONE -- No Descriptors,
Nintendo DS, DreamCatcher Interactive, Inc. ESRB
Rating Summary: This is a math application in which
players engage in basic arithmetic exercises and manipulation of fractions. Players usually enter numbers into
preset boxes or drag equations from one place to another.
Lock On: Flaming Cliffs 2, TEEN -- Mild Blood,
Violence, PC, The Fighter Collection. ESRB Rating
Summary: This is a flight-combat simulation game in
which players pilot several U.S. and Russsian fighter aircraft through combat missions. Players use missiles,
bombs, and machine guns to shoot down enemy aircraft
in dogfights, or bomb targets such as buildings, tanks,
and bridges. Players can also shoot ground soldiers, who
fall to the ground when killed. Realistic machine gun fire,
radio chatter, and fiery explosions supplement the combat; damage to planes sometimes depicts faint bloodstains on the glass canopy of the cockpit.
NARUTO Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3, TEEN - Cartoon Violence, Mild Language, PSP, Namco Bandai
Games America. ESRB Rating Summary: This is a fighting game, based on the animated TV series Naruto, in
which players attack one another with punches, kicks,
and various weapons in one-on-one battle. The hand-tohand combat includes various martial-arts combos, special attacks called "jutsu," and occasional use of swords,
ninja weapons, and explosives. Realistic punching
sounds, grunts of pain, and bursts of color and light frequently occur during the fighting. Players can also traverse through landscapes to perform missions while
attacking enemies that come along the path. Characters
sometimes use the word "bastard" in the dialogue.
Naval Assault: The Killing Tide, TEEN – Violence,
Xbox 360, 505 Games. ESRB Rating Summary: This is a
submarine simulation game in which players engage in
fictional naval battles during World War II. Players control
an Allied-forces submarine and carry out missions
against enemy forces. Players employ military strategy
and engage in frequent battle against planes, subs, and
7
battleships. Realistic gunfire, torpedo fire, and explosions
are depicted throughout the game; first-person perspectives (from behind a turret gun) highlight the frenetic combat.
Once Upon A Time, EVERYONE -- No Descriptors, Wii,
Storm City Entertainment. ESRB Rating Summary: This
is an interactive storybook game in which players can listen to classic children's tales, create their own stories,
and engage in mini-games. Mini-games include puzzles,
grouping pairs, and a memory game.
ONE, TEEN – Violence, PlayStation 3, PSP, Sony
Computer Entertainment America.
OOTP 11 Out of the Park Baseball Championship
Edition, EVERYONE 10+ -- Drug Reference, Mild
Language, Violent References, PC, Out of the Park
Developments. ESRB Rating Summary: This is a baseball-management simulation game in which players act
as the general manager of one or more baseball teams.
Players perform tasks such as signing players to contracts, drafting new players, making trades, and managing team finances. Text descriptions and news articles
sometimes reference violent acts; for example, "[H]e suffered a sprained ankle when he was robbed and mugged
after his house was broken into during the middle of the
night." The game contains an optional "drug suspension"
system, wherein players can get suspended for drug use.
While specific drugs are not named, the text includes
lines such as "[H]e had tested positive for a non-sports
enhancing substance" and "Bob Smith has been suspended for 50 games for violation of the league's drug
policy." The words "damn" and "hell" appear a few times
in the text.
Perfect Weapon, TEEN – Violence, PlayStation 3, PSP,
Sony Computer Entertainment America.
Pirates Plundarrr, EVERYONE 10+ -- Cartoon Violence,
Comic Mischief, Mild Language, Wii, Majesco
Entertainment. ESRB Rating Summary: This is a sidescrolling action game in which players assume the role of
pirates on a quest to retrieve stolen treasure. Players frequently engage in hand-to-hand combat with stubby
skeletons, Aztec stone soldiers, zombies, and mummies.
Players also use cartoonlike axes, swords, and daggers
to defeat the enemies. Punching sounds and groans are
frequently heard during combat; most enemies quickly
disappear or break apart into pieces when defeated. The
game includes language such as "p*ssed," and a joke
about a character's given name (e.g., "When his parents
named him at birth, nobody wanted to know what they
were smoking.").
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, TEEN -Fantasy Violence, PSP, Ubisoft. ESRB Rating Summary:
This is an action platformer in which players assume the
role of a prince on a quest to stop a fire demon from
killing anyone with royal blood. Players employ the
prince's acrobatic skills to solve puzzles and to traverse
hazards (e.g., spiked pits and spinning blades). Enemy
creatures frequently attack the prince by using swords,
arrows, and scythes. Players slash with swords and use
magic attacks to kill the fantastical creatures. Clashing
swords and screams of pain accompany the frenetic
sword fighting. Boss battles depict more protracted oneon-one battles.
Pure Fútbol, EVERYONE -- No Descriptors, PC,
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Ubisoft. ESRB Rating
Summary: This is an arcade-style soccer game in which
players can select teams from around the world. Players
compete in exhibition and campaign modes, which are
highlighted with visual effects and slow-motion instant
replays.
Record of Agarest War, TEEN -- Alcohol Reference,
Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Partial Nudity,
Suggestive Themes, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360,
Aksys Games Localization, Inc. ESRB Rating Summary:
This is a fantasy role-playing game in which players control a hero and his troops through a span of five generations. Players explore towns, travel along map points,
and fight humans and creatures in turn-based battle.
Combat consists of small characters standing in place as
players select weapons and attacks ("Trick Hit," "Earth
Needle," "Magic Light Field," etc.) from a menu screen;
damage is indicated by various slashing sounds, light
effects, and floating hit points rising above characters'
heads. The game depicts several female characters
whose breasts are partially obscured by towels, hotspring mist, bed sheets, and revealing costumes. The
dialogue contains numerous "peeping" references, and
brief innuendo about "strange foreplay." In one cutscene,
female characters in a hot spring discuss relationships,
boyfriends, and compare each others' bust sizes: "I wonder if Leo prefers them large," "Yours will be just as large
once you become an adult," and "Large is better than
small in any event." The game contains alcohol references (e.g., "A toast! "To ale and beds!" and "Many years
of drinking . . . taught her the secret to avoiding hangovers"), including a sequence in which a character slurs
her speech, hiccups, then falls asleep on the tavern floor.
Characters sometimes use language such as "bastard"
and "damn" in the dialogue.
Reef Aquarium, EVERYONE -- No Descriptors,
PlayStation 3, PSP, Biart Studio. ESRB Rating Summary:
This is a simulation game in which players navigate
around a coral reef to interact with different species of
fish. Players can pet and feed their fish while learning different facts about each species.
River City Soccer Hooligans, TEEN -- Comic Mischief,
Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Nintendo DS,
Aksys Games Localization, Inc. ESRB Rating Summary:
This is a sports game in which players control stubby
characters in soccer matches to compete for the World
Cup. As players run across the field, they can use various "super shots" to gain an advantage (e.g., "Tornado
Kick" and "Ninja Shot"). Tornado and lightning effects
may cause players to trip and fall or briefly get stunned.
Characters sometimes trade insults on the field, using
language such as "You're p*ssing me off!" "You bastard!"
and "I'm going to kick your a*s!" Text occasionally refers
to "dirty mags," a woman's measurements, "Naughty
DVDs," and "hot" TV reporters. Collectible items such as
Exciting Magazines and Naughty DVDs are accompanied
by pictures of women in revealing outfits.
River City Super Sports Challenge, TEEN -- Alcohol
Reference, Cartoon Violence, Language, Nintendo DS,
Aksys Games Localization, Inc. ESRB Rating Summary:
Players brawl their way through four different sporting
events in this action-sports game. Players control small
figures that race, avoid obstacles, and fight through platform-style environments. Players can punch, kick, and
use weapons (e.g., bats, crates, bottles, tires) against the
other competitors, causing life meters above characters'
heads to deplete. A "Sake Bottle" and a "Beer Pack" can
be picked up off the ground and used as weapons.
Language such as "sh*t," "bullsh*t," and "b*tch" sometimes appears on screen.
Robin Hood: The Return of Richard, EVERYONE 10+ - Violence, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, Nordcurrent. ESRB
Rating Summary: In this arcade-style shooter, players
assume the role of Robin Hood as he shoots arrows at
enemies in medieval England. Viewed from a first-person
perspective, players use a small targeting crosshair to
aim and shoot at soldiers, archers, and catapult-manning
enemies that appear on screen. Enemies cry out then
quickly disappear when hit; players are penalized for
accidentally hitting peasants and townspeople.
Runaway A Twist Of Fate, TEEN -- Blood and Gore,
Language, Mild Violence, Suggestive Themes, PC, Focus
Home Interactive. ESRB Rating Summary: This is a
"point-and-click" adventure game in which players solve
puzzles and interact with characters through six chapters
of varied storylines. Some sequences depict characters
getting stunned by tazers, or getting shot by a sniper. A
headless corpse can be seen in one scene, and a man
briefly holds the head in front of the camera. In one
sequence, a character raises his middle finger (i.e., "flipping the bird") at a character; in another sequence, a
woman in revealing clothing pole dances, bending over at
times.
Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition, EVERYONE
10+ -- Alcohol and Tobacco Reference, Comic Mischief,
Mild Cartoon Violence, Suggestive Themes, MAC, Aspyr
Media, Inc. ESRB Rating Summary: Players assume the
role of an aspiring pirate in this irreverent "point-andclick" adventure game. Players explore the environment,
solve puzzles, and "verbally joust" with characters in an
attempt to save a woman in peril. The game includes
several comical depictions of characters, including a
scene in which a "Meathook" character turns his back to
the camera to reveal a slightly exposed buttocks (e.g.,
"plumber's crack"). During a sword fight, one of the characters uses a suggestive metaphor to describe battle
(e.g., "Sword fighting is kinda like making love. It's not
always what you do, it's what you say."). While players
have no direct control over the sword combat, they can
sometimes make/hear comments such as "prepare to
die" and "I will milk every drop of blood from your body."
One character is depicted with a cigar in his mouth, and
another character discusses how rum is an ingredient in
a grog mixture.
Settlement: Colossus, TEEN -- Blood, Mild Violence,
PC, Viva Media LLC. ESRB Rating Summary: This is a
seek-and-find puzzle game in which players search for
hidden items on a screen full of jumbled objects. Players
can build an empire, manage resources, and construct
buildings and businesses to attract citizens to an ancient
Greek empire. The underlying storyline sometimes
depicts soldiers lying in small pools of blood. Blood is
also seen dripping onto the ground from the
emperor's/player's point of view; the emperor's wife is
shown stabbed to death by arrows with blood dripping
down her chest.
Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic, TEEN -- Alcohol
Reference, Comic Mischief, Mild Language, Violence,
PC, Ubisoft. ESRB Rating Summary: This is a submarine
simulation game that depicts realistic naval warfare during World War II. Players assume the role of the captain
of a German submarine that fights against Allied fleet.
Players navigate their submarine, perform missions, find
targets, infiltrate enemy convoys, and sink ships.
Realistic gunfire and torpedoes are used to destroy large
enemy vessels, enemy scout planes, and small boats
charging at the submarine. A first-person perspective
from periscopes and mounted machine guns increases
the impact of the violence; the constant radio chatter,
fiery explosions, loud artillery fire also add to the intensity. The dialogue between crew members include jokes
about infidelity, subtle innuendo about penis size (e.g.,
"Sailor born with a little periscope"), and bathroom humor
(e.g. "he blows the lid off every time he uses it" and "Willi
kept stinking up the boat, the worst farts you´ve ever
smelled."). Crew members also reference alcohol several
times (e.g., "rum toilet," "It's definitely champagne for
me," and "I guess that's a good thing when you're
drunk"). The word damn appears a dozen or so times in
dialogue.
Sneezies, EVERYONE -- No Descriptors, Nintendo DSi,
PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii
Chillingo. ESRB Rating Summary: This is a puzzle game
in which players drop powder in order to make small
creatures sneeze. Players earn points by causing chain
reactions of sneezes that pop the creatures' bubbles and
send them floating off-screen.
Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype, EVERYONE -- Fantasy
Violence, PlayStation 3, EastAsiaSoft. ESRB Rating
8
Summary: This is a side-scrolling shooter game in which
players pilot spaceships through planetary systems,
enemy bases, and alien landscapes. Players use laser
shots, beams, and energy blasts to destroy small enemy
spacecraft and robotic creatures. Bright explosions and
falling debris are frequently displayed as enemy ships
and asteroids are destroyed.
Star Wars: Dark Forces, TEEN – Violence, PlayStation
3, PSP, Sony Computer Entertainment America.
Swamp Hunt, TEEN -- Violence, PC, PSR Outdoors.
ESRB Rating Summary: This is a first-person hunting
simulation game in which players shoot deer, turkeys,
and geese in their natural habitat. Players use realistic
shotguns and rifles to kill the animals that fall to the
ground when shot. Players are assigned scores based on
antler size, spur length, etc.
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 11, EVERYONE -- No
Descriptors, Wii, Electronic Arts. ESRB Rating Summary:
This is a golf simulation game in which players can customize a character, play as or against real-life PGA
golfers, and compete on realistic courses from around
the world. Players can also engage in a variety of minigames: juggling a golf ball on the head of a club, hitting
targets of different heights and distances, and collecting
golf balls with a cart.
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 11, EVERYONE -- Comic
Mischief, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Electronic Arts. ESRB
Rating Summary: This is a golf simulation game in which
players can customize a character, play as or against
real-life PGA golfers, and compete on realistic courses
from around the world. Players have the ability to hit balls
into the crowd: When spectators get hit, they may react
to damage by cowering, slumpingover, or grabbing their
arm/mid-section; during online shot-challenge play, if
players hit a spectator they have the option to require
successive players to also hit a spectator while attempting to replicate the shot.
TNN Motorsports Hardcore 4x4, EVERYONE -- No
Descriptors, PlayStation 3, PSP, Sony Computer
Entertainment America.
Transformers: Cybertron Adventures, TEEN -- Fantasy
Violence, Wii, Activision-Blizzard. ESRB Rating
Summary: In this action game, players control robot-like
aliens (Transformers) that complete missions on the planet Cybertron. Players use missiles, laser guns, pistols,
and sniper rifles to destroy enemy robots. Players can
shift between third- and first-person perspectives as they
lock targeting crosshairs on enemies. Frenetic gun battles depict frequent blasts and explosions, as robots
either explode into fiery bursts or small pieces when
destroyed. Cutscenes sometimes depict robots getting
sliced in half, crushed, or shot at close range.
XS Airboat Racing, EVERYONE -- No Descriptors,
PlayStation 3, PSP, Sony Computer Entertainment
America.
XS Jr. League Dodgeball, EVERYONE -- Mild Cartoon
Violence, PlayStation 3, PSP, Sony Computer
Entertainment America.
Feature Reviews
MAY 1, 2010
Here's an alphabetical listing of new products, along with a full review, ratings and tester
feedback. The "Entry Date" refers to the date we first learned of the product.
123 Color
If you've ever done a paint-by-number puzzle, you get the idea of "123 Color HD
Talking Coloring Book for iPad" (the long name). This is the third update of this title,
the first for iPad.
You start by choosing from three sets of 17 black-line coloring sheets, one for
numerals, upper case letters and lower case letters. There's also a free coloring option.
Each part of the picture is labeled, and a key is shown on the bottom of the screen.
From a learning perspective, one of the valuable parts of this experience is how the
letter or numeral is said out loud (in your choice of language) as the child touches it.
Want to learn to count in French? Here's your program. Other languages are English,
Spanish and German.
Weaknesses include some small targets on the picture, such as the eyes on the
squirrel, that are too small for a younger child to match (the surrounding area ends up
becoming colored, instead). This can be frustrating to younger children, especially in a
bumpy car; but also an authentic challenge for their emerging fine motor coordination.
Just keep an eye on it. In addition, the picture selection process is done in iTunes style,
which requires a swipe. A more concrete method would be a better developmental
match for the audience.
A Settings option, available from the main menu, lets you set the challenge, to
either letters and/or numbers up to 10 (easy) or 30 (hard). You are also given a lot of
options for the sound effects and language. All in all, this is a good mix of
straightforward puzzles that gives children plenty to do. While the design is less than
elegant, the fact that you can level the app for your child makes it worth consideration.
Details: KidCalc, http://kidcalc.info. Price: $1.99. Ages: 3-up. Platform: iPad.
Teaches/Purpose: colors, numbers. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.2 stars. Entry date:
4/8/2010. [WB]
A-Z Animals 1.1
This poorly designed iPod Touch app consists of 26 letter flash cards. The animals
are poorly selected, which could confuse a child, and the presentation is dry.
Content includes one flash card per letter, which are presented randomly. For each
letter, you see three animals. The idea is that you see a letter (for example 'F') and then
touch the associated animal. Wrong answers result in a bonging noise, and the letter is
crossed out. When all the letters are finished, a score is shown. Even for $.99, this is a
bad investment.
Details: ZSL Inc., www.zslinc.com. Price: $.99. Ages: 2-6. Platform: iPhone, iPod
Touch (2.5 MB). Teaches/Purpose: letter recognition. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 1.2 stars.
Entry date: 4/14/2010. [WB]
9
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
8
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
9
8
84%
9
9
8
2
0
0
1
24%
FEATURE REVIEWS, MAY 1, 2010
Alice for the iPad
If there were such a thing as a "coffee-table book" for the iPad, it would be this one.
It's the kind of book you pick up once in a while to admire the aesthetics, but then
forget about it, for possibly a very long time.
Featuring 50 beautiful color prints (or pages) with creative fonts, Alice for iPad
(short for "Alice in Wonderland" on the iPad) is a beautifully crafted, abridged version
of the story of Alice in Wonderland, with the words take directly from the Lewis
Carroll book.
Every five or so pages, you can interact with the story by moving, and tilting or
shaking the screen (hold on tight). Some of the characters have simple bobble heads
that move, while other scenes have floating rose peddles or a swimming rat. There are
no sounds, and a table of contents makes it easy to jump around in the story. Other
than that, there's little interactivity to this experience.
Once you've read through the story once, however, you're done, leaving you with
little reason to go back unless you want to share that part of the story with your child
again. For pure beauty, Alice for the iPad is at the top of the list. In terms of
interactivity however, there's not a lot of content. Make sure your child has a tight grip
on the screen when shaking the device during several parts of the story.
Details: Atomic Antelope, www.atomicantelope.com/alice/. Price: $8.99. Ages: 7up. Platform: iPad, iPhone. Teaches/Purpose: reading, reading comprehension. Rating
(1 to 5 stars): 4 stars. Entry date: 4/23/2010. [WB]
Chalkboard Pro for iPad
You can almost smell the chalkdust with this simple chalkboard simulator for iPad.
The lines are mono-touch (just one finger) and there's a bit of latency -- the line tends to
drag a bit behind your finger.
If you're looking for features, look elsewhere: there's just one slate background, five
colors, one line size and two erasers. A disk icon makes it easy to save your picture to
your photos application. Missing are backgrounds, stickers, line options or any
drawing effects. It would be nice, for example, if you could have wet chalk or smear
the lines a bit, like you can do with a real chalkboard.
If you're looking for a "less is more" drawing tool for younger children, this is a
consideration, although there are several free apps that can do the same thing. See also
iChalkboard.
Details: Gabe Jacobs Productions, www.gabejacobsproductions.com. Price: $.99.
Ages: 3-up. Platform: iPad. Teaches/Purpose: drawing, sketching, creativity. Rating (1
to 5 stars): 4 stars. Entry date: 4/26/2010. [WB]
Clicky Sticky
This electronic flannel board has limited content and no coloring or drawing
features. It is a great crutch for giving children practice expanding or shrinking icons,
by pinching or spreading your fingers, making this a good fine motor exercise as well.
Content in version 1.0 for the iPad includes three themed sticker sets (Africa,
Military Aircraft, and Underwater), each with a set of approximately 20 stickers.
There are two types of sounds: Sticker Sounds and looping Ambient Sounds, and
both are "on" by default which will drive adults from the room. However, they can be
easily turned off in the Settings tab. Other options make it possible to share a picture
via email (if your device is setup), and one touch saving to your photo album.
One problem is that if you make the stickers very small, it can be hard to "grip"
them to make big again. In addition, at the large size, the stickers can become blurry
(or bitmapped).
If you're looking for coloring and painting features, you'll be disappointed by this
app. However, those seeking a simple, structured drag -and-drop experience will find
it easy to use. This App doesn't do a lot, but what it does, it does well.
Details: Ivocore, http://invocore.com. Price: $.99. Ages: 3-up. Platform: iPad
(Version 1.0, 16.5 MB). Teaches/Purpose: creativity, fine motor control, perspective.
Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4 stars. Entry date: 4/27/2010. [WB]
10
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
10
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
10
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
9
7
80%
8
9
6
6
80%
N
7
9
7
9
7
8
80%
FEATURE REVIEWS, MAY 1, 2010
Color & Draw for Kids
This open-ended drawing program gives you the best of both worlds -- free one
finger scribbling on a blank screen, or coloring on one of 50 traditional-looking
coloring book pages.
Color & Draw (the icon reads "Color&Draw" with no spaces) has some noteworthy
features that let you customize it for your child. There's a clean color palette with 20
common colors,12 stickers and eight pen sizes. You can also toggle on/off voice
instructions, and it is easy to save work, continue works in progress which are
presented in the startup menu, or import pictures from your photo library.
Missing is a fill option, and the sticker library is limited. In addition, once a sticker
is placed, it can't be drawn over. The only way to get rid of your stickers is to erase
them en mass, by shaking the screen, a clumsy process for a young child and largesized iPad. This type of one-way, can't undo design introduced in an open-ended
program can be a problem -- hopefully this will be fixed in future versions, because
this is one of the best coloring programs currently on the iPad.
Details: TipiTap Apps, www.tipitap.com. Price: $.99. Ages: 3-9. Platform: iPad.
Teaches/Purpose: art, creativity, drawing, fine motor development. Rating (1 to 5
stars): 4.4 stars. Entry date: 4/21/2010. [WB]
ColorPlay for the iPad
Here's a good idea, poorly implemented. ColorPlay for the iPad is a ten page
coloring book featuring farm animals and looping banjo music. While the illustrations
are nicely done, they contain fill targets that are too small, and the color selection
options are too big. There are better options.
Details: Unlikely Duo, www.unlikelyduo.com. Price: $.99. Ages: 3-6. Platform:
coloring. Teaches/Purpose: coloring, fine motor coordination. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 3.4
stars. Entry date: 4/26/2010. [WB]
Dino Surf (App)
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
9
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
5
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
7
Based on the Webosaurs.com virtual world, this app features 3D versions of the
Webosaurs' characters including Stretch, Pterry, Horns and Rexxy. Players can race
their Webosaurs through various environments by moving their iPhone face up and
down to maneuver through obstacles and jump over ramps. You can get a speed boost
by running over the arrows, and if you are the first across the finish line you advance
to the next level. You can also track your best races on the High Score board, and codes
ESRB Rating:
are awarded at the end of the game that you can use to access special items on www.
webosaurs.com.
Details: Reel FX Entertainment, www.reelfx.com. Price: $0.99. Ages: 5-10. Platform:
iPhone/iPod Touch. Teaches/Purpose: logic, fine motor control. Rating (1 to 5 stars):
2.8 stars. Entry date: 3/8/2010. [WB]
11
9
88%
8
9
9
7
68%
8
7
7
6
5
5
5
56%
FEATURE REVIEWS, MAY 1, 2010
Doodle Buddy
It used to be when you wanted to sketch out the plans for an invention, you
grabbed a napkin. The iPad equivalent is Doodle Buddy, an easy to start and use,
multi-touch sketching utility.
It makes it easy to quickly make a sketch and then save it to your photo library.
Content includes 24 backgrounds, including white, black and several for word
games like dots and tic-tac-toe; four drawing tools (brush, chalk, glitter and smudge)
and an infinite color selector that is too small to be used easily (more than likely, it was
designed for the iPhone's screen). There are also 80 tiny stamps, and the ability to
import a photo from your photo library, in case you want to decorate a photo of your
cat. An infinite number of undo options makes experimentation easy.
One key weakness to note: as you draw, the program makes a noise which can get
annoying.
This is one of the few drawing programs with multi-touch -- in other words, you
can scribble with up to four fingers at once. Despite the small menus and complex
color selector, it is worth the download.
Details: Pinger, www.pinger.com. Price: $free. Ages: 3-up. Platform: iPhone, iPad.
Teaches/Purpose: art, drawing, creativity. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.3 stars. Entry date:
4/26/2010. [WB]
Dora the Explorer Coloring Adventures (iPad)
This touch screen coloring book looks good at first, but has some primitive features
you should know about before spending the $5 for your young Dora fan.
Children first choose one of five backgrounds, and can then rotate between three
sets of tools: Crayons (seven colors, plus a magic "rainbow" crayon which paints the
screen automatically); Stickers (About 60, featuring mostly Dora-themed items); and
Backgrounds (representing each season). When each crayon is touched, you hear the
word in Spanish; a nice touch. Other features include three levels of zoom, either on
the background, or on a specific sticker, which is nice for getting into the crevices.
Weaknesses include; continually looping music that can't be changed, which is an
unforgivable design mistake for any type of creativity experience, and a menu system
that isn't obvious to a preschooler (or an adult). For example, putting the three sets of
tools on a carousal-style menu makes them hard to find. In addition, you can't easily
erase a mistake or simply start a picture from scratch.
Pictures can be saved to your photo library at any time. All in all, even the Dora
theme can't save this poorly designed electronic coloring book. Created by Chewy
Software http://www.chewysoftware.net/ for Nickelodeon.
Details: Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group, www.nick.com. Price: $4.99. Ages: 3up. Platform: iPad (29.1 MB). Teaches/Purpose: coloring, creativity, Spanish. Rating (1
to 5 stars): 2.3 stars. Entry date: 4/26/2010. [WB]
Drawing Den
Available in both free and full versions for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch,
Drawing Den is a coloring program that is both limited and powerful at the same time.
It is limited because it only offers eight pictures that you can color, and there are no
stamps or undo options. The picture selection is also limited, even in the full $1.99
version. There are some noteworthy customization features to note, like the ability to
expand or shrink the palette of colors, and add or remove the fill. But the most
noteworthy feature is the picture replay, where your child can see his or her picture
redrawn, in real or sped up time.
Other features include the ability to quickly share a photo and a "stay within the
lines" option that you can toggle off, in case you want to make a mess.
The overall design is rather unrefined. It is hard to find the customization options,
and the screen presentation rotates when moving in and out of modes. In addition, we
couldn't find an "undo" option, and erasing a picture is tricky.
All in all, this program is worth keeping an eye on, to see if these issues are
resolved. We tested the free iPad version.
Details: Applied Phasor, www.appliedphasor.com. Price: $1.99. Ages: 3-up.
Platform: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad. Teaches/Purpose: drawing, creativity, coloring.
Rating (1 to 5 stars): 3.9 stars. Entry date: 4/26/2010. [WB]
12
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
8
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
7
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
6
9
86%
9
8
9
5
46%
6
4
1
7
9
9
8
78%
FEATURE REVIEWS, MAY 1, 2010
Fish School
Children explore with their fingertips, in this colorful underwater playground,
where a school of quick swimming fish illustrate numerals (up to 20), the alphabet
song, and a set of shapes. At any point, a child can tap a bubble in the corner to jump
to a new game, which makes the chances good that he or she will encounter something
interesting to explore.
In the alphabet song, children can swipe forward or backward, hearing the
alphabet backwards if they like. If they stop at a letter, such as U, they hear "U is for
Umbrella." The number line works the same way, only the quantity is presented along
with the numeral, in the form of a line of small eggs on the bottom of the screen.
Tapping an egg releases a tiny fish; a game in itself. The "Playtime" activity fills the
screen with dozens of differently colored fish, of every shape, size and pattern.
Children can rearrange the fish, tap to make them swim faster, or hold their finger over
a fish to make it get bigger. Other more structured activities include a game of
concentration, and a discrimination game, that asks children to find the fish that
doesn't belong.
Flaws include music that can be overbearing at times, especially if your child falls
asleep or leaves the room. The song will loop, and loop -- forever. It would be nice to
have a "mute" option. In addition, some children wanted more of a story theme to tie
the six activities together. As an alphabet book, this nicely crafted App is an excellent
touch-and-explore experience.
The iPhone and iPod touch versions are available for $.99 at http://tinyurl.
com/fishiphone; the iPad vesion is $1.99: http://tinyurl.com/fishipad.
Details: Duck Duck Moose Design, www.duckduckmoosedesign.com. Price: $.99,
$1.99. Ages: 2-up. Platform: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch. Teaches/Purpose: logic, math
(counting, numeral recognition) the alphabet, letter recognition, shapes, memory.
Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.8 stars. Entry date: 4/22/2010. [WB]
FLIPS The Bubonic Builders
Turn your Nintendo DSi into an ebook, with this series of six titles, found in
Nintendo's DSiWare store for 500 points (roughly $5). To buy the book, you must
locate the store from your DSi or DSi XL (wireless Internet connection required) and
select one of the titles. As of this writing, two of the six books are listed: FLIPS Terror
In Cubicle Four and FLIPS The Bubonic Builders, from an existing Egmont series called
"Too Ghoul for School", a collection of stories with a playful but slightly edgy theme.
After you download the title from the DSi Store, you turn the DSi sideways, to
open like a book. You can flip the pages by swiping across a page, or by using the
arrow keys. There are also hidden items in the book to collect, and embedded sound
effects. In general, the extra features do a great job supporting the story. There are a
few minor points to note. First, the resolution seems grainy on the DSi XL. Normally
this is a minor point, however because you're reading text, this is worth noting. Also,
you can't get out of the tutorial without leaving the story entirely and starting over.
Other features include the ability to unlock an additional bonus story, and the
ability to beam a book to a nearby DSi owner, for sharing. The print version of the
book was published by Egmont. The FLIPs title was created by EA's Bright Light
Studio.
Details: Electronic Arts, www.ea.com. Price: $5 (500 points). Ages: 8-12. Platform:
Nintendo DSi (required). Teaches/Purpose: reading, some logic, comprehension.
Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.2 stars. Entry date: 4/22/2010. [WB]
13
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
10
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
8
9
96%
10
9
10
9
8
9
8
84%
FEATURE REVIEWS, MAY 1, 2010
Ease of Use 7
Frogs and Fireflies
Educational
Set in a swamp at night, this app features frogs in secondary colors of orange, green
and purple. These frogs are hungry for a firefly snack, but they will only eat flies that
Entertaining
match their color. You must mix the red, blue and yellow flies by touching one of the
Design
Features
flies, and combining it with another, to mix the colors. This creates a new color. If the
color matches the frog, the fly is eaten and you get the points. Once you've mastered
Good Value
mixing colors, new shades of frogs enter and you will need to mix flies to feed them (i.
ESRB
Rating:
e., mix purple flies with red to feed red-purple frogs). Your goal is to figure out how to
mix all the different shades of color before time runs out. The active format is good,
however, the process can get tedious and there's not much of a reward at the end.
Details: Ten Toed, Inc., www.tentoed.com. Price: $1.99. Ages: 5-up. Platform:
iPhone. Teaches/Purpose: color mixing. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 3.9 stars. Entry date:
4/30/2010. [WB]
9
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
10
How To Train Your Dragon HD
Turn your iPad into a beautifully illustrated story book, with this 37 page (screen)
iPad version of How To Train Your Dragon (called merely "Dragon Book" in the App
Store). If your child liked the movie, he or she will also like this storybook. That's
because the illustrations are taken directly from the movie, pixel per pixel.
Missing are any interactive features, which is both a strength and a weakness of
this title. It is a strength because it makes the experience extremely simple to use.
Children can swipe their way through the book, one page at a time, front or back,
listening to the text read aloud. The book follows the movie, highlighting each key
moment, and the narration sounds like it came from the movie as well.
This App is designed to be bomb proof -- with the exception of front and back
pages, you can't get to the parent options, which allow you to turn the narration on or
off, and make the book pages flip automatically, making the experience noninteractive.
If you're looking for hidden sizzle, you won't find any. This is a good, clean, feature
free eBook, with no translations, hot spots, and with the exception of the page flips and
word highlighting, no animation.
According to Woody Sears of FrogDogMedia, "This is the first time a Movie
Storybook was available with actual stills from the movie before the movie was
released. This is due to the speed at which electronic publishing can take place."
FrogDogMedia has now digitized over a dozen books for the iPhone or iPad, using the
same formula. The bottom line? If you liked the movie, you'll like this book.
Details: FrogDogMedia LLC, www.frogdogmedia.com. Price: $1.99. Ages: 3-up.
Platform: iPad, iPhone. Teaches/Purpose: reading, language. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.1
stars. Entry date: 4/22/2010. [WB]
14
78%
8
7
8
7
8
7
9
82%
FEATURE REVIEWS, MAY 1, 2010
Ease of Use 9
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Educational
Poke the spider to change scenes in this clever adaptation of the classic nursery
rhyme. The view pans in movie-like fashion as the spider moves up the water spout,
Entertaining
down with the rain, and out with the sun.
Design
Features
There's plenty to touch and explore. You can make rain come down from the
clouds, splash in the puddles, help a caterpillar become a butterfly or play peek-a-boo
Good Value
with a frog. The fly is the tutor, offering facts about nature and the environment. When
ESRB
Rating:
he's touched, you hear information on 15 topics, such as Where does the rain come
from? and What makes a rainbow?
Your child can also count from one to ten as a squirrel builds his house, find
hidden eggs on a scavenger hunt, create your own music using eggs that play different
notes, stack hats on the spider's head, listen to classical music with violin and cello
pizzicato, and record their own singing.
This is the second app from Duck Duck Moose, following Wheels on the Bus; and
takes the medium a step further, by creating associated events.
Details: Duck Duck Moose Design, www.duckduckmoosedesign.com. Price: $0.99.
Ages: 2-up. Platform: iPhone, iPod Touch. Teaches/Purpose: logic, language, counting,
causality. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.8 stars. Entry date: 4/22/2010. [WB]
KidArt for iPad
This finger painting experience for iPod Touch and iPhone, with a new version for
the iPad, has a clean visual design, a manageable 10 color palette and resizable stickers.
It also has a one-step undo feature. But it is easy to accidentally save (and then loose)
your project.
You start by choosing from three themes (ocean, school or farm). Next, you see a
well designed creativity space, offering colors, a single, one size paint brush, an eraser
and a row of stickers. There are also icons for saving your picture to your photo
library, or alternating between 12 backgrounds per theme, including a blank white or
black canvas.
We liked the simple, well-designed drawing experience, especially on the iPad, and
the screen changes from vertical to landscape modes simply by rotating the screen.
While it is easy to save a picture to your photo library, the process also starts a new
picture, which erases exiting work. You also can't import old projects. Finally, while
the clip art is well designed and can be resized, the icons for choosing them are are
small. All in all, this $.99 App is worth consideration -- just make sure you're there at
first to help children understand how not to erase their pictures.
Details: GP Apps, www.gpapps.com. Price: $.99. Ages: 2-4. Platform: iPod Touch,
iPhone, iPad. Teaches/Purpose: Art, Creativity. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 3.9 stars. Entry
date: 4/23/2010. [WB]
KidFit
Like a recipe book for exercise, this reference for iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad
consists of a database of 150 exercises. You start by touching a region of the body (e.g,.
back, legs or shoulder) and then see a list of exercises, presented in step-by-step
fashion.
For each exercise, you can download a short 10 second video showing what to do.
The videos are low quality, with no sound and are sometimes distorted in size. But,
they download quickly. There is also a timer and the ability to send. If you're expecting
other features such as coaching or progress tracking, you won't find it with this App.
This App would be useful for an elementary or middle school PE teacher, to use as a
reference to quickly show children how to do an exercise.
Details: Apollo Matrix, www.apollomatrix.com. Price: $1.99. Ages: 4-up. Platform:
iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad. Teaches/Purpose: excercise, PE, physical fitness. Rating (1 to
5 stars): 3.9 stars. Entry date: 4/26/2010. [WB]
15
9
96%
10
10
10
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
9
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
10
8
78%
9
4
9
8
N
6
7
78%
FEATURE REVIEWS, MAY 1, 2010
Kung Fu Panda World (www.kungfupandaworld.com)
Kung Fu Panda World (KFPW) is a richly animated Flash-10 based online
destination for children aged 8-up that is free to register and play, or available as a
subscription for $6/month sans commercials.
In many ways, the site resembles a "design your own avatar, explore a moviethemed world" type of experience. But it is clear the site embeds the movie theme, by
increasing your Chi-level and moving up a belt rank. This and other touches make this
a great example of how to take a virtual world to the next level in order to extend a
movie or storybook experience.
After you register, you can design your own avatar and start exploring the first
levels of the game. A sponsored play game model lets you play for free, as long as you
watch a commercial for a "kid friendly" sponsor like McDonalds. If you subscribe, you
can skip the commercial and reach the highest levels of the game. There is no in-game
commercial content.
So, what is unique about the game? There's a "heat sensing" tool that makes it easy
to find your friends, and a parental control panel that makes it possible to program
when your child has access to the game. Parents also have the ability to control the
level of chat. We also liked some of the new collaborative play techniques, such as a
game of tag and the turn-based (Pokémon-like) game of Kung Fu, which is mixed in
with the traditional treasure hunt model of play. Even if you didn't like the movie,
you'll like the virtual world. Learn more at http://www.kungfupandaworld.com.
Details: Dreamworks Animation, Inc., www.dreamworks.com. Price: $6/month.
Ages: 8-12. Platform: Windows, Mac OSX, Internet Site. Teaches/Purpose: strategy,
typing, collaborative play. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.8 stars. Entry date: 10/26/2009. [WB]
Miss Spider’s Tea Party App
The classic storybook comes to the iPad with many of the typical features you'd
expect an ebook to have, although if you're looking for innovative features, there's not
much to write about.
But the story is solid (about a spider in search of friendship) and two of the three
activities (the game of concentration and the jigsaw puzzle) are well designed.
Children were frustrated by the coloring, however, due to small icons. When a page is
turned, you see a preview of where the hotspots are on the page. You can also touch
images for surprises, paint pictures, solve jigsaw puzzles and play games.
Given the price ($9.99) this is a hit or miss purchase compared to the other books
you can get for the same price.
Details: Callaway Arts & Entertainment, www.callaway.com. Price: $9.99. Ages: 6up. Platform: iPad. Teaches/Purpose: reading, logic . Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.1 stars.
Entry date: 4/8/2010. [WB]
My Baby Einstein App
Baby Einstein content comes to your mobile device for the first time in this mixture
of short video, and do-it-yourself fact screens in which you can record your own voice
and follow links to online purchases.
The videos consist of six three minute video segments taken from existing content
(Baby Neptune and Baby Beethoven). Each follows the tried-and-true formula of
mixing classical music with close ups of interesting objects. Prompts to purchase
additional videos are included in the menu; which is, at best, a questionable practice. It
uses menus that require reading to use, putting a child within three menus of an
automatic purchase.
The app also features a Memory Book that allows you to capture your baby's first
steps, first words, and birthdays, providing you load up your photo library ahead of
time. All in all? The appeal of this Baby Einstein is well captured with much of the
content in this App. Just make sure your baby doesn't start making purchases.
Details: Disney Interactive Studios, www.disneyinteractivestudios.com. Price:
$3.99. Ages: 3 mos - up. Platform: iPhone, iPod Touch. Teaches/Purpose: facts about
colors,colors, shapes . Rating (1 to 5 stars): 3.9 stars. Entry date: 4/20/2010. [WB]
16
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
9
9
96%
10
10
10
9
9
82%
8
8
7
ESRB Rating:
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
10
6
8
7
8
78%
FEATURE REVIEWS, MAY 1, 2010
Ease of Use 4
Myst
Educational
Unless you're eager to play one of the classic exploration games of all time, it's best
to pass on this state-of-the-art 1980's style game for the Nintendo DS, despite the ease
Entertaining
of the touch screen.
Design
Features
In the story, you're stranded on a mysterious island when you come upon a book
titled Myst, and you have no idea how old it is or where it came from. You read
Good Value
through the book and are provided with a description of an island world. As you
ESRB
Rating:
Everyone
search the island by choosing directions, multiple-choice style, you will solve mysteries
and puzzles which will "challenge your skills of perception and thought". The game
features six worlds, called ages, including Stoneship and Channelwood. Borrow it if
you're a game historian. Otherwise, pass. Originally created by Cyan.
Details: Storm City Entertainment, www.stormcityentertainment.com. Price: $30.
Ages: 8-up. Platform: Nintendo DS. Teaches/Purpose: logic, reading. Rating (1 to 5
stars): 3.4 stars. Entry date: 3/5/2010. [WB]
8
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
9
Pickin' Time
How many times can you touch a target in 60 seconds? That's the challenge of this
fast-paced matching game for one to four players, that runs on the iPad, iPhone or
iPod touch.
First you are shown something to pick, such as a colorful tomato or a potato. Next
you see your item, mixed in with two other choices. The goal is to touch it as quickly as
possible. Wrong answers result in a buzz -- correct answers bring up a slightly larger,
harder set of items, one of which is yours. The better you do, the harder the challenge
will be, by the addition of more potential targets. In the hardest level, you may see 20
items on the screen. Difficulty is also increased because the targets are small.
A competitive mode lets you race against your friends on a local area network. This
requires having a copy of the game installed on each device. Another multiplayer
option asks players to sit around the screen, waiting until their object is shown and
then tap their veggie as fast as possible while avoiding tapping their opponents
veggies. The banjo music is well integrated into the play, but it can grow repetitive (an
option for either changing it or turning it off would be nice).
High scores are saved over time, and all your correct answers are shown at the end
of the one minute session, creating a nice math twist to the game. As a classification
and visual discrimination exercise, you can't pick a better App. See http:
//pickintimeapp.com/
Details: Icon Factory, www.iconfactory.com. Price: $1.99. Ages: 3-up. Platform:
iPhone, iPad. Teaches/Purpose: classification, sorting, visual discrimination. Rating (1
to 5 stars): 4.5 stars. Entry date: 3/6/2010. [WB]
17
68%
8
7
7
8
9
10
9
90%
FEATURE REVIEWS, MAY 1, 2010
Ease of Use 8
Plants vs. Zombies (PvZ HD)
Educational
Those who doubt the ability of the iPad to deliver an addicting, very fun
experience will be quickly convinced by this fun, addicting strategy game. Note that
Entertaining
the icon name is PvZ HD.
Design
Features
Previously available as a download for Mac and Windows, this game is now
available for the iPhone or iPad. Similar in design to the computer version, the game
Good Value
has you battling legions of zombies that are invading your yard, trying to reach your
ESRB
Rating:
front door. To defeat them, you purchase and plant a variety of mutant flowers, vines,
trees, and other foliage that have zombie combating powers (for example, cherry
bombs and peashooters). These zombie battling plants can slow down, confuse,
weaken and eventually destroy the vegetation zombies, before they get to your door.
Your selection of plants, along with their placement, is the key to winning.
New features include the Quick Play Arena which allows you easy replay of any
level after completing the 50 levels in Adventure Mode, and new achievements to
reward successful completion of in-game challenges. The game also features more than
48 plants, a variety of zombie types, and 11 original musical pieces. The game is easy to
figure out, and fun for one or more players to work on together.
Details: PopCap Games, www.popcap.com. Price: $2.99. Ages: 8-up. Platform:
iPhone, iPad. Teaches/Purpose: strategy. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.7 stars. Entry date:
3/8/2010. [WB]
SpinArt
Turn your iPhone screen into beautiful paint-splattered mess with this simple, fun
program. The app was first released in 2008 and has been updated several times; but it
is basically the same. While there is no iPad version, it still works and looks fine on
either sized screen.
The program starts with a blank, white square turntable surrounded with splatters
of paint. You can either swipe or tap to start it in motion, in either direction. A double
tap makes it stop or increase in speed. If you hold your finger down, you can make a
perfect circle, or you can choose the large paintbrush to make a big mess, quickly.
A star icon makes it easy to save your work to your photo library, clear the
background, send to Facebook, or start over. It helps to show children how they can
stop and start the turntable with a double tap; a feature that is not obvious.
Besides being a fun exercise in fine motor control, it provides playful exposure to
some math, logic (spatial relations) and geometry concepts, with no cleanup necessary.
Note that an iPad specific version is coming next month, according to an email
message from Brian Smith, the publisher.
Details: Brian Smith, www.7twenty7.net. Price: $1.99. Ages: 3-up. Platform: iPhone.
Teaches/Purpose: art, creativity, logic (spatial relations). Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.6 stars.
Entry date: 4/27/2010. [WB]
StoryKit
Part of the grant-funded International Children's Digital Library out of the
University of Maryland, the StoryKit app (for iPod Touch or iPhone) combines a
simple drawing program with text-entry features. In addition, you can import photos
from your device's photo library and add copy below them, to create your own stories,
which can then be saved and emailed, providing your device is setup for email.
Adding colors and text is a multi-step process which can be clumsy. For example,
to change colors, you have to go to a different screen, make your choice from 80
options, and then return to a drawing screen. The best part is the ability to import your
own pictures from your iPhone's library.
Details: ICDL, www.childrenslibrary.org. Price: $free. Ages: 3-12. Platform: iPhone,
iPad. Teaches/Purpose: language, reading, children's literature. Rating (1 to 5 stars):
3.8 stars. Entry date: 4/22/2010. [WB]
18
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
9
94%
10
10
10
9
9
92%
10
9
9
6
8
N
9
7
75%
FEATURE REVIEWS, MAY 1, 2010
Toy Story 2 Read-Along
Toy Story comes to your iPad with this 23 page/screen adaptation that mixes
highlights of the second movie (Toy Story 2) with two games, two songs, three coloring
activities and the ability to record your own narration.
The graphics, narration and music are on-par with the movie (excellent) making
this a good example of how an author's ideas can move from a printed page into an
interactive device. Note, however, that we were able to crash the progam several times,
for reasons we can't explain. Sometimes the program would freeze during a page turn;
other times it would stop when loading an activity. Make sure to check for updates.
Features include the ability to have the story read automatically, or to let the child
flip through the book, one screen at a time (the pages curl, like paper). A pair of mouse
ears at the screen bottom lead to a tray of options that include a microphone for
recording your own narration (an excellent and powerful feature), the coloring
activities, and scrolling set of pages, that makes it easy to jump directly to any page.
This includes two games: Parachute Drop (tilt the screen to steer a soldier through a
maze of obstacles) and Toy Barn Maze (swipe to move Buzz through a maze, collecting
toys). Both games are active, and have three challenge levels. If you're looking for an
excellent use of the iPad for a children's book, download this title.
Details: Disney Interactive Studios, www.disneyinteractivestudios.com. Price:
$4.99. Ages: 3-9. Platform: iPad. Teaches/Purpose: reading, language, logic, creativity.
Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.8 stars. Entry date: 4/8/2010. [WB]
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
Ease of Use
Educational
Entertaining
Design Features
Good Value
WordTotz
Teachers take note: WordTotz is a customizable flashcard app designed to help
children learn their first words using familiar pictures and sounds.
While the 100 included cards are dry and predictable (animals, objects, numerals)
the app lets you create your own cards, using photos from your photo album. You can
then record your own voice over the photos; potentially very valuable as a language
experience. It's one thing to see a picture of a dog. It's quite another to see your dog,
ESRB Rating:
and hear your mother's voice. Note, recording on the iPhone can be done using its
internal mic, however, iPod touch users may require an external mic.
Details: Ingenious Monkey, www.ingeniousmonkey.com. Price: $0.99. Ages: 2-up.
Platform: iPhone, iPod Touch. Teaches/Purpose: language, reading. Rating (1 to 5
stars): 4 stars. Entry date: 4/13/2010. [WB]
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9
10
96%
10
10
9
9
9
5
8
9
80%
Future Releases
MAY 1, 2010
This section contains a listing of products in the process of being reviewed, but not yet rated. We
also include significant updates of older products.
Angry Birds
This action-puzzle app puts you in control of a flock of avian assassins who are trying to
reclaim their eggs from some thieving pigs. At the beginning of each game, you receive a
number of birds to use as projectile weapons. You can fire the birds from catapults to smash
into the pigs and destroy their hideouts. The game uses touch controls to navigate around the
the playing field and aim the birds. There are 100 levels.
Details: Clickgamer, http://clickgamer.com. Price: $0.99. Ages: 7-up. Platform: iPhone,
iPod touch. Teaches/Purpose: . Entry date: 12/10/2009.
Club Penguin (www.clubpenguin.com) Update
New features coming April 2010: a recycling depot, a community garden, and a
community tree, with the idea to get children thinking about collaborative play around an
environmental theme. Note: See the original review from October 2006.
Details: Disney Interactive, Inc., www.disney.com. Price: $free and $6/month, $58/year.
Ages: 8-14. Platform: Internet Site. Teaches/Purpose: ecology. Entry date: 4/26/2010.
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast
Now available on the Xbox 360 and PS3, this Dragon Ball game contains 70 characters,
including transformations, facing off against each other in battles throughout the Dragon Ball
Z sagas. You can play as your favorite heroes and villains in match-ups from the series or play
out never before seen hypothetical "what-if" scenarios. The game also features a variety of
single player modes, along with offline and online multiplayers versus and tournament
modes. As you progress through the game and win more battles, you receive items and Super
Attacks as rewards. You can then use these with the Ultimate Customize option to configure
up to three customizations profiles of each character. You also have a full set of series based
combat tools to use including dashes, Ki Blasts, charge attacks, Ultimate Atacks, and fusions,
as well as a new Super Rising option that lets you rocket straight up into the sky for a quick
evasive maneuver.
Details: Namco Bandai Games America Inc., www.namcobandaigames.com. Price: $60.
Ages: 10-up. Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360. Teaches/Purpose: logic. Entry date:
11/20/2009.
Foto Showdown
Designed exclusively for the Nintendo DSi because of the need for cameras, this game
requires you to take photos of a particular color in order to create a specific monster. As you
advance in the game, you collect better cameras, buying and selling monsters and purchasing
weapon upgrades, armor or medicine. Content includes 120 monster varieties and 100 levels.
There are both single and sharing modes of play, via local wireless connection.
Details: Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., www.konami.com. Price: $30. Ages: 7-up.
Platform: Nintendo DSi. Teaches/Purpose: logic, creativity. Entry date: 4/20/2010.
Max and the Magic Marker
Released April 16, 2010 as a download or at retail on disk, Max and the Magic Marker is
one of the growing number of "physics platformers" we've been reviewing lately. This one
contains 15 levels of cartoon-like animations, in three worlds. A Macintosh version is planned.
Made by The Games Factory for Legacy Interactive.
Details: Legacy Interactive, www.legacyinteractive.com. Price: $19.95. Ages: 7-up.
Platform: Windows, Mac OSX. Teaches/Purpose: creativity, physics, logic, science. Entry
date: 4/7/2010.
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FUTURE RELEASES AND UPDATES
MAY 1, 2010
Reading Horizons v5
Designed for older readers (adolescent or adult learners) who read below grade level,
this Windows or Macintosh software is designed to let you work at your own pace, build key
foundational skills, and then progress to more difficult reading skills. According to press
materials, once you have completed 40-60 hours of instruction, the average learner will have
improved their reading by four grade levels. New to this version of the program is the Library
which provides 225 reading passages in 15 different genres ranging from sports to
technology. It also includes 81 interactive lessons, and a new Pronunciation Proficiency tool
that presents live footage of a mouth pronouncing each sound as well as animated tongue
placements for English Language Learners (ELL).
Details: Reading Horizons, www.readinghorizons.com. Price: $call. Ages: 10-up.
Platform: Windows, Mac OSX. Teaches/Purpose: reading, comprehension. Entry date:
4/20/2010.
Slide-a-ma-jig
This app contains 27 creatures and 20 backgrounds that can be mixed and matched.
Each character is divided into 5 sections - hat, head, torso, legs, and feet. You can rearrange
these sections individually by sliding them, or you can give a shake and they will randomly
rearrange. New characters are added weekly so the number of combinations keeps growing.
Details: Lucky Radish Amusements, www.luckyradishamusements.com. Price: $0.99.
Ages: 4-up. Platform: iPhone, iPod touch. Teaches/Purpose: creativity. Entry date:
12/10/2009.
Speakaboo.com
Here's a free set of 36 narrated storybook-inspired videos which can be viewed in Flash
for free, or ordered in other forms for a charge (so it's like a free, full content preview). Stories
are shown in slide show fashion, along with narration. Quality varies by story but generally
seems good. Titles include A Christmas Carol, Aladdin, Cinderella, Bunny Foo Foo,
Goldilocks, Three Little Pigs and so on.
Details: Speakaboos LLC, www.speakaboos.com. Price: $free. Ages: 4-up. Platform:
Windows, Mac OSX, Internet Site. Teaches/Purpose: language, literacy. Entry date:
4/28/2010.
Star Walk
Designed to help beginners or amateurs discover stars, planets and constellations, this
iPhone/iPod Touch app is now available for the iPad. It has a new revised information set
about stars, constellations, and messier objects. The options and controls have now been
unified within one menu and menu icons are explained with a word or two so you know
what each symbol stands for. Other features of the app include: Time Machine, which allows
you to travel in time and observe the night sky and events such as eclipses and meteor
showers; Sky Live, where you can tap the moon-shaped button to reveal moon phases,
elevation, and rising data for the Sun, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn; Picture of the Day,
where you receive a push notification on the Star Walk icon telling you there is a new picture;
Bookmarks, that let you save a reminder of night sky observations; Earth View, which
provides automatic and manual selections of locations on a 3D Globe; Moon Phases, which
allows you to select the Sky Live window to see the moon phases for several days; Wikipedia
Links, that let you select a celestial body and tap the "i" icon to activate a magnifier to read
information, or you can tap the Wiki icon to open the Wikipedia page; Search, which helps
you find celestial objects and search for stars, planets, and messier objects by their names; and
Help Guide, which includes basic instruction on how to use Time Machine and location
selection. The graphics are beautiful.
Details: Vito Technology, www.vitotechnology.com. Price: $4.99. Ages: 8-up. Platform:
iPad. Teaches/Purpose: astronomy . Entry date: 4/9/2010.
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FUTURE RELEASES AND UPDATES
MAY 1, 2010
Warp Factor App
This app is designed as a way for children to study the concept of factoring. In the game,
you are the pilot of a fuel tanker and need to fill all the smaller spaceships with the
appropriate fuel. To do this, you tilt your iPhone or iPod Touch to move your spaceship to the
left and right, aim, and hit the "Drop" button to hit a corresponding spaceship as it flies by.
For example, a 25 in the dropper would match a 5 ship (5 is a factor of 25). If your aim is good
and you get a correct hit, the spaceship is fueled and takes off. You accumulate points for each
correct hit, but hitting three wrong ships on any one level gets you fired from your job. Each
level ends with a bonus round in which you can see how many ships you can fuel in one
minute. The app also features a learning review section so you can brush up on your
knowledge of factoring. In addition, the scoring system lets you save your initials in a list of
top scores, so you can take turns with a friend and try to beat each others scores, or track your
progress. The game has unlimited levels that get progressively more difficult.
Details: My Turn Mobile, www.myturnmobile.com. Price: $1.99. Ages: 6-up. Platform:
iPhone. Teaches/Purpose: math, factoring. Entry date: 4/19/2010.
Word Wiggler
This is an alphabet and word game for the iPhone and iPad. Children tap to choose a
colorful object that starts with the alphabet letter wobbling onscreen. If it’s a match they can
tap, drag and shake to make their word wiggle, spin, bounce and shoot tiny gold stars.
Details: zinc Roe Design, www.zincroe.com. Price: $call. Ages: 3-5. Platform: iPhone,
iPad. Teaches/Purpose: reading, language. Entry date: 4/26/2010.
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