children's software review

i spy fantasy

Review Sections: Product Overview  Entertainment Value  Technically Speaking  Design  Skills Covered  Replayability  Educational Value  Dollar Value    

Product Overview

Children exercise their thinking skills as they search detail-rich screens for hidden objects in I Spy Fantasy. This latest CD-ROM in the I Spy software series (and based on the popular I Spy books) may be the best yet. 

Three fantasy environments are theirs to explore, and each area offers kids an intriguing theme, plenty of trademark I Spy riddle screens (such as the one pictured at right), and three levels of content and difficulty. Not only that, each environment includes its own mission -- find pages of a mermaid's book, search for fuel crystals to fuel up a spaceship, and retrieve six keys that will open a dungeon where a princess is imprisoned. The environments are completely kid-pleasing: Sand Castle Adventure, Blast-Off Adventure, and Deep Blue Sea Adventure.

Parents who think they'd prefer that their kids search for the objects by staring at a book rather than the computer monitor, consider this: The digital version of the popular I Spy books offers a whole lot more. Often objects need to be moved in order to find the sought-after item, or a dot-to-dot activity needs to be completed to reveal a hidden object. Not only that, there are a handful of games that create a technologically-unique opportunity for learning. The program "remembers" incomplete adventures so kids can always return to them later with a fresh outlook. The only thing that compares unfavorably to playing I Spy hunts with the book version is that some kids might discover that merely clicking around randomly will eventually bring up many of the hidden objects. Still, that would quickly become boring, and most children will enjoy the challenge of the hunt itself.

As kids examine the detailed pictures that make the I Spy series so popular, they exercise their powers of observation. The text for the entire riddle is read aloud, and as kids find individual objects, the words are highlighted. Children need to refer back to the text as they search for items, and struggling readers have the option to hear individual words and phrases read aloud. Thinking skills are required to interpret some of the more cryptic riddles and clues. Some objects are in obvious places, and others are cleverly hidden.

Our kid testers were fascinated with the game for hours at a time. The first play-through is the easiest, although some objects remain somewhat difficult to find. Subsequent games are more difficult, and kids have three full adventures at different difficulty levels to complete. This adds up to rather sizable content. Of course, gameplay is limited in the end because of the nature of the I Spy riddles, but this program has a strong life nonetheless. Some special surprises, such as a microscope screen complete with magnification levels and objects that need to be moved to another area of the screen, are included for added interest. 

Although the target audience is ages 5-10, children on the younger end of the age range will need some help, even playing on the easiest (first) level. For independent play, a better suggested age range would be 7 or 8 and up.

Technically Speaking
Minimum requirements are Windows 95/98/2000/Me/XP, a Pentium II 266 MHz processor, 64 Mb RAM, and 8X CD ROM. 

Skills Covered
Thinking and problem-solving skills, language arts skills (vocabulary and reading).

Educational Value
Even though the game's educational content is strong, kids never catch on that the program has an educational agenda. Children hone not only their skills of observation, but their language arts skills (such as vocabulary and reading) as well.

Entertainment Value
Most children quite naturally enjoy hunting for hidden objects and deciphering clues as well as solving problems. This program offers all of these things in a pleasing graphically-rich setting. The fantasy theme in the game is appealing, and although the program will likely stump children at times, it is ultimately "doable".

Design
The program features a kid-friendly design and a clever system that advances difficulty levels as kids progress in the game.

Replay Value
Because of the nature of I Spy riddles, once a riddle is solved, there is little challenge when it is attempted again. Therefore, we were pleased the software offers many riddles as well as three levels of content and difficulty.

Dollar Value
This title is reasonably priced at $19.95 US. 

 To buy: I Spy Fantasy

You may want to search for this title at a discount store. Difficult to find software titles can be purchased at Family Savings Outlet for substantial savings.

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