|  The
hit Sesame Street segment, Elmo's World, has come to
CD-ROM. But is the software game worth buying?
The
premise is as simple as the segment that stars preschoolers'
favorite fuzzy red monster. Kids explore three themes--in this
case, shoes, bugs, and farms. Kids click on any of these three
subjects to explore the topic further. They can
"imagine" with Dorothy the goldfish, watch an animated
skit starring Mr. Noodle, play the piano with Elmo, watch a video
from the show, or play a game. Other things to do are simple
clickables. Each of the three topics have the same format. Dorothy
imagines a number of things--she pictures Elmo as a cow, pig, and
even corn-on-the-cob in the farm segment, for example. These
musings are cute while they last, but kids cannot interact with
them--they are mere animations. The games involve finding animals
on Old MacDonald's farm, navigating an anthill maze, and finding a
mystery shoe. We had troubles with the videos on each computer we
installed the program on. Playing piano with Elmo is a cute
activity in which Elmo sings the note that is played. Sometimes
Elmo recognizes a tune as well. On
the positive side, this title features nice animations. However,
it has a number of flaws that prevent it from being recommended.
For one, there are lengthy sequences at times, and we could not
find a way to interrupt them. This was most noticeable in the Old
MacDonald farm game--Elmo sings far too much, and little ones
become antsy. As well, there are too few activities to keep kids
coming back for more. As a result, replay value suffers. As well,
there are double prompts to exit activities--a minor quibble, but
frustrating nonetheless. You
may want to check out the more content-rich Sesame
Street Toddler for plenty of Elmo in addition to Big Bird and
Cookie Monster.
Pros:
- Cute graphics
- Some activities are
moderately satisfying
|
Cons:
- Limited number of
activities
- Lengthy,
non-interruptible sequences frustrate young users.
|
Back
|
Elmo fans might want to turn
to:
Sesame
Street Toddler
Curious about top sellers? See which children's software other
people
are buying:
|
