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Edutaining Kids
.COM
Parents' Guide to Children's Products for Fun & Learning
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Edutaining Kids
.COM
Parents' Guide to Children's Products for Fun & Learning
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We
love the Fisher Price Imaginext building toy line. It has
fantastic appeal to young children and parents like the idea that
kids use thinking skills as they build toys that they can play
with using their imagination. Two new software titles have been
released based on the toy. This one, Pirate Raiders, is a
satisfying game that is perhaps low on educational value (unlike
the toy on which it is based), but it is enjoyable
nonetheless. 
Throughout
the adventure, kids are addressed as "captains"--very
cute! They steer their ship using the computer arrow keys in
activities such as the one pictured at left. They encounter sea
monsters and enemy ships. At various points in the missions, kids
can engage in trades, always keeping in mind how they can improve
their ships. Raiding ships involves running along a deck, jumping
over barrels, and collecting sacks of gold. Pictured above is a
ship with some extra items (flags, sails, etc.) that our kid
tester bought with the gold he earned. Choices are plentiful--this
is a fun reward. 
The
controls are likely to be tricky for kids younger than 4 or 5, so
there is a bit of a mismatch between the toy line and the CD-ROM.
The software has many missions and doesn't run out of steam as
quickly as many titles on the market, however, and our testers
didn't want to stop playing.