Rescue Heroes Meteor Madness Published on February 8th, 2002

With this software, youngsters can save the world! A storm of meteorites has pelted the earth, trapping people and animals throughout the world. Players team up with the Fisher-Price Rescue Heroes to go on missions to save the victims of this natural disaster. As Rescue Heroes, kids fight fires in the Australian Outback; snowboard down Alpine slopes to rescue folks trapped by an avalanche; navigate a watery maze of floating props and scenery to find stranded actors in a flooded movie studio; and scale canyon walls to rescue trapped rock climbers. There are 12 possible missions, three each in four locations. The three missions at a given location vary in difficulty from “Trainee” to “Specialist” to “Expert.” To solve a mission, children will play arcade-type games, some of which require critical thinking. For example, at the Klondike Canyon location, children climb up notched paths in the canyon walls while avoiding flying vultures, falling rocks, or head-butting mountain goats. The game-play is arcade style, but to find the stranded hikers, kids need to use navigational skills to plot their progress on a grid. This game is loads of fun. The directions of how to play are clear. The graphics are well done. The missions have a nice variety of arcade action with response times appropriately set to the level of difficulty selected by the child. Children get to interact with different Rescue Heroes who are all very cool. Do-gooding never felt better, as children gain confidence by conquering virtual disasters.
Summary Age  4 - 7 Platform  Windows Mac Price  $20.00 Category  Simulations Grade  ISBN  Company  Knowledge Adventure (800) 542-4240 http://www.knowledgeadventure.com

Matchbox Emergency Patrol Published on February 8th, 2002

In a series of 27 missions, players help Matchbox County by driving police vehicles, fire engines, or rescue vehicles. While this is a cool theme, the mechanics of playing this program make it difficult for young children to become a hero. The program opens with a rescue vehicle shown on the screen. There is no tutorial or explanation of how to maneuver this vehicle. Young children will have to rely on their parents’ reading the instruction booklet to figure out how to use either the arrow keys and/or the mouse. Once the player (and his parent) figures out how to move, frustration will occur because these controls are difficult to use. Testers inadvertently ran over street signs, mailboxes, and even pedestrians in their attempts to drive their vehicles. One player accidentally crashed through a barrier and ended up stuck in a ravine for several disconcerting minutes. An off-screen dispatcher informs the player of a problem in Matchbox County. The player then drives by following arrows on the top of the screen to the spot where a citizen needs help, a crime is occurring, or a fire needs to be put out. When the player arrives at the spot, a movie sequence shows the activity of the rescue, and that ends the mission. There is very little to do in this software other than drive, and even that is not satisfying! If you have a matchbox car fan in your family, spend your money on the toy cars and skip this software.
Summary Age  7 - 10 Platform  Windows Price  $30.00 Category  Simulations Grade  ISBN  Company  THQ http://www.thq.com

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