Amazon.com Product Description

Join the Rescue Heroes team to save the planet! Burning meteorites from space slam into Earth, setting off worldwide disasters. Blast water at raging brushfires, snowboard down hair-raising avalanche-covered slopes, race a water rescue craft through deep floodwaters, and more. Rescuing the world has never been so much fun. Features include four action-packed missions around the globe, seven exciting activities with three levels of gameplay, and game controls that put you in command. ... Read more

Reviews (26)

mediocre software for avid Rescue Heroes fans only
Meteors have hit the planet, resulting in a series of widely scattered emergencies that require the Rescue Heroes to intervene -- and they need your help!!

The graphics are good, the intro is exciting .... but after that the game is totally mediocre. Four activities have three levels of difficulty, but they are quite tedious no matter what level you play. (1) Move around a water maze to rescue people in a flooded movie studio, and shoot a life preserver over a moving line of floating objects. (2) Navigate a maze on a rock face as you rescue stranded climbers while avoiding vicious eagles and snakes. (3) Aim a hose at brush fires so you can find and rescue animals on an African preserve. (4) Snowboard down a ski slope without hitting the shrubbery so you can dig people out from under an avalanche.

The hype is here, but the games are very boring. Your child has little flexibility or independence when performing tasks, and those tasks probably use only 2% of your child's brain power. For example, in order to dig people out of the avalanche, you click on the snow cave over and over, it doesn't matter where, until the person trapped within tells you how great you are -- and every time it's the same person in the snow cave. Each game is rather mindless in this way. There is little reasoning required and no skills acquired.

This is lame software that has neither educational value nor excitement. When there are so many worthwhile children's software titles out there, don't waste your money or your child's time on this lazy stuff. It may be worthwhile for the truly avid Rescue Heroes fan, but even that is doubtful. This was our first Rescue Heroes title. It is also our last.

Lava Landslide
I gave this game to my son as an early birthday present. He's almost four and loves the Rescue Heroes. The reviews I read were mixed so I decided to buy it anyway. I'm really glad I did. Sure it's challenging, but it's a good excuse for the parents to get involved. First I did the hard parts for him, to show him what needed to be done. Then I guided him through them and finally he ended up doing it all by himself. He was so proud when he accomplished the hard tasks that he couldn't do at first!

Unlike most computer games this one requires the use of the arrow keys instead of the mouse. Well, it's always nice to learn new skills.
I can't wait to give my son the two other RH games I baught for his birthday. I have no doubt he'll love them too.

Inaginext Pirate Raider
I gave it a 1 because they did not have a 0, to give. I bought this game for my son and I try to install it and it tells me that it has encountered an error. I go to the web site and it tells me what to do with that error, but after I do what it told me it does the same error thing again. My son and I both got so frustrated and finally gave up. I am returning it to the place where I purchased it for a full refund. Good luck for those of you that also bought this Horrible Game.

Frustrating game for my almost 5 yr. old
I agree with other reviews that the mouse clicking is very difficult. It's difficult to maneuver the men around. My son tried for a few minutes, became so frustrated, I finished the one mission, but couldn't get him to do any more. Would recommend the I Spy software - ages 6-10, but he loves it! Don't have to know how to read.

Yeah Pirate Raider!
My 7-year-old LOVES this game. He'd play from sun up to sun down if I let him. I hear him cheering and clapping in the other room and he's having so much fun!
I'm VERY anti-violence, so when he got this game I was concerned. I was pleased to discover that although the ships sometimes fire on each other, no people are ever involved. This makes it so much more abstract and less about killing. When you capture forts, you fire on canons only and never see people. When you capture other ships, your knife is used only to chop up fruit that's thrown at you by skeletons. Once you capture their gold, you're on your way to fulfill another mission.
Frankly, this game is so much fun I have to admit to playing it myself! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Dive into the deep sea with Blaster and G.C. in search of sunken treasure. Wind your way through crazy coral reef mazes and race sea horses straight to the finish line. Uncover the pirate's treasure and rule the seven seas. Get ready, set, and start clicking. Along the way, kids can learn valuable language arts skills like phonics, spelling, capital and lowercase letters, sentences, and more. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Great game! Even if you need to tweak
I disagree with the previous reviewer. Although I WILL contend that you really need ot tweak the settings when running this game, overall this game is awesome! For some reason RtCW runs like a dream on my dual 1 Gig w/ nVidia GeForce 4MX card at even high res settings with ALL the cool effect sturned on, which I would expect given the specs of the machine. With SoF2, I couldn't run the game at high-res settings, and had to turn off some of the higher level effects. That was defintely a bummer. I guess it's a bad port or something. That may be a real big issue to some people, and cause them to give low ratings, which I don't totally understand. Do you buy a game just to run it in hi-res graphics, or do you buy it to play a fun game?

Anyway, I thought this game was a great deal of fun, but be warned about one thing. If you're even a little sqeamish, then you might want to pass this, or just turn off the EXTREME gore effects in this game! Make no mistake, they leave NOTHING to the imagination. When you blast an enemy in the face with your M4 assault rifle or with the 12 gauge shotgun, you REALLY see the effects of what it would do to someone in real life. Enemy AI are modeled with lots of dismemberment zones, so it;s quite common to see arms, legs, heads and other parts get blown off your opponents. It's quite gory at times, (including squirting blood from the dismembered limbs!!) believe me!! There is a parental lock included in the game if your worried about kids playing this accidently. I know I would be. Your kids would probably have nightmares if they played this.

As for the plot, I've seen better, but it's pretty good overall. Basically your worldwide terrorist org trying to spread bioweapons, etc. etc. You play John Mullins, a member of "The Shop", a secret anti-terrorist organization. You can get the drift pretty easily. Some locales you get sent on are: Columbian forests/ruins, Tankers in the Atlantic, Hong Kong, Prague, and many more. The weapons you get are VERY cool! There's some really awesome firepower in this game!

All in all, I think SoF2 is worth getting if you really love 1st person shooters. Of course, like many of them in this genre, it's a little unrealistic that you basically get sent in alone to fight entire armies! But that's what these games are often about. There are a few times when you're part of a team, like with the Marines in Columbia, but overall you go solo on these. I say, give this a look if you like shooters, and DEFINITELY give it a look if gore is your thing; you won't be disappointed by the amount of it in this game!

A Great Game! Even if you need to tweak
Although I WILL contend that you really need ot tweak the settings when running this game, overall this game is awesome! For some reason RtCW runs like a dream on my dual 1 Gig w/ nVidia GeForce 4MX card at even high res settings with ALL the cool effect sturned on, which I would expect given the specs of the machine. With SoF2, I couldn't run the game at high-res settings, and had to turn off some of the higher level effects. That was defintely a bummer. I guess it's a bad port or something. That may be a real big issue to some people, and cause them to give low ratings, which I don't totally understand. Do you buy a game just to run it in hi-res graphics, or do you buy it to play a fun game?

Anyway, I thought this game was a great deal of fun, but be warned about one thing. If you're even a little sqeamish, then you might want to pass this, or just turn off the EXTREME gore effects in this game! Make no mistake, they leave NOTHING to the imagination. When you blast an enemy in the face with your M4 assault rifle or with the 12 gauge shotgun, you REALLY see the effects of what it would do to someone in real life. Enemy AI are modeled with lots of dismemberment zones, so it;s quite common to see arms, legs, heads and other parts get blown off your opponents. It's quite gory at times, (including squirting blood from the dismembered limbs!!) believe me!! There is a parental lock included in the game if your worried about kids playing this accidently. I know I would be. Your kids would probably have nightmares if they played this.

As for the plot, I've seen better, but it's pretty good overall. Basically your worldwide terrorist org trying to spread bioweapons, etc. etc. You play John Mullins, a member of "The Shop", a secret anti-terrorist organization. You can get the drift pretty easily. Some locales you get sent on are: Columbian forests/ruins, Tankers in the Atlantic, Hong Kong, Prague, and many more. The weapons you get are VERY cool! There's some really awesome firepower in this game!

All in all, I think SoF2 is worth getting if you really love 1st person shooters. Of course, like many of them in this genre, it's a little unrealistic that you basically get sent in alone to fight entire armies! But that's what these games are often about. There are a few times when you're part of a team, like with the Marines in Columbia, but overall you go solo on these. I say, give this a look if you like shooters, and DEFINITELY give it a look if gore is your thing; you won't be disappointed by the amount of it in this game!

Great Muliplayer game
I found the single player to be rather lacking and unoriginal, but SoFII still offers a fun multiplayer experiance, I even got my Dad playing! A good game, but more one to go play at a friend's than buy yourself...

One Of The Best!
Soldier Of Fortune II has to be one of the best online FPS's for the Mac! There are a lot of weapons to choose from, lots of maps, many different gameplay options, and numerous voting options. The replay value is incredible...I had this game since day one and I'm still playing! The only bad thing about SOFII is that its very demanding. Make sure you have the hardware before you buy it. I reccomend 1GHZ proccessor or higher for good performance.

Excellent FPS for OS X
The other reviews here give a good idea of what the game consists of, so I won't re-run that information. It's your basic first-person-shooter with lots of action, lots of firepower, lots of body count; and as some other reviewers have noted, lots of gore. If you like fps's, you'll probably enjoy this one. There's nothing too new about it. It's the same old you-against-tons-of-bad-guys thing. The comment I wanted to make is that I have switched to a pure OS X Jaguar environment with no 'classic' MacOS running. This game works perfectly in my new environment with one caveat: you have to manually change one setting in the video controls or you will have intermittent crashes. The change is extremely easy to make. Just go to www.macplay.com tech support section and it's well explained. Once you've done that fix, you're in for hours of spewing hot death. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Very Good
The Worms 3D game was one of the best games ive played in a while. I have been a big fan of the "Worms" games and was dissapointed by Worms Blast. But this game takes the original Worms and gives it a whole new spin. But the only big thing that is a problem, is that you will have some trouble trying to aim. With it now in 3D you'll need to learn how to aim with large objects in your way.

what a fun game!
I really love worms 3d, it's extremely addicting. The multiplayer is among the most fun multiplayer games I've ever experienced and the singleplayer is deeper than I thought it would be. Though I have had problems connecting to multiplayer over a modem...hotseat makes up for that and if you have a broadband connection gameranger should be no problem. So what are you doing sitting here reading my review? If you like worms buy this game and if you don't then download the demo first and then come back and buy this :-D ... Read more

Features

• A beautiful, tile-matching game with tons of different layouts and tile sets
• Add in the monkey antics and you've got hours of challenging fun
• Multiple-tile layouts; a random layout generator; beautifully drawn tilesets
• Freeverse character favorites Monty and Jackie return, with new monkey pals
• Customizable backgrounds, with photos by Sandia Ren; fun monkey humor

Reviews (2)

Beautiful game with lots of options!
Now, bear in mind -- I'm not an avid gamer - in fact I rarely play computer games altogether nowadays. My favorite games were in the late 80's early '90s when game play was paramount over flashy graphics.

I purchased this program after trying it out for a few weeks via Freeverse's website. This game is very similar to Activision's 80's version of Shanghai -- except that it's gorgeous to look at, has terrific gameplay, and is ...(insert drum roll here) ...loads of FUN!

I prefer games that are easy to get into, and continue to hold my interest over time. This review would be 5 stars, but I took down one star because under MacOSX 10.3, I can't play any of the audio tracks on the game. Freeverse software has indicated that a patch will be made available soon.

Highly recommended, especially for non-gamers that want a good, fun diversion every now and then. Perfect for kids and adults alike!

Beware: Not what it seems
Just a note ... this is NOT a Mahjong game. This is that (lame, IMHO) tile matching game that so many erroneously call Mahjong. If you're looking to play Mahjong against the computer, this ain't it. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A good value for the money
My daughter enjoyed this program. She learned a lot of different words. The animations are clever and she enjoyed completing the spaceship to get Quixel home.
This is a good program to build a foreign language vocabulary.

Beware!
I thought this would be good for my students until I tried it out myself. First I tried the Italian. When I discovered that they translated "potato chips" as "microchips", I was surprised. In telling time, they expressed the correct feminine plural but displayed the incorrect masculine singular "il due" for 2:00. Now for the French...I learned that "potato chips" were "eclats" as in "paint chips". Wrong chips both times folks - and good luck in a restaurant! I stopped there. It's a shame they never got a native speaker to check it before releasing this as an educational item. They did get native speakers to read aloud the vocab lists however. That's the one-star part. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

LucasArts' Monkey Island adventure game series has been missedoflate. It has been too long since we've visited the anachronistic Tri-Islandareain a Monkey game stuffed with vivid characters, zany plot twists, andliberal use of awful and awfully funny puns. Thank goodness that the clumsy,bumbling, and utterly charming pirate hero Guybrush Threepwood returns inEscape from Monkey Island. Luckily for him so does his bride, ElaineMarley Threepwood; unluckily, it looks like the stubborn ghost pirate LeChuckmay be back as well. Or is he? We'd tell you but that would give away too muchof the vibrant and hilarious story line.

This is adventure gaming at its very best: sharp graphics, excellent voiceacting and writing, and solid puzzles throughout. LucasArts even included awalk-through that'll get any new players into the right mindset to solve thebizarre, convoluted, and convulsively funny pun-ridden puzzles in the game.Butplayers who rely on it are missing out. Sometimes it's much funnier to dothingsthe wrong way, because the sharp-minded developers probably already thought ofit and are ready to reward you with a humorous comment or action. Completelyhilarious, drop-dead gorgeous, and always innovative LucasArts proves once andfor all there is ample life left in the adventure genre. --Andrew S.Bub

Pros:

• Excellent voice acting and writing
• Very funny
• Challenging for players of all skill levels

• The controls could be a little more streamlined

Reviews (9)

Addicting game
I bought this game (PC version) at a very low price and I can say it was well worth paying full price for if I couldn't find it on sale. I played it until I couldn't figure out how to beat the grand monkey.I was almost done with it too.I beat at least 5 island monkeys when I gave up.I haven't picked it up since (6 months ago).I recently bought the Mac version, just waiting to load it.All in all I really liked the game.

I love all the Monkey Island games
I got a Mac laptop recently so was quite pleased to see this in Mac version. I did go looking for patches before picking it up thanks to earlier reviews. There are two - both are available not from LucasArts but from the company that translated the game to Mac.

I recommend Monkey Island games to anyone who loves wordplay and goofy puzzles rather than blood and guts. Great fun, especially since you don't die, you just get stuck.

Good game, bad compatibility
The excitement that was about to explode from within me the moment I received my copy of Escape from Monkey Island (Mac) was impossible to describe in words.However, that excitement quickly became that of sorrow when I realized that this game is not very compatible with OS X 3.

The game is playable, but the in-game movies don't seem to like playing. The sound comes out crystal clear, but unless you enjoy being in a simulation of playing a game in a pitch black cave, you'll probably find it as annoying as I did.

And to make sure I was not the only one to have this problem I searched forum after forum only to find out that there are many other people suffering from the same ailment.

If you're running OS 9 to OS X 2, get the game, it's a definite buy -- funny and smart.If you're running OS X 3, beware of some annoyances that will probably stick its ugly head out.

Best Game that I have for Mac OS X! There are better games..
This game is funny, it has awesome background graphics, and a fun storyline.People always complain about the controls, but they are easy. You are a mighty pirate named Guybrush Threepwood, and you need to stop the Ultimate Insult. The puzzles are sometimes easy, sometimes hard...and I did need a couple of hints. Overall, it was only 10 dollars and it took me 2 weeks to beat it!
IT IS WORTH IT!

cute, but contrived
i just finished this. it only took 2 years. basically, i progressed until i got stuck, then stopped. when i got reinspired, sometimes several months later, i took up where i left off. often, but not always, this allowed me to get past the sticking point. what annoyed me is that i was forced to cheat more than in any other game. i couldnt get Aussie off his throne, couldnt get the captain to break the boulder, and i had no idea how to get herman to talk. otherwise than that, i was able to navigate through the many contrived puzzles, sometimes by a rare flash of brilliance, but most often by trial and error. one example is the use of artificial skin to make a trampoline to get into a second story window; there are many such contrivances.

also, the game need patches. there were places where the program failed and the screen turned white (not blue) as on the landing beach of jambalaya island. the patch was readily available and worked perfectly. otherwise, the game was flawless on my old imac.

on the positive side, this game was definitely funny; the names of locations and establishments are generally "bad" puns, and many of the comments are hilarious. the games also cute, with loads of foolish but amiable characters, whose dorkiness made them appealing. for example, there was brittany, the young girl on lucre island, who, by her own account, had no talent, but wanted to be a rock star, or the school teacher who, whenever there was a false fire alarm, would come running out yelling "help! another fire".this game is very long; you get a lot for your money.

in summary, this game is very enjoyable because of the character development and humor, but it loses points due to the forced puzzles with loose logic. i got through riven unaided, and it was very bad for my ego to have to use a walkthrough 3 times. monkey island is very entertaining, though, and definitely worth the price. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Stay engrossed for hours!!!!!
I also purchased Board Games and Card Games at or about the same time. Since I and my three other siblings were brought up on most of these games back in the 1950's, it is a big pleasure for me to play these games alone or against computer generated opposition. I can't cheat. . .this is wonderful. Also I love to redo a game in case I think I can make a higher score. I love the Facemaker option. So in between my boring daily chores I play Puzzle Games or one of the others. So far Word Yacht is my favorite. As a former English teacher it is a real challange!!!!

Hoyle Puzzle Games 2003 - a disappointment
I have purchased all the Hoyle Collections (Board Games, Card Games, Word Games, Casino); and have found all of them to be superb...Have always said that Hoyle makes the best games. However, Puzzle Games falls far short of their usual efforts. Most games are boring, or a repetition of other packages (Anagrams, Crosswords, Hangman, Mahjonng). Not their best effort; and not what I was expecting from Hoyle.

crashes on mac
iMac OS 9.2 256K real RAM. Have been using system 2 years, no problems.

This game is a 'port'. I found parts of the 'games' which will not run on my Mac. Other parts simply cause crashes.

Although advertised as a 'Mac' playable game I cannot recommend it for such.

Three kids [12 - 14 yo] installed on Win XP home. Report games 'boring' and unchallenging.

Gets old quickly
Although Slide Tiles and Edge Tiles are different than the usual solitaire games, most of the games are pretty simplistic. The maze games, although intriguing, are awkward and frustrating to play on a computer keyboard. If you're looking for a mindless alternative to television, this is a good product. If you're looking for a challenging diversion, Microsoft's Pandora's Box is a much better buy.

Great Mixture of Games
I think it has great variety of games. It has some solitaire games. I don't know how to play solitaire but for those of us that do; it is a nice inclusion. I like the inclusion of the tile games. I was kind of unsure if I wanted to buy this cd because I wasn't thrilled with previous versions of tile matching by Hoyle. But here they added some new versions of tile matching games that require more strategy. They are less boring.
The Incredible Machine is a complete version of the game. It is a good game because you can experiment so much in trying to figure out the Puzzles. Unfortunately, there is a issue where the game wasn't retaining scores.
The Word puzzles are great. The Anagrams makes you think about how many words you can make from a series of letters. I liked Hangman because you can choose different scenes to play the game. There are crosswords as well.
There are some arcade-types of games. Some involve running around a maze; which is challenging with the various helpers and obstacles. Time breaker is fun as it is similar to break out. However depending on what is loosened from the wall; there are interesting effects on gameplay.
Star collector is challenging as it is about lining up pieces and capturing stars. I think it is one of the more harder of the games.
This game has something for everyone. It isn't boring. No one really seems to do these compilations as well as Hoyle. They seem to run well. And you don't need the Cd to play the game in your computer once installed. ... Read more

Features

• Control a heroic pterodactyl as it loads up with advanced weapons and goes to war against an alien race, trying to destroy the dinosaur race
• Soar, dive and swirl through gorgeous renderings of alien worlds -Incredibly designed
• Face off against Rebel Nanosaurs armed with energy blasters, fragment grenades, heat-seeking missiles and more
• Avoid powerful alien defenses like revolving gun towers, floating mines and laser-wielding robots
• Collect power-ups & weapons that are scattered throughout the evil alien landscapes

Amazon.com Product Description

Mia's grandmother, Mimi, has suddenly become very sick. With help, Mia must find the ingredients for Grandma's medicine. But, just as the quest begins, Mia is robbed of her "sparklies" and must find more to pay for the remedy to Grandma's illness. Many surprises, discoveries, and characters await, as Mia finds her way through a very special house. But, watch out for Romaine and his cousins; they are always in the mood to cause trouble when least expected.

The Mia adventure series integrates fun learning activities into a story-game of exploration. In each adventure, kids lead Mia throughout her house and garden to find articles needed to complete a mission. Along the way, they encounter challenging activities to test their abilities. Successful completion of each task results in a reward, bringing the companions one step closer to their goal. Kids learn early-reading skills, spelling, vocabulary, word recognition, phonics, and rhymes as they play. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Very Poor Game - frustrates children and is slow paced
I've seen a lot of children's fun and educational games and this is one of the WORST I've seen especially given the awards it has received. The graphics are great, but the game is EXTREMELY slow paced. It takes too long to get from one activity to another meaning that most of the hours required to play are spent just wandering around Mia's house not learning or accomplishing anything. The character Mia is geared towards 5-year-olds, but most of the games are geared towards 9-year-olds. The font used is hard for young kids to read. (The "g" and "a" for example are not like hand printed letters.) Some of the activities are not explained well, the child often looses even when only chance is involved, and the reward system is so strong that the child is left feeling inadequate rather than enlightened. For example, one activity requires full understanding of syntax of written words. When the child forms word by word the sentence "The cat like to hit balls", he is told "that is not a sentence" and all the work disappears. The child is not corrected or given a second chance to change "like" to "likes".
If you are looking for good adventure games for 3-6 year olds, try the "Putt-Putt" series; for learning games try "Davidson's Learning Center Series" and the "Reader Rabbit" series."

An impressive, polished and educational experience - buy it!
This new (2001) game has exceptionally good graphics and animation. Scattered throughout the adventure are educational activities which were:
(1) extraordinarily good (I remember being taught to read with exercises similar to these, but using flash cards)
(2) varied in difficulty -- some were too difficult even on level 1 for even a bright 5 year old (e.g. read question sentence, then read and choose correct *form* of answer for the question). However, the well written CD insert gives adults helpful advice on when and how to assist children -- I found that re-assuring. With appropriate adult assistance, even the hardest activities became fun learning experiences.
(3) covered an impressive breadth of reading skills (on level 1: starting short words, matching short words with images, matching questions with answer forms, choosing words - structured in a column-ordered matrix - to create sentences) and even problem solving involving lever-fulcrum, etc.

The game is fun, and I found it best to supervise sometimes and let my child just explore for a while at other times. The "skateboard" accelerator is a great fun feature for the child and can be used to keep the action from dragging. The story's theme - getting medicine for sick Granma -- is a very positive. The initial mugging in the dark by the evil rat character is less so -- but perhaps the story needs that edge (my child was careful to avoid the rat thereafter -- perhaps a lesson in itself!). A selection of interesting characters are encountered enroute. Occasional surprises prevent the action from slowing down.

The script does not talk down to the child -- too many books and games treat childen condescendingly, using "baby talk" and slang.

This is by far the best childs game I have come across in the 3-5 year old range (it is for 5-9 year olds) so far. Is it perfect? Well no (see below) but it is an order of magnitude better than other games I have encountered.

It is hard to find substantial faults with this, but here are a couple of issues I found:
(1) It always installs only on the C: drive -- I hate that, my C:\ partition is always near full because of this sort of half-baked installer. I expected the installer to fail because of lack of space, however it succeeded -- I can only assume the game has a fairly small hard disk requirement (footprint) -- despite the advertised need for 40Mb.
(2) Mia apparently walked through a slipper at one point. It looked odd, but did not effect the game.

Works great on Windows XP Professional. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Based on the I Spy book series by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick, I Spy Junior: Puppet Playhouse features puppets, games, and riddles to promote listening and problem-solving skills. An interactive story about a princess and a sneaky dragon strengthens rhyming and other word skills, a puppet-making workshop teaches kids to follow directions, and a magical animated tree helps promote early reading skills. Seven play areas in all offer a variety of fun learning activities. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Boring...
This was so heavily hyped, I had to have it for my five-year old twin girls. What a bore. They're either too old for it, or there is the outside chance that Scholastic really didn't put a lot of effort into this. It would bore a three-year old. Compare to Spooky Mansion or Treasure Island - can't compare with these gems. I'm 50 and play the latter two.

The best children's software I've seen yet
I have never taken the time to review a product, but I love this CD so much I felt I had to. It is the best software that I have bought for my kids so far. The colors, the characters and the graphics are terrific and even manage to hold mom's attention!! Never mind, that my daughter really loves it too. Another thing that was good about it is that it's teaching my daughter basic mouse skills and there are quite a few different activities to play so kids won't get bored easily. I'll be looking for more software from this company as I find that most of the stuff out there for kids is a big waste of money.

Not perfect, but very good
My 2 1/2 year old son has really taken to this. It's a really great idea and it's well executed. You have four puppet shows and three games. The graphics are very well done and very realistic, with no cartoon-like figures. Everything is a scan of a real object. The games are building your own puppet, building your own still image from a puppet show, and sorting. Sorting really is what early math is all about. I'm glad they have it.

The puppet shows are where you will spend most of your time. Each show is composed of four or five scenes which have a dozen or so clickable objects. A riddle appears at the bottom and you have to find the three or four objects that are in the riddle. When you click on a riddle object, it does something and advances the story. Each scene has two riddles and when you have gone through all the scenes, your done with that show. A kid might eventually learn the locations of all the objects in a particular show, but with four shows, it will take a while.

There is only one real problem I have with it, based on several sessions of lap play with my son. Because there are about a dozen objects in each scene, but you only need 3 or 4 for the riddle, the rest of the objects don't do anything when you click on them. I think every object should do something (wiggle, glow or zoom, at the very least) when it gets clicked, not just the riddle objects. This has led to my sons newest vocabulary word: "doesntwork". If not this, then at least the riddle objects from the first of the pair of riddles for a particular scene should still be active for the second of the pair. So, when you click on a riddle object from the first riddle, it should still do something, if not it's original action, when you are finding the objects from the second riddle. As it is now, my son tries to click on the objects which were just active in the previous riddle, but they "doesntwork".

But, overall, I'm pleased with it. There is no violent action and it is pretty exploratory and creative, as advertised.

A Decent Game for Kids Under 5
This is a good choice for children under 5. I was impressed that the graphics and game play were appealing, and utilized the latest features from Macromedia.

I get SO tired of childrens games that look and play as though they were made for a Windows 3x machine, circa 1994. This game will not disapoint. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

The ClueFinders series of educational games takes children throughseveral years of development, so they can learn as they get older following theadventures of familiar characters. ClueFinders 3rd Grade Adventures isaimed at the youngest age group, and is suitable for children aged 7 to 9years.

The game scenario is easy to follow. Dr. Pythagoras, the uncle of one of theClueFinders, has disappeared from the rain forest. Animals are going missing,too. The young adventurers need to find the keys to an ancient city to work outwhat is going on, and to free Dr. Pythagoras. The keys are hidden in puzzles intwo corners of the rain forest.

As our adventurers progress through the rain forest, they encounter thesepuzzles and more, which they must solve if they are to be successful.ClueFinders 3rd Grade Adventures teaches skills in math, logic, languagearts, science, and geography, though it firmly wraps its educational content inthese puzzles so you hardly notice that you are learning while you play.

There are four difficulty levels, and a document for parents explains how eachof the puzzles works at each difficulty level. As an added bonus, a second CD,the Adventure Kit, provides a range of additional software, including a kit forsetting up your own friends' adventuring club. --Sandra Vogel ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Didn't Pay Attention To The Details
My daughter - 2nd grade - enjoys playing this game, but when watching and helping her through some of it I am really surprised by the errors in the game.

One example - the child must solve a math riddle involving the calendar in order to get supplies to solve the next riddle... the calendars are all 31 one days regardless of what the Month is. Um, hello? February does not have 31 days and yet there it is. It's little things like that make me not recommend this game. If this is supposed to be a teaching tool for kids then they should be paying attention to all the details in the game and not just the specific ones for the math puzzles.

Great Product
Last week my son announced that he "hated" math. This week, his school sent this software home for summer use. My son's last words as I put him to bed tonight were "Can I play Cluefinders as soon as I get up in the morning?" AND he thinks the math section is the greatest! We've tried a variety of educational software over the past 4-5 years and I can't remember any that my sons have enjoyed more!! This is a keeper. I would highly recommend it!!!

Mathra Mystery
My children all enjoyed this game.
The puzzles are well designed and have a wide skill range and a wide variety. There are 22 different puzzles which cover a wide subject range.
The only fault I could find was the fact that when you completed a puzzle you had to move to the next screen and then back again to be able to play it again, especially as you need to complete each puzzle two or three times.
The other fault was that when you completed a game unless you started a new game immediately you would find the levels were set back at easy.
It is an excellent game which the children enjoy, the highest levels are hard enough for an adult to enjoy, while younger children can cope well with the easy levels.
Children do need to be able to read reasonably well to play.

Cluefinders 3rd Grade Adventures
Our daughter's school recommended this program for children entering 3rd grade. My child and I spent all summer working on this together. It was great quality time for her and me. More importantly, it was something she looked forward to doing (which is a tall order for an 8-year old on summer vacation). It focused on sharpening thinking and problem solving skills. I was pleased with the simplicity of the graphics as it kept the computer speeding along and time was not wasted loading glitz and glitter. I can't recommend this enough to parents concerned with their child's education. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

a terrific product for little Little Bear fans
We have already tried a number of software products for young children, and I would rank this as one of the very best. The material is true to the children's series, so you see most of the characters from the show (Owl, Cat, Hen, Duck, Father Bear -- though not Emily or Little Bear's grandparents) and Little Bear and Mother Bear's voices seem to be voiced by the same voice actors as those of the television show.

The CD starts with Mother Bear calling Little Bear into the house when it starts to rain, and quickly switches to the activity selection screen. There is: 1) cooking -- adding ingredients to a bowl, cutting out shapes, and decorating cookies; 2) costumes -- drag-and-dropping various costume pieces and props onto Little Bear, Duck, Cat, Owl or Hen; 3) painting -- using a variety of colors and fill patterns to color any of six different scenes; 4) stickers -- drag-and-dropping characters and props onto various scenes (campsite, garden, bedroom, picnic, boat or house); 5) puzzles -- drag-and-drop 4, 6 or 9 pieces onto a template; 6) matching -- finding pairs of characters' pictures amid a layout of 8 or 12 "cards". An activity section has 27 projects which can be printed out; these include recipes (fizzy lemonade, gingerfriends cookies), games (sound bingo, finger puppets) and arts & crafts projects (vegetable stamps, making a water xylophone). There are enough activities to keep a child interested for a long time and options, such as the number of puzzle pieces to fit, mean the activities can be interesting for children of different ages. At any point you can print scenes in one of three formats (a color picture, a coloring book line drawing, or as a card), and printing has been without bugs.

Running this on a PowerMac G4, installation was quick and easy. The only weak point is the booklet, which contains nothing but installation instructions.

Recommended for ages 3 and up, but we are assisting a younger child and he loves it. He can do some things himself but needs help with others.

This is a terrific product, and I endorse it without reservation.

You'll Have to beg them to get off the computer!
My son played with this software on the computer at our town library's children's room and I had to beg him to leave the library! We went back a few more times and I finally realized that this software would capture and keep his attention over and over again. He even asked for the software for his 4th Birthday present! Since he loved it, I thought it was great, and the librarians thought it was educational, I purchased it for him. Happy Birthday Tyler!

Little Bear - Rainy Day Activities
I read the reviews before I bought this product and found them so helpful I thought I'd write my own. My daughter loves this game. She's 3 and a half and can get around all by herself. The card memory game is so good for them yet simple enough so that it's not frustrating for them. Adding sprinkles and decorating cookies is also one of her favorites. There's so many variations to this game I'm sure your child will have a favorite, too. Enjoy!!

Wonderful software for any day
My 3 1/2 year old daughters love this computer game. It is very child-friendly. You don't have to be able to read to figure out what to do. They can easily get around from activity to activity without a problem. There are a number of different activities which my daughters really enjoy. They get to "make" gingerfriend cookies with Mother bear, adding the correct amount of ingredients for her. They then get to decorate the finished cookies. There is a coloring book that allows them to floodfill the areas for ease and fun. They can add pictures to a scene (kind of like a sticker book, but one that you can re-use :o)). They can dress-up Little Bear and his friends in costumes in another activity. This is a very good computer game that is well-worth the money. It is one of their favorites. ... Read more

Reviews (86)

Better Than The Others
This game is definitely better than the other Tomb Raider games. Graphics are better and there are cut scenes to keep the story interesting. The controls default was just plain sad. No one uses curser keys for the PC, we use WASD...hello! I had to change almost all of the default keys for the control key pad. It is difficult to manuver Lara as she does not slide left or right, only turns. If your character is in the crouch position, you are unable to slide left or right and I found this very frustrating. If your gun is drawn, it is terribly annoying to run up stairs because although you are telling her to go upstairs, she inevietibley wants to go back down....though it is very funny to watch Lara run like a bow-legged guy up a flight of stairs. I don't care for game play that forces you to hit a function key to "pick up" an item, I prefer just running into them. Your character will be in the heat of a battle and you'll have to hit a function key to pick up an item...you'll watch your character in S L O W M O T I O N bend down and pick up the much needed item and then SMACK! you're dead, because it took too long!!! There is no cross-hair for aiming, so that's no challenge. sigh. Your camera view is constant and so very difficult to view your surrondings and impossible to see anything when you are in that crouch position. Game needs work, but has the basic core of the interesting story line, fun kick-butt characters, and good stategy. Check out No One Lives Forever 1 or 2, and Star Wars, Jedi Outcast for some great gaming!!!

EXCELLENT!
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness is one of my favorites. The plot is very interesting, the graphics are good (but kind of shakey, at least on my computer), and it's pretty cool to be able to play another character (although Lara is always the best). The environment is very dark and grimacing though, and I find that if I play the game to much, I get a little depressed. It's still one of the best, though, and an awesome addition to the Tomb Raider series.

old tomb raider new game
first off dont get me wrong i love this game but in most of the tomb raider games you get two pistols with infinite ammo you never get those guns in AOD that is the first thing the controls are way different than any other TR game and for two or three levels you play as a guy that really set me off the great thing about other TR games is its not like every othor steriotypical video game you play as a girl thats cool well i think if your gonna buy a TR game buy a game thats like 75 cents and is a classic iinstead of a $30$ game that is gonna ruin the series

Absolutely awful controls! DO NOT BUY
I am a huge fan of the Tomb Raider series, and have played all five other games on my PC. I love them. I was so excited to get this one, and sooooo disappointed with the quality. Glitchy glitchy glitchy. Do not buy this game. The controls are terrible. While all other 5 games play out smoothly, this one is slow, stalls, goes blank some times, and takes minutes to load to new chapters. Now I don't have a fancy schmancy computer, but I have been able to play all the other games on it just fine without any hitch. This is just crap. It makes me feel like I have to go buy a $2000 computer just to be able to play this $30 game! It probably runs better on a PS 2, so if you have one of those don't bother with the PC version. Thanks a lot Eidos, I totally wasted time and money and am warning future buyers to BEWARE!

Classic Tomb Raiding, taken up a notch!
After reading all the bad press this game has been getting, I felt compelled to write a review myself. In all honesty, I must say this game is getting slammed unfairly.
I've been a fan of the TR games since the original, but I freely admit that some of them had their fair share of irritations, and by the time Chronicles came out, things were starting to seem a little uninspired. I say this so you know I'm not the sort of person to gush over anything that has the Tomb Raider logo emblazoned across the box.
Now, on to Angel of Darkness...
Core Design knew the series needed an overhaul, but they also knew they couldn't change things too drastically without upsetting long-time fans. So what we have here is a classic Tomb Raider experience with an all-new (and quite attractive) graphics engine, a bit more depth (dialogue-trees, deeper plot), and some simplified controls to make it easier to navigate the TR world.
Yes, that's right, I said the controls are EASIER this time around. I cannot fathom why so many people are complaining about the control scheme. In essence, it's identical to one found in every other TR game, but it doesn't require your fingers to be quite as nimble. For example, when climbing a ladder or a wall, you no longer have to hold down two keys at once. Same with walking. Want to climb over that box in front of you? No need to press some weird key combination, simply walk up to it and keep on walking, and Lara automatically hitches herself on to it.
A lot of people complained about the vast number of bugs and the drops in frame-rate. Maybe I just got very lucky, but so far I've experienced only minimal bugs (nothing that interfered with gameplay), and I did not experience any drops in frame-rate at all... everything runs very smoothly, and Lara is quick to respond to keystrokes. I'm running this on a Pentium 4, 1.8ghz, 256 megs ram, 64 meg GEForce2 graphics card, so it's hardly a cutting edge system by today's standards, yet I can't complain about the performance at all.
AOD offers some great environments to explore. The beginning of the game is somewhat mundane, as you run through the back streets of Paris, but it's a good way to get a feel for things before you're in any significant danger. Then you're off to raid the Louvre, which is brilliantly atmospheric, and before long, you find yourself in some classic tombs. The gameplay in the tombs is among the best the series has seen, reminding me very much of the thrills I got back in 1996 when I first worked my way through St. Francis Folly in the original game. From here, the adventure heads off to other exciting locales, which I won't spoil for you, but suffice to say, there's plenty to see and do.
I recommend this game whole-heartedly to Tomb Raider fans. My only warning is that I know a lot of people have experienced significant bugs, and I suppose it's somewhat of a gamble when you buy the game because you may be lucky (as I was), or you may have problems. If you're one of the lucky ones, you'll have a great time playing one of the best TR games in the series. If you're unlucky, well, hopefully you can trade it somewhere. ... Read more

Features

• Fun games teach children about counting and numbers
• Puzzles give children stronger thinking abilities
• Expand your child's creative skills with Coloring & Creativity

Reviews (1)

Multiple Problems
I got Caillou's Kindergarten for my daughter who will start kindergarten in the fall. There were multiple problems with the product. First, when you start the CD, the voice says "Welcome to Caillou's Preschool" (instead of Kindergarten) and then vocally gives options to select games about the alphabet, colors/shapes, and coloring. Yet, the actual options (the ones written on the screen) are for Caillou's Counting, Thinking Skills, and Coloring & Creativity Part 2. Nowhere on the CD can you select the options that were given vocally. I contacted the company and they said they will not fix the problem because it doesn't effect the game play. Yet it completely confuses the consumers since they can't choose the options mentioned. My daughter wanted to play the colors/shapes games, and no such games existed on the CD! I actually returned the product to get a replacement, thinking it was a bad disk, but the next CD had the exact same problems.

Additionally, the written menu said "Coloring & Creativity Part 2". There is no Part 1 on the CD, yet another confusing aspect. Also, there is only one game in that section, whereas the other two sections had numerous games to choose from, leaving the parent wondering if there were supposed to be more.

Only the Dad's voice is heard in the English version, a disappointment to those hoping to hear one of the many other characters speak. The designers of the software could have done so much more with this product but chose not to.

Finally, the product was way too easy for my daughter, who has not yet started kindergarten. This CD is much more appropriate for preschoolers. Overall, it is a poorly created, overpriced CD that I would not recommend to others. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

My 8 yr old loves I spy!
For those who say this is boring, maybe your kids should just stick to video games. My son is loving the books and the computer games. He conquers them pretty quickly and we have to buy more but hey, it's getting his mind working looking for hidden items. We went for an open house at his school a few months ago and the teacher picked up an I Spy book and said that it was the main thing all the kids fought over in class. We love all the books, computer games and the gameboy game that is out. Good investment for little thinkers out there!

Can't find 12th ladybug!
I really like this game but I am annoyed that I can't find the last ladybug in the find me game. I can find no game hint support sites either. Has anyone else had this problem? Is it a bug (ha ha) in the program? I have spent weeks looking but always find the ones I've already found. Can anyone out there help me? I am not a child, but my daughter can't find it either. Apparantly the game will not finish until all bugs are found because I have found all the treasures. Does this game not have more than one complete game to play? I thought it had 3 like treasure hunt.
Thanks,

Will Keep You Thinking....
My 6 year old daughter loves this game. It is not easy and keeps her thinking. I some times find some of the items hard to find but with persistance you will find them. It is never boring. The whole family enjoys this software.

Elementary Kids Love It!
I am a computer lab teacher in an elementary school. Last year, I used this software for quite a few weeks when my Kindergarten through Grade 3 students came in for activity period. Students in grades 4-6 would beg to get a chance to use the software when their assignment for the day was completed.

It was a stretch for Kindergarten to find some of the items, because they did not recognize some of the items in the riddles, but I made sure to point these out in lessons and then circulated to help them more.

It was exciting to watch as students became absorbed in this activity, and most of them grew in their visual and verbal awareness. Children in grades 1-3 could either click to hear the descriptions or read for themselves.

Yes, it is on the shelf this year, but will taken out to be used in two years. This year I bought I Spy Spooky Mansion for use, and next year hope to get the Î Spy Treasure software if I can find the funding.

I Spy School Days-big bore
My six year old great nephew completed all of the activities within two hours. He was moderately interested in the beginning and bored by the time he finished. I watched as he played, and thought they were boring, too. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Using Disney's Magic Artist Cartoon Maker, kids can create their own animated cartoon shorts. Design and customize colorful animated sequences, then add music, effects, props, titles, and credits. Design a range of animated shorts, then queue them up, and add a guest star and a bonus Disney short to create a complete show for family and friends. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A good Software
I saw this product and I really liked it. It can create Cartoons like the ones Disney creates. It can create cartoons how long you like not, only short. Wonderful, simply wonderful Software. I have many cartoon makers and creators but I really liked this one.

Thankyou!! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Achieve! Writing & Language Arts brings four award-winning educational titles in one to your child's desktop. Designed for younger learners, a combination of memorable music, appealing characters, intriguing environments, and clever word games build language and grammar skills. Tackle sentence structure, learn about synonyms and antonyms, explore language concepts, and more. Featured titles include: Word Munchers Deluxe, Schoolhouse Rock! Grammar Rock, The Writing Trek, and Strategy Challenges 2: In the Wild. When grammar and vocabulary are made this much fun, young learners achieve at learning. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Wonderful resource for the serious homeschooler!!
We have been proud owners of this package for two years and have used it diligently to supplement skills and concepts introduced throughout the year for first and second grade. It has been a WONDERFUL supplemental resource. Unlike a lot other educational software packages that claim to cover a wide range of ages, this one means it when they say "First through Third grade". It is simple to use: After a concept (example: 2 digit addition) has been introduced to the student, you specifically set up games to reinforce those particular skills. After those skills have been mastered you then go back in (with a simple click of the mouse and check-mark skills you want to reinforce from a large pre-set list) It is honestly very simple to do. Explaining the process actually takes far more time that it does to actually do it. Although the games are very "friendly", with engaging characters and settings, the software is not meant to "entertain" as much as it is to teach. I would not at all be surprised to find this package in a lot of school computer rooms for kids to reinforce their skills on. If you are looking for a true educational software package that would be appropriate for (no younger than)first through third grade, this would be perfect for you and your child.

I would give it ZERO stars if I could!
I completely agree with what everyone else has said. This was a total waste of money. The other reviewer was right when he said the extra software included (for us it was Star Flyers) was the ONLY good thing!

How can they market programs that were designed for 3-5 year olds for Grades 1-3? Its ludicrous!

DO NOT waste your money! The whole thing is unprofessional. There are no guides and even the paper inside the CD looks like it was BADLY photocopied.

Again, if I could give it ZERO stars I would!

This is going back
I was looking for some software to help my fourth grader with math facts, computations, etc. (He's an Everyday Math victim.) The activites, even at the most advanced level, are much too easy for him. Pointing and clicking at different piles of cookies is not division. This is a complete waste.

This is being returned to The Learning Company
I just purchased this today, and it is extremely disappointing. I was looking for a software package that would help my 2nd grader learn his math facts, and this certainly isn't it, as far as I can tell. There is zero documentation included, so there is no way to steer your child towards games that would help his or her weak areas. I couldn't find a game that drilled them on anything, just a lot of pointless point and click activities.

Product is not very good
I got this product for my 5 year old, and it is about right,
any 3-6th grade would not like it at all. The best thing in the game is the free cluefinders monkey adventure in my costco box.
Most of the games look like they were designed for windows 95.

I liked the clips from grammar rock, I remember these as a kid, but you could by the DVD of Schoolhouse rock and get better versions of those. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A must have
The games are so much fun.I am making better grades at school on my spelling test.The arcade games are my favorite.I enjoy reading the fun stories.I hope you have your parents go buy it for you. ... Read more