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One of the best releases in Electronic Arts' short-lived EA*Kids line, Peter
Pan is a fun interactive storybook designed for kids aged 4-8. It's an animated
adventure where children can really get involved and influence the story in several
delightful and often unexpected ways. The game's controls are friendly and easy to
use so that children as young as four will have little trouble coming to grips with
them, even though the game is recommended for six to ten year olds. The story opens
with Peter thwarting Captain Hook by stealing his treasure map. Hook in turn kidnaps
Wendy and 'the lost boys' so you must now help Peter to rescue his friends and to
overcome obstacles along the way. The game screen takes the form of an open paintbox
with the story played out in the lid. Sometimes Peter will turn to you and ask for
your help. At other times Tinkerbell will appear and implore you to help Peter
quickly. This is purely for dramatic effect as the game does not rely on reflexes at
all. To assist you in helping Peter are the Paintbox Pals - a group of animated paint
tools. There is Sally Sprayer who can create instant creatures; Jazz Painter who lets
you add a splash of colour to any scene; Winston Whoosh who will erase anything except
the smile off your face; and Nick Lead for a join-the-dots solution to any problem.
In addition, Sandy Hourglass lets you go back to an earlier scene so that you can try
a different approach and Mark Bookmark saves your game and lets you quit when its way
past someone's bedtime. IT features both speech and on-screen text to encourage r
eading, as well as beautifully animated graphics. Highly recommended, especially for
kids who love Broderbund's Living Books series but wish they were more interactive. |
